Plants for 2013 - Nicotiana

I opened the new catalogue from Chiltern Seeds at a random page and saw some Nicotiana I didn't recognise ... might be worth a punt as something a bit unusual?

I was a bit underwhelmed by Nicotiana langsdorfii last year, maybe I should give it another go though?

I loved Nicotiana sylvestris definitely adding that to my "every year" list.

A beautiful plant for a partially shaded position, bearing clusters of drooping, tubular, white, fragrant flowers, 3½ ins. in length and 1½ ins. across at the mouth. Height 5 ft. R.H.S. 'AGM' Award Winner

There is also Nicotiana sylvestris 'Only the Lonely' but I can't see what the benefit / difference is? (Chiltern's photo has more flowers ...). Seedaholic says "The largest of all the nicotiana varieties the stately flower stems are its eye-catching feature"

So ... new ones that wetted my appetite:

Nicotiana tabacum 'variegata' dunno if Chiltern are overselling this? "Quite simply, it is one of the grandest of such plants we have seen" the rest of their description is "Large, tall and handsome, they make broad columns of large leaves beautifully and architecturally arranged around a robust central stem. These are heavily coloured with creamy-yellow markings with some of the leaves being almost completely without green"

Jungle Seeds have it too:


Nicotiana tabacum 'Tobaco rosa' "This is a very splendid and handsome plant; very large, over eight feet high and five feet wide, with large leaves and bearing loose sprays of beautiful, red, funnel-shaped flowers. Height 8 ft." - Sounds like a monster, which would be just-the-job in my Exotic garden ?

I saw Nicotiana glauca at East Ruston last Summer. I thought the tubular flowers too narrow-bore and thus looked rather insignificant, so I'm, planning to give this one a miss (unless you think otherwise?)


I also got tempted by the Love-in-a-Mist on the same page ... didn't have the time to risk turning the page to either M or O

 

I bought some seed a couple of years ago, not sure which nocotiana they they were now.
But I was totally underwhelmed also, I was expecting evening/nightime scent, I never detected it.
Maybe it was the weather, but not something I'm likely to bother with again.

 

I've been growing 'Nicotiana Sylvestris' for a few years...nice looking plant but only one year has the scent been noticable I still grow them more for the looks these days and any scent is a bonus......the moths like them too

 

The variegated one looks good, might try that. I really like the white N affinis, it usually has a good scent. The dwarfer coloured ones can make a good show en masse but have little scent.

They have not always been easy to grow, I've struggled with N sylvestris and affinis. They seem to germinate and start OK, but slow down and stop later on. Do I let them go hungry or pot-bound, I wonder?

 

Mine sort of stopped in early Summer, then had a growth spurt and put on a really good show in late Summer / early Autumn. Big leaves too.

Dunno why though (triggered by the shortening day length perhaps??). Sylvestris likes some shade, could that be an issue with you?

 

N.sylvestris is one of my must have annuals. Sets seed freely, so a one off purchase too!

I think that N.langsdorfii is an real gem! One of the earliest to bloom, I also think that owing to the colour of the blooms it is very versatile as it will fit in well just about anywhere. I'm also a sucker for blue pollen................

That last picture looks like N.glauca, not N.quadrivalvis which has white flowers and is a little unimpressive to my eyes. N.glauca on the other hand looks interesting - I tried to order seed last year but had missed the boat. It has a shrubby growth habit in the UK as winters knock it back, although in the correct spot it should be hardy after a couple of seasons.

As far as the diseased looking one goes...................

 

Do you know if the "Only the lonely" variety has any benefits over the bog-standard one?

The one with Chimera-itis?

You are right about Glauca, it was that that I saw at East Ruston, so I must have posted the wrong link / name. I've edited it so it, hopefully, makes sense

 

I'm kinda missing the point on that one too. You'll need to do back to back trials Kristen and let us know!

 

Call me cynical but I think seed companies just bag up the bog-standard variety with a flattering photo, give it a fanciful name and add, ooh, should be good for at least an extra quid to the price.

 

That's shocking - particularly the companies that are selling both Bog Standard and Enhanced varieties!!

But you're right, growing some-and-some would tell us; I'll do that.

 

Cynical!!!

My thoughts too though.............

It's rather like the packets of mixed seed - they tend to be the least inspiring colours/species and it seems to me that it's a good way to offload them.

 

Yes, and then they can make us pay more for the single colour packets, which to my mind, look better as part of your planting scheme!

 

Hang on a minute, aren't 'Tobacco' plants supposed to be boring?

 

Far from it Freddy!
Must admit that I'm not keen on the wishy washy colours of the common N.alata varieties, but for a great impact plant look no further than N.sylvestris.

 

Yes, that one really caught my eye, hence my comment