Fragrant tobacco - growing a flower from seed

An ornamental perennial of the Solanaceae family with beautiful flowers and a delicate aroma is often grown in summer cottages. Despite the fact that the plant is native to the tropics, it is unpretentious and does not require special care. In addition, phytoncides emitted into the air help protect the garden from pests.

Brief characteristics of the plant

Fragrant tobacco feels great in the Middle Lane, but here this perennial is grown as an annual. It has a thin stem 0.8-1.2 m high. The root is powerful, pivotal, can go 2 m deep into the ground. Description of the plant:

• rich green rounded leaves are located along the stem. Basal are lanceolate;
• there are sticky hairs on the stem;
• flowers are tubular or resemble bells, stars. They are simple, collected in inflorescences;
• flower color options: white, pink, red, green, lilac.
• the fruit is a box with small seeds.

An elegant and unusual plant, fragrant tobacco will become the pride of any gardener

The homeland of tobacco is South America, where it is actively grown in Mexico, Chile, Argentina. The plant arrived in Europe with the expedition of H. Columbus, who was very interested in the habit of the aborigines to inhale dark smoke for relaxation. After such a procedure, the person felt as if under hypnosis, was pacified, but energetic. Gradually, through the labors of breeders, wild tobacco acquired various types and varieties, characterized by increased decorativeness.

Fragrant tobacco is called decorative tobacco for a reason, its appearance is very attractive

How tobacco grows

Ornamental tobacco, or winged tobacco, has been cultivated since 1867. It is undemanding to the soil, but due to its large leaves it needs free space and abundant irrigation.

This is how tobacco blooms: the period of flower appearance occurs in June, flowering is long, ends in September. Petal color options - red, crimson, yellow, white, pink.

For good flowering, it is enough for this plant to be in the sun for only 4 hours a day.

Popular species for growing on the site

Tobacco is a very attractive plant, represented by various species. Forest tobacco is a compact shrub up to 1.4 m high.This is how this variety looks like:

• long straight shoots;
• white flowers have a fragrant aroma;
• homeland - Brazil.

Snow-white winged tobacco can become the basic element of landscape composition

Due to the impressive size of the bush, it is used to decorate the background of landscape compositions. The variety also looks beautiful when decorating mixborders.

Langsdorf's tobacco is a plant more than a meter tall with dark green flowers emitting a delicate aroma. The native land of the bush is Chile and Brazil.

Winged tobacco is a herbaceous perennial, which is grown in summer cottages as an annual. The height of the shoots is 0.7 m, the leaves are lanceolate or elongated, the stems and leaves are covered with hairs.The flowers are tubular, up to 5 cm in diameter and about 7 cm long. The color is cream, carmine, white. They are collected in a panicle inflorescence.

Varieties of the Cana group are very popular in gardens, the height of the bushes does not exceed 0.5 m.Here are the most common ones:

• Red Davil. The rich red flowers will delight the eye of the grower even in the daytime;
• White Bedder. A small bush up to half a meter high is densely covered with snow-white stars that do not close under the rays of the sun;
• Evening Breeze. A stunningly beautiful variety with raspberry bells;
• Domino Saman-Pink. Bushes do not grow more than 30 cm, they have pale pink flowers.

Garden hybrid Sander appeared in 1903 as a result of crossing winged and Forget tobacco. The flowers are very large, do not smell. Color options: red, white. Numerous varieties derived from this hybrid can be grown both at home on a windowsill and in flower beds.

The Sensation series immediately fell in love with garden design fans. The height of the bushes is 0.5-0.8 m, the flowers smell strongly, the color is bright and rich: red, purple.

Growing conditions

How tobacco grows depends a lot on the right conditions. The plant as a whole is undemanding, but it needs certain conditions to be met. First of all, it is worth planting bushes in a bright place, flooded with the rays of the sun. Light partial shade is acceptable, but in this case the growth of the bushes will be slower.

Choosing the right place for planting is the key to successful cultivation.

You can take any fertile soil, the plant does not differ in exactingness to the quality of the soil. There is no need to fertilize the selected area with organic fertilizer before planting. However, it is recommended to feed very poor soil types with mineral complexes before planting.

Growing from seeds

To grow tobacco, the flowers of which will decorate the garden, you can use the seed method. Sowing is carried out in late February or early March in order to have time to transplant seedlings into open ground with the arrival of heat. The procedure is as follows:

1. Prepare the substrate in the container by mixing equal amounts of garden soil, humus and peat.
2. Place the seeds of fragrant tobacco in a gauze folded in several layers, carefully moisten and leave to swell. Sprouts should not be allowed to peck.
3. After 3 days, carefully spread the seeds over the surface of the soil, without covering them.
4. Spray plantings with a spray bottle and cover with plastic wrap to create a greenhouse effect.

