June
2005
Wow.
My Nicotiana plants either reseeded themselves something
fierce and/or some survived from last year (here in California
this plant can be a tender perennial), but this year the
showing was spectacular! It's obvious to me that once you
get a group of these going strong, you will NOT have
to purchase more seed or replant again. Cutting back old
flower stalks, fertilizing, and watering the plants after
the first flush of blooms can hasten rebloom and make plants
more attractive, because they do start to look a little
straggly as they die off. Had so many, I cut some to bring
inside. Nicotiana alata "Lime Green" are an interesting choice
as cut flowers because of the unique color, even if the leaves
are a little sticky to handle, and last pretty long in the
vase. Might experiment with Nicotiana sylvestris (another
tall ornamental tobacco plant that has scented white flowers)
next year. Have had issues with aphids liking these plants,
but Pyola spray does the trick every time.
June
2004
Tobacco
has been used and cultivated in America for a very long time,
perhaps even as long as 10,000 years. High
nicotine content varieties of Nicotiana were prized by many
native tribes.In fact, Wild Tobacco should be considered
one of the most important hallucinogenic entheogens, having
been used ritually and shamanically by many tribes throughout
the Americas.
I
don't smoke. Never have. but I just had to grow this tobacco
for its flowers! Nicotianas are beautiful plants, growing
to between 1-3 ft. in height depending on the variety and
growing conditions. They have huge green leaves and very
sweet-scented flowers which range in colour from white to
purple, through pink and red, for N. tabacum, or yellow (or
even white or green) for N. rustica. Love the scent of these,
and the color in low light is just spectacular. A great choice
for a partially shady spot, nicotiana
is classified as an annual, but I planted these plants
2 years ago and they think they're supposed to come back.
I'm pretty sure it wasn't just reseeding. more likely the
crazy weather here in Southern CA that tricks all of the
plants into guessing it's the wrong season, as well as confounding
all those people planning vacations in December who think
they're going to get beach weather here. Although come
to think of it, this past Dec. that might just have happened.
See what I mean? Crazy weather.
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