Description
Nicotiana suavolens | Australian Tobacco
There are over 65 species of Tobacco that hail from Australia, North America, and tropical South America. They are attractive plants with beautiful flowers and appealing foliage. All of them have tubular or trumpet-shaped flowers that come in nearly every color and most often open during the evening and and nighttime hours, sometimes releasing a pleasant fragrance. They can be used as specimen or bedding plants, in borders, woodland gardens, in containers, or for planting in masses or even as a focal point.
Suavolens Flowering Tobacco, also known as Australian Tobacco and Sweet Scented Tobacco, is, as the name suggests, a highly scented, rare tobacco variety native to Australia. Long tubular flowers atop lanky plants attract night-flying pollinators such as moths.
Australian Tobacco is extremely drought tolerant. We planted seeds indoors during the summer, transplanted outdoors from 4″ pots into the desert part of our yard during the hottest part of August with no rain, neglected, and each and every one of the small plants survived and continued to flower through the end of summer.
Sow indoors or outdoors. Grows best in full sun in well-drained soil. Great for desert areas, low maintenance and sub-tropical beds, borders, and containers. Easy to grow from seeds.
Attracts hawk-moths and other night-time pollinators. Deer and rabbit resistant.
Type: Annual
Sun exposure: Full sun to part sun
Mature height: 18-24 inches
Mature width: 4-10 inches
Hardiness zones: All
Please note: All tobaccos should be considered poisonous to consume (smoking brings its own risks); some are extremely poisonous and have caused fatalities. Poisoning through intentional or accidental misuse of nicotine and products containing it is a relatively common occurrence. Related species may contain other toxic alkaloids, chemically similar to nicotine, so it is for this reason we suggest that you enjoy Nicotiana suavolens and other ornamental species of tobacco for their flowers only. Do NOT smoke these leaves.