Jason S. Anderson Look no farther than Nicotiana if you want fragrant blooms hummingbirds love. Often referred to as flowering tobacco or blossoming jasmine, this lovely plant comes to life at night when the blossoms open more totally.
Hummingbirds are drawn to tubular or bell-shaped flowers by their copious nectar. Growing for their exquisite blooms rather than the plant that generates smoking tobacco, these plants are related to that one.
Red, pink, and white blooming from June to September, these blossoms get even more fragrant as the sun drops. For a moon garden or planting beneath a bedroom window, this makes them ideal.
The smaller types also thrive in pots on the porch or patio where they attract hummingbirds and butterflies right up.
Over 75 types of Nicotiana abound, all aromatic and all quite beautiful in the environment. Still, the mid-size Nicotiana alata and its hybrids are a superb choice in an ordinary garden.
Perfect for the middle or rear of the garden border, they grow from two to five feet tall.
Why do hummingbirds find flowering tobacco appealing?
To survive, hummingbirds have to locate and eat nectar. Ninety percent of a hummingbird’s diet is that tasty stuff. Finding plants whose flowers are tubular makes this continuous chore of feeding considerably easier.
The bird then extends its lengthy tongue into the bloom to seize the most nectar. One of the only animals able to access their nectar are hummingbirds as flowering tobacco has long, trumpet-shaped blooms deeper than other plants.
Every hummingbird prefers a different hue of flower. Audubon claims that hummingbirds are more drawn to red or orange flowers as they are the most easily seen among the vegetation of a garden.
Still, they will eat from any color bloom if it has a high nectar concentration and tube-shaped blooms. Choose a Nicotiana kind with brighter-colored blossoms if you wish to attract the most of these birds into your yard.
How To Grow Flowering Tobacco
If you give Nicotiana what it requires to flourish, you will have an easy plant. Though most gardeners plant this as an annual, officially a perennial in tropical environments.
Planting inside two to four weeks before the last hard freeze will readily grow it from seed. After all possibility of frost has gone, you may also straight sow seeds in the garden.
Remember that, should you be cultivating blooming tobacco, this plant is poisonous for consumption. Thus, make sure household dogs avoid chewing on small children around the plants.
Though cultivated in full sun, flowering tobacco also performs well in partial shade—especially in hotter climates. It enjoys regular fertilizer to bloom at its best and good, rich soil.
As this plant cannot withstand drought, keep it wet. The poisonous character of this plant causes most pests to leave it alone. Still, the hummingbird moth prefers to deposit her eggs on this plant.
These tomato hornworm caterpillars may do major harm in a little period once born. Should you spot these pests, quickly hand-pick them or spray them with an organic insecticide designed for caterpillars.
