Wow, I started a large number of Nicotiana 'Fragrant Cloud' under lights this past winter in hopes of finally encountering a Nicotiana alata varient with a potent scent. All have been planted out in large containers on my patio for almost a month now and are doing beautifully. These plants grow so fast and so robustly that it is possible to monitor their progress from day to day. Many are now even setting their first buds and three plants in particular already have their first flowers.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there are subtle yet noticeable differences among the fragrances of these first three plants. One has a light, delicate (yet strong) and sweet fragrance, while the second has a delicious perfume very much like that of my old-fashioned petunias. The third one, however, is an entirely different beast and has a very intense, sweet floral smell with strong undertones of cloves and freshly ground black pepper. It has a quality that almost reminds me of resinous pine or of balsam, and it is startlingly rich and full. I can imagine how soothing and cooling this fragrance would be on a hot, sultry summer night. Two more plants look like they will be opening their first flowers either tonight or tomorrow night and I can't wait to see whether they will follow the foot steps of the first three plants or if they will also have their own variations of the magnificent Nicotiana alata fragrance.
All in all, I am very happy with these plants so far and I think I have finally found a truly fragrant varient of Nicotiana alata. It is certainly much more fragrant than the generic "jasmine tobacco" I used to grow years ago. I can't wait to smell them in July or August when all of my 80+ plants have reached maturity and carry dozens of flowers each as opposed to one or two or three!
Does anybody else grow this particular plant? What are your experiences with it?
This message was edited May 28, 2007 3:50 PM
This message was edited May 28, 2007 5:53 PM
Nicotiana 'Fragrant Cloud'
Ispahan - I have the 'fragrant cloud' for the first time after hearing so much about its scent...I have to say I LOVE it!! I purchased 2 from Glenn at Flower Scent Gardens and am thrilled. I agree regarding their growth - simply amazing. I love sitting in the evening between the 2 (huge) pots they're in with the old fashion purple petunias...the smell is a heavenly spicy scent. You described the scent of 3 different Nicotianas...what are the other 2 types you have?
I could be wrong but I was reading it that all the plants were seedlings of 'Fragrant Cloud' but there was individual difference in fragrance between some of the plants.
ooops, my bad...thank you ecrane3
Yes, they are all seedlings of 'Fragrant Cloud'.
I just had one start blooming and it smelled so much like a Brugmansia I was looking for one of them in bloom. I was shocked when my nose led me to the Nicotiana. I have several more that are getting ready to bloom. I will have to see if they have a different scent.
I had gotten seed from several people as mine didn't make it to seed last year. I would be willing to bet I have some variations in scent as well.
My plants last year were all very close togather so I didn't notice any differance in scent.
Caren
Since I can barely smell any of the Nicotiana I got from FSG, I'm wondering if it's me or the plant. I did get many of his other plants also. Perhaps when you have plenty, we could trade rooted cuttings?
Thanks,
Maggie
Maggie - are you checking the scent at night or during the day? I can't detect much of any scent during the day...it's not till evening that I can enjoy their fragrance.
For me, the fragrance doesn't start to become noticeable until about 9 or 10 at night and then continues until early morning. The blossoms wilt and hang like limp little scraps of tissue paper during the day and then begin to perk up, but do not yet release any scent, at about 4 in the afternoon. Do your plants follow a similar schedule, Chantell?
Caren, funny that you were expecting to find a brugmansia. Nicotiana, petunia and brugmansia all belong to the same family (Solanaceae) and I think all three have similar, yet different, scents.
I have noticed that 'Fragrant Cloud' is often listed as Nicotiana x sanderae, which is supposed to be a hybrid of Nicotiana alata and Nicotiana forgetiana (a very closely related species with small, scentless, colored flowers that tend to remain open during the day). Does anyone know the origins of 'Fragrant Cloud'? Is it really of hybrid origin, or is it simply a very robust selection of Nicotiana alata?
I have noticed it carries better on still hot humid nights.
Yes, thanks. It is more noticeable at night.
Maggie
I have been observing that these plants have a fascinating little technique to avoid damage in inclement weather. It appears that all of the stem tips lose their turgor for several inches down the stem whenever it is really, really windy and this prevents the normally rigid, thick, fleshy stems from being snapped off. The stems usually return to an upright position several hours after a storm has ended.
More and more of my plants are coming into flower and, yes, there is quite a bit of variation in scent among the individual plants, both in quality and intensity. Many of my plants are already approaching 3 ft. tall and I love their striking form which is bold and architectural and at the same time delicate and airy. And not to mention that the powerful, spicy fragrance is delicious and comforting and that the large white flowers practically seem to glow at night with an eerie luminescence.
I think this is indeed the best form of Nicotiana alata that I have grown or seen. I have noticed that they seem to respond favorably to heat, extra water and fertilizer. Shade does not seem to faze them at all.
This message was edited Jun 2, 2007 9:30 AM
Chantell, my fingers are still crossed that my cuttings will 'take'. They are in a jar of water outside and do have blooms, but two weeks later and no visible signs of roots starting yet. Anyway, after seeing this thread I ran out to smell them just now - wonderful! I've also had a hint of their fragrance during the daytime as well, but even the cuttings smell better at night.
I don't know if these plants send out shoots or not...I'll check mine for you, though. It's gotten HUGE - I actually need to put additional stakes in behind it as the one is not enough...LOL
I'm so glad this thread came up in the new threads on my DG homepage! I love nicotiana and am happy to hear about this 'Fragrant Cloud' cultivar. That's one I'll have to get.
