Dan's Papers - July 13, 2007 - The Garden At Rock Cottage by Lance Brilliantine

As visitors come to Rock Cottage, one of the plants they always ask about is one that has beautiful, large, lime-green leaves and a wonderful afternoon and evening fragrance. The plant, of course, is Nicotiana sylvestris, one of our favorites and a very popular plant for the annual garden in the Northeast.

Tobacco plants come in a wide range of sizes and colors, so they are highly adaptive and a little different than the typical annual plants. Nicotiana sylvestris, also known as the "woodland tobacco," is one of the largest varieties of flowering tobacco and can easily reach a height between three to six feet in a single season. South of North Carolina, the plant is a half-hardy perennial.

Nicotiana sylvestris is a member of the Solanaceae family of plants. This plant family contains a variety of herbs, shrubs, and trees. Overall, the family contains about 85 genera and 2,800 species. All plants in this family share some consistent features: the leaves are always alternate and simple, and the plant's leaves are typically poisonous. I would not recommend this plant for gardens where children may play unsupervised.

Included in the Solanaceae family is another popular plant that is seen in East End gardens during this time of year - the angel trumpet. This plant, with its enormous, downward-facing trumpet flowers has a similar fragrance to the woodland tobacco. Also included in this family of plants are the chili pepper, tomarillo, petunia and all of the nightshades.

The woodland tobacco is a stately plant and produces deep-throated tubular white flowers of about one inch in diameter and about three inches long. These blossoms are produced at the top of stalks above the leaves. The flowers themselves are short-lived but open continuously. The flowers seem to glow in the garden just before sunset. At this time of day, they also produce a mild fragrance that is slightly reminiscent of jasmine with a buttery overtone. Although the fragrance is not significant, it perfumes the air at dusk and is noticeable as one walks near the plants. For some reason, lightning bugs and a few types of moths seem very attracted to the flowers' fragrance and flock to the plants.

Nicotiana sylvestris is a strong self-seeding plant. Every year we notice that the seeds seem to disperse in a wide variety of locations, and simply replant those we want. A single investment in one plant will produce years of plants. The seeds, if gathered, also tend to germinate quite easily. At this time of year, however, because the process of seeding reduces flowering, deadheading the flowers until late August will produce a wealth of flowers through fall.

Because the plant leaves are poisonous, the woodland tobacco is generally pest free. Slugs, for example, will not eat the leaves, so the plant remains unscathed throughout the summer. Some reports of white fly and aphid infestation have been reported with this plant, but we have never seen this at Rock Cottage. Because the flowers tend to exude sticky nectar, it may attract these pests.

This seems a "must have" plant for every gardener on the East End. If you cannot find the plant - contact me at GardenLance@yahoo.com, and I will be happy to share this season's crop of seeds as they mature.

You can contact Lance Brilliantine with any questions or comments at GardenLance@yahoo.com.