There are not a huge number of annuals flowers that are scented but Nicotiana is one of them and so a must for your cut flower garden. They are not all scented though so if you particularly want scent then choose your varieties carefully. Also be aware that some varieties are very short and used often for bedding so you want the taller cultivars for cutflowers. They are fabulous filler flowers within your bouquets and add some movement to your arrangements, especially the smaller flowered types that seem to dance around the edges. Also they are a proper cut and come again cutflower and will keep flowering all summer, sometimes into the autumn.
The ones for best scent include Nicotiana affinis, this is a creamy white variety that looks fabulous in containers or in your cutting patch.
Nicotiana alata cultivars are also all wonderfully scented so that includes the fabulous and versatile Nicotiana ‘Lime’ and Nicotiana ‘Sensation’. These are great plants, big star-like flowers, Nicotiana ‘Lime’ in a vivid bright green. We have included it in our Sunglasses bundle to add some vibrant acid green against your pinks, oranges and purples. Nicotiana ‘Sensation’ is a fabulous colour mix of white, to pale pinks to dark reds. Glorious.
Nicotiana ‘White Trumpets’ too is wonderfully scented. This is a monster of a plant so give it plenty of space, it can cope with some shade so is very useful in the garden. I’ve never yet used it as a cut flower but I can imagine it would be stunning in a big arrangement. I grew it on my allotment years back and actually overwintered it (must have been a mild winter, my allotment was in Huddersfield!) but better to treat as a half hardy annual and sow fresh each year.
Nicotiana ‘Starlight Dancer’ is a bit special, it doesn’t have a strong scent but the flowers are smaller, white with a hint of green and hang beautifully from tall stems so brilliant as a cutflower. Adds lots of movement to your bouquets. It’s one of my favourites.
They are pretty easy from seed, the seed is tiny, like dust, and so I find its much easier to sow in a seed tray or into 9cm pots. They need light for germination so sow on the surface of you compost and leave uncovered or use a small covering of vermiculite. They need a bit of warmth so a sunny windowsill is ideal. They emerge as tiny little seedlings and best to prick out quite quickly. You think these are going to take ages to get going but they are surprisingly fast from sowing to planting out. Prick out into individual pots and plant out once rooted and after the frosts. I’ve found they need a sunny spot but maybe don’t need full sun which can cause them to wilt quickly if its really baking hot, though they will revive. Nicotiana ‘White Trumpets’ can cope with shade.
They are quite sappy plants and the foliage is slightly droopy and a bit sticky to touch but don’t let that put your off. Because of the softness of the foliage you might think that they won’t last long in water but they have a surprisingly good vase life of at least a week especially if you cut just as the first flowers on the stem are opening.
The plants can sometimes get a bit of mildew so the trick is to keep it well watered and plant in good moisture retentive soil.
I had it growing in my cutting patch next to the gorgeous Cynoglossum ‘Firmament’, Ammi visnaga and Salvia ‘Oxford Blue’.
The creamy flowers of Nicotiana ‘Starlight Dancer’ look great on the edges of your arrangements. Here in a white and blue arrangement with Cephalaria gigantea, Larkspur ‘Imperials’, Cynoglossum ‘Firmament’, Achillea ‘The Pearl’ and white Origanum.
Here in one of my favourite arrangements of the year, Nicotiana ‘Starlight Dancer’ shimmered along with Helianthus ‘Valentine’, Rudbeckia ‘Marmalade’, Ammi visnaga, Inula hookeri and Bupleurum falcatum.
Nicotiana ‘Sensation’ also adds to dark tones to this vibrant bouquet, including Zinnia ‘Purple Prince’, Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’, Rudbeckia ‘Marmalade’, Salvia ‘Oxford Blue’ and Larkspur ‘Imperials’.
Just as an extra note, growing Nicotiana in your garden, especially the white forms will also encourage moths into your garden which is such a great thing. Nicotiana release most scent in the evenings specifically to encourage moths for pollination, though according to the Butterfly Conservation website the long tube like flowers of Nicotiana ‘White Trumpets’ are too long for may of the British moths to reach the nectar! But Nicotiana alata cultivars like ‘Sensation’ and ‘Lime’ are known to be particularly attractive to Hawkmoths. Would love to see one of those in my garden.
Also one year I found that my Nicotiana ‘Lime’ was being used by a leaf cutter bee for material to seal its nests!
Anyone else sowing Nicotiana this weekend?
Higgledy Anne
(I’m on Instagram anne_hinks and on Twitter Anne Hinks if you fancy a follow)