Night Scented Tobacco Flower, Woodland Tobacco Nicotiana, Heirloom

Woodland Tobacco has a elegant history rooted in South American landscapes and 19th-century estates.

• Andean Origins: Native to the mountain woodland edges of Argentina and Bolivia, this wild tobacco species was brought to Europe in the late 1800s.
• The Moonlight Garden Movement: During the Victorian era, gardeners designed "moonlight gardens"—spaces filled with white-flowering, highly fragrant plants meant to be enjoyed in the cool evening hours. Woodland Tobacco became the crown jewel of these designs, prized for its ability to "glow" in the dark and release its perfume as the sun went down.

This plant brings dramatic structure and sensory delight to borders and cottage gardens.

• The Flowers: The plant produces clusters of long, slender, drooping trumpet-shaped flowers. The blossoms are a pure, brilliant white and hang gracefully like delicate tassels.
• The Fragrance: While beautiful by day, the magic happens at sunset. The flowers release a rich, sweet scent reminiscent of jasmine and vanilla, designed to attract night-flying pollinators like sphinx moths.
• The Foliage: Before it blooms, the plant forms a handsome rosette of massive, velvety, bright green leaves that give the garden a lush, tropical texture.

Woodland Tobacco is a tall, dramatic focal point. Because it reaches heights of 4 to 5 feet, it is best planted at the back of borders or in the center of island beds.

Garden Bed Coverage: One packet from Firefly Farm & Mercantile provides ample seed to plant a 20 square foot bed (roughly an 8' to 10' long by 2.5' wide garden bed) or to scatter throughout your perennial borders.

"Woodland Tobacco is the ultimate plant for evening relaxers. We love placing it near porches, patios, or bedroom windows where the night breeze can carry its sweet perfume inside. Standing at five feet tall with its crown of white trumpets, it adds a majestic, old-world elegance to the summer garden that modern bedding plants just can't match."

• Sowing: The seeds are exceptionally tiny. Start them indoors 6–8 weeks before your last frost, or broadcast them directly onto a prepared bed after the soil has warmed. Do not cover the seeds, as they require light to germinate.
• Location: While it thrives in full sun, its woodland heritage means it performs beautifully in partial shade, where its white flowers can brighten darker corners.
• Self-Seeding: If you allow the seed pods to dry on the plant, this heirloom will gently self-sow, returning to grace your garden year after year.
• Note: Like all ornamental tobaccos, all parts of this plant are toxic if ingested. Keep out of reach of curious pets and livestock.