Wrightie, you might want to pinch off the flowers to leaf nodes to encourage the cuttings to root. If the blooms are there, the plant wants to bring the bloom to seed - which takes energy away from any other function - like making roots. You might pinch the cuttings back so there are just a few leaves on the top, then put the cuttings in moistened perlite. Make a little tent out of a plastic bag (to keep moisture in) and put the cuttings in a shaded area. After a week or two, gently tug on the cuttings and see if they offer any resistance; that will tell you if roots are forming.
I've never propagated nicotiana from cuttings before, but that's what I do with impatiens, geraniums, and other herbacious annuals and tender perennials.
What wonderful instructions - I would've been clueless!!! I might just do that this fall so I'll have these for next year as well!!!
This page has good, detailed information of propagation from cuttings. She advocates a 50/50 mix of perlite and peat moss. Either works. http://gardengal.net/page43.html
Nicotiana self-seeds for us in zone 5, so it should for you, too. You may even have some just die back to the ground, but come right back up next year, especially if they're in a sheltered area or against a heat-gathering brick wall.
Hmmm...I have them in very large pots on my front porch which faces south - thinking maybe I'll put the pots in my basement come fall or against the front of my townhouse (front is brick) - wish I'd known they were self seeding...would've maybe found room for them directly in my flower bed - closest to the house. Definately going to check out the link you posted....thank you SO much!!!
You may well find them around the areas where you had your pots. You never know if they've blown a little ways. :) They come up starting in about June for us, so don't lose hope if you don't see them until then.
How great would that be?!!! Thanks again!!! I love these plants...and noticed tonight that apparently so do the Japanese Beetles....ugh!!
I bought 2 types of nicotiana from FSG. So far, I haven't noticed much of a scent from either...day or night. I'm hoping to collect seed to start more plants next year. Maybe with more plants, I'll experience the fragrance LOL.
zville - I'm so sorry...can't believe those aren't smelling great for you!! At night I can smell them as I approach the house. And they produce LOTS of seeds!!!
Hey, you're a local, zville123 -- hello from another Ohioan! There is a big contingent of Buckeyes on DG. Check out the Ohio River Valley forum and introduce yourself. :)
I love these as well. I will have seeds to share by fall as I did last year. They reseed for me every year as well. I plant these with my lavender and Regal Lilies. The scent floating in my bedroom window at night is heavenly. I love the large leaves and how well they do during the heat of the summer.
My neighbors tell me my freesias are unbelievably fragrant, and I can't smell them at all. With a nose the size of mine, it's not lack of equipment, so I must have been behind the door when they were handing that "gift" out. Zville, maybe you and I were standing behind the same door LOL!
So far this year, the plants that I've experienced the most fragrance from are peony, phlox, regal lilies, petunias, sweet peas, violets. I'm thinking perhaps it's the soil that might be effecting the fragrance of the nicotianas. We have heavy clay soil that I keep adding amendments to. Eventually, we're going to put in raised beds with heavily amended soil. Has anyone else noticed if the type and quality of your soil has an effect on fragrance from plants?
I don't now. The soil that I am growing mine in is very sandy and somewhat poor though I do amend. They really go nuts.
I have heavy clay, too, and my nicotiana is really fragrant---so are my 4-o-clocks.
I've not really noticed a difference based on soil condition. We have some nicotiana that's self-seeded over in an area that's pretty much unamended, and it smells the same as that which we planted and have had seed in the other beds.
Well, that shoots the theory of clay soil :~) Thanks for letting me know! Well, I'm going to save seeds from the 2 types of nicotiana I have plus let them reseed some. Maybe more plants will convey the aroma better for me LOL. I read somewhere once that someone had one of their nicotianas make it through the winter. Has anyone else experienced that?
Mine don't make it through the winter as they are annuals But they do reseed and come back in the spring. But I have had them stand up to some of the first frosts in fall.
They are actually tender perennials and some will make it through the winter, though dying back to the ground. I had one not only survive the winter, but start blooming in April a few years back. I kid you not. It was too cool not to document, so I took lots of pictures and had a thread going about it. See http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/410598/
GW - that is amazing!!! Which one do you have that has those pretty colored blooms? Mine are the white.
I wish I still had those! They all eventually reverted to white. They must have been hybrids. I'm thinking they were the 'sensation' mix, though. BOY did they smell wonderful, too. I really need to get them again!
That's wonderful! Looks like the bricks, dryer vent and eve of your house helped a lot! It's might be interesting to see what else you can get to overwinter there!
I have to disagree that Nicotiana is a tender perennial, though. Even in my mild climate and protected conditions (an eve which always protects tomatoes!), they do not always overwinter. Some survive a few frosts, but they do not continue to do well. The seedlings that come up the next spring are much healthier and vigorous. Do you know what plant you have? Perhaps it is (or crossed with) a species that is hardier than most species of Nicotiana.
So when people ask, I just say annual. That way there are pleasantly surprised when their flowers over achieve, instead of wondering what they did wrong.
Everyone loves an overachiever when it comes to plants! :)
Great pics! Maybe you would have luck overwintering a hardy gardenia in that spot! I love the smell of gardenias!
A few years back, we had an elephant ear survive the winter along the brick there, and it wasn't even by the vent. That was before we had the basement done and the EZ-Breathe installed. I have one of those little plastic-covered greenhouse shelves; I think I'll put it right in front of the vent and make a little X in the plastic to allow the heat into it. It'd be interesting to see what all I can grow there in the late winter/early spring, eh?
Can I ask all of you nicotiana growers, do you deadhead or cut them back at all? I have a nice patch, which self seeded from last year, but they are starting to not produce more flowers at the top of the stems. If I cut them off, will more shoots come up?
I have done them both ways. Yes, you can cut the stalks back. Why note cut some back and leave some, see what happens? :)