nicotiana in partial shade

I have read that nicotiana can be successful in partial shade. . I would like information.. Particularly, recommendations on varieties --- Can they be used in containers? --- Can they be started early indoors under lights?
Thanks very much for any help
Jim

Jimbo...I would think in Boston you could grow them in full sun for max flowering. I recently grew 2 plants in pots on my partially shaded patio. They did well with 1/2 sun. I moved one about a month ago into a more shaded area because of the heat here. While it is still healthy and regained some green leave color the flowering has really stopped.
Nicotania blooming has the same plant requirements as tobacco. It's usually grown in full sun, except in Connecticut where they grow it under shade cloth. The difference in the two types is the full sun grown are around 3-4' rather short and stocky whereas the shade grown reaches over 7' has larger leaves and wider spacing between leaves, tall and lanky. Incidently my two plants grew from the same pot as was grown in the year before. They self seed easily.

thanks very much for the info. Makes me think that these will do really well in my spot. Interesting point about the shade and sun! Makes sense of course.

I love nicotianas, start them inside under lights every year. N Sylvestris is the slowest to germinate and grow, blooms latest, and really does best in full sun. N Alata and N Langsdorfii are more accommodating and I use them all over the place. They bloom first in the sunnier spots of course, but look just as good with less light once they get going.
Pic 1 is N Alata Lime and N Langsdorfii along with daylilies and late blooming heuchera. I put in light colored plants to brighten up what was a dark spot. It gets only morning sun.
Pic 2 is N Alata Niki Pink, Fragrant Angel and N Langsdorfii with echinacea and sedums. This section gets full sun until mid afternoon, then intermittently for the rest of the day.

Wow. Nice pictures and detailed advice. Thanks very much. Absolutely going to give this a try

I have been growing Nicotiana in a bed on the east side of my house in the shade of many high-branched trees for many years where they get only spotty morning sun. I usually go with the Sensation or Fragrant Cloud varieties, and start them indoors under lights about 7or 8 weeks before the last spring frost date. Some do reseed, but I don't depend on it and start new seeds every year anyway. Nicotiana seeds are very small and you must be careful not to sow them too thickly. I've never tried them in containers.

I usually sprinkle nicotiana seeds (cluster sow) into a 4" pot filled with seed starting mix, and put them in a Biodome with heat mat under it. When they germinate I put the sprouts in as many cells as I want plants. I usually put small clumps in a cell or two just in case.
I use this method with many types of seeds, both annuals and perennials that don't need stratification.

In pic1 the Biodome is on the upper shelf.
Pic2 it's on the lower right.

This doesn't answer the original question--but just a comment. I grew N. sylvestris 'Only the Lonely' about 4 years ago. It re-seeds every year. I like the plant. The leaves get quite large and look tropical in my Mid-west garden. It mostly re-seeds in its original location, however this summer, I had one grow in my window box on my deck which is about 10 feet above the vicinity of its original location. I also had one growing in a pot I had on my deck.

I also grew from seed three years ago Nicotania 'Deep Purple' which gets about 30 inches tall for me. It re-seeds every year a little bit--just enough to really appreciate its return. This past year it came back white, purple and lavender plants. I like the way it sways in the breeze. They are in full sun and poor clay soil. They are drought tolerant as well.

Btw, except for N Sylvestris, the ones I've grown in full sun poop out in a heat wave. I've never grown the tobacco variety, which may be more heat resistant

Hmmm.... The N. sylvestris that grew in my window box was in full sun and bloomed in late August, and we had terrible heat--dry heat. I had to water everything a lot. It looked weird in my window box--comical really. I just let it grow there for the fun of it.

Thats what I said- "except for Sylvestris..." they poop out. Sylvestris is slower, later, and takes more sun.

Whoops! I misread your post. The others that I mentioned sort of stopped producing blooms, then when it started getting cooler, they perked back up and bloomed through November.

Right, that's also been my experience. Where I have them in full sun, other things kick in under those circumstances and the nics aren't missed. Sometimes if they look ratty I just pull them out. By early fall, the volunteers are going strong so I still get my fall blooms. I just love them- can't imagine having a garden without them-- except in the hotter zones, of course.