Nicotiana alata Vedado Rose Pink

Nicotiana alata Vedado Pink is an excellent plant for ornamenting sunny or semi-shaded areas of the garden. With a very natural appearance, this ornamental tobacco offers abundant and long-lasting flowering, in a lovely range of pink shades, with a nocturnal fragrance that charms both the gardener and night butterflies. Resistant to diseases, this variety is very easy to grow in a damp soil, rich in compost.

Nicotiana alata Vedado Rose Pink belongs to the Solanaceae family. Its ancestor is native to South America, with the species being widespread from southern Brazil, northern