Nicotiana Perfume Red - Ornamental tobacco

The 'Perfume Red' Ornamental Tobacco, a variety of Nicotiana x sanderae, with a very bushy habit. Numerous trumpet-shaped flowers with long star-shaped petals in a bright red color release their fragrance in the evening. This annual plant is magnificent in mixed borders, border edges or in large pots on a patio.

The Nicotiana (x) sanderae belongs to the Solanaceae family. It is a hybrid obtained by cross-breeding Nicotiana alata and Nicotiana forgetianade. Its growth is quite slow, but it is very floriferous. It blooms throughout the beautiful season until the first cold weather. Still very rare in French gardens, ornamental tobacco deserves to be known for the uniqueness of its flowers and the touch of exoticism it brings. Most tobacco species produce flowers that open in the late afternoon to diffuse their jasmine-like fragrance throughout the night and close again in the morning with the appearance of the sun. These plants are called vespertine. Some hybridizations now offer flowers that open during the day and have flowers in various colors.

The 'Perfume Red' variety forms small bushy clumps that are 40 cm (15.7 in) tall and wide. Numerous branches ensure abundant flowering, in the form of long tubular trumpets, terminated by 5 scarlet red petals arranged in a star shape, releasing 5 long stamens. The flowers, open during the day, measure 4-5cm (1.6 - 2 in) in length and are grouped in loosely racemose clusters. As for the leaves, they are often covered with a short glandular fuzz that makes them sticky and tacky; they form rosettes 30cm (11.8 in) in diameter.

Easy to grow, Nicotiana Perfume Red thrives in full sun or light shade in a soil that is always moist but not overly wet, well-drained, and sheltered from the wind. It even tolerates summer drought quite well. It will be magnificent in mixed borders, border edges or in large pots on a patio. Ornamental tobaccos are unmatched in a fragrant garden accompanied by Mirabilis jalapa, Datura meteloides, Spider Flower Cléome Colour Fountain, or Evening Stock Matthiola bicornis, each playing its part in an olfactory symphony.

Did you know that the pollination method of Nicotiana is directly related to the nicotine content in the flowers? Indeed, research has shown that varieties with a low nicotine level need bees, butterflies, etc. to pollinate them. The fragrance of the flowers is intended to attract them. But varieties with very high nicotine levels can be lethal to insects. They have found a way to self-pollinate. How else could they proceed if the pollinator's work is compromised?

Note: Attention, our young plants in mini-pots are professional products reserved for experienced gardeners: upon receipt, transplant and store them under shelter (veranda, greenhouse, cold frame...) at a temperature above 14C° for a few weeks before being planted outdoors once all risk of frost has passed.