When the sprouts come out of the ground, the film is removed, and the container itself is moved to a bright place.

You can grow tobacco from seeds at home

Seedling care and picking

To grow seedlings of fragrant decorative tobacco, special knowledge and skills are not required. The main thing is to prevent the temperature from dropping below 20 ° C, as well as to reduce the length of daylight hours. Water it every 2-3 days as the soil is added. After each irrigation, it is recommended to loosen the soil very carefully so that the roots of the seedlings receive oxygen.

The pick is started after the formation of two true leaves. The procedure is carried out as follows:

1. First, the soil should be watered abundantly.
2. Carefully remove the seedling together with the earthy clod.
3. Transfer to your own container or peat pot.The latter are very convenient, since when transplanting seedlings into open ground, the plant will not need to be removed from the container, and the pot itself will create the necessary nutrient medium.

Landing in open ground

The tobacco flower is undemanding to the ground and the site, however, it prefers sunny or slightly shaded areas. Plants are transplanted into open ground in the spring, after the risk of frost has passed. To make the ornamental plant feel comfortable, the distance between the bushes is at least 30 cm. Low-growing varieties are more spreading, so the distance between them is kept at 50 cm.

The sequence of actions when planting tobacco in open ground:

1. Prepare planting holes.
2. Pour a little superphosphate into each of them, mix with the soil.
3. Move the plant with an earthen lump from the container to the center of the hole, just stick the peat pot.
4. Sprinkle with soil, tamp.
5. Water abundantly.

Beautiful flowers of an ornamental plant will decorate any area

Organization of care

What is tobacco? This is, first of all, an unpretentious plant that can become a decoration of a garden plot or landscape composition, without requiring complex care.

Watering

The only difficulty in organizing care is responsible attitude to watering. The plant reacts very negatively to drought, so irrigate the soil sparingly, but carefully. Water the tobacco every day during the dry season and as needed during moderate drought.

Top dressing

Fertilizing the soil where wild tobacco or any of the ornamental varieties grows should be very careful. It is enough to carry out mineral fertilizing twice a season, this will prolong the flowering of the culture. The schedule is as follows:

• the first portion at budding;
• the second after blooming flowers.

Good care will allow you to count on vigorous flowering.

Removing flowers

Another secret that allows you to prolong the flowering of tobacco is the timely removal of manually faded buds. So the plant will not waste energy on them, but will focus on the formation of new peduncles. In addition, simple manipulation will increase the aesthetic appeal of the bush.

Resting care

The peculiarity of caring for the plant at this time is the removal of flower arrows, this will help improve the decorative effect of the bushes.

Preparing for winter

Despite its unpretentiousness, fragrant tobacco, the flowers of which exude a delicate aroma, is a guest from the southern continent, therefore, without preliminary preparation, it may not survive the harsh Russian winters. Preparation for wintering involves the following actions:

1. At the end of November, the bushes are carefully dug up and transferred to pots.
2. The containers themselves are brought into the house, where they will be on the windowsill until the beginning of the next spring season. It is important to water the plant on time, carefully loosen the soil, but you should not feed it.
3. Experts recommend pruning 2/3 of the length, this will help renew the shoots and stimulate their growth.

You can grow scented tobacco not only on the street, but also at home.

Potential pests and diseases

Many people know what tobacco is, even those who have nothing to do with a bad habit.When growing this plant in a summer cottage, you should figure out what diseases and pests can complicate the life of a florist. It is a fairly resistant plant, which is rarely more and is subject to pest attacks.

However, viral infections and rot are considered the most dangerous lesions. In particular, tobacco mosaic affects tobacco leaves, they curl, turn yellow, and gradually fall off. Rot causes damage to the root system of the plant, from which the bush gradually dies.

The most harmful pest is the moth caterpillars, they are able to completely destroy the foliage of the plant in just a week. When they appear, an insecticide treatment should be carried out immediately.

Colorado potato beetle is a formidable pest of plants, including tobacco

Another dangerous pest is the Colorado potato beetle. Since it also attacks potatoes, it is not recommended to grow tobacco bushes near a potato field. If there are few tobacco bushes in the garden area, and the beetle has spread, there is a risk that all plantings of a fragrant plant will be mercilessly eaten.

Decorative varieties of tobacco are modest splendor, an excellent decoration for a garden plot or vegetable garden. Common tobacco, relatively unpretentious in care, will delight the eye, and its fragrant flowers will improve mood. Growing a plant is an interesting and uncomplicated activity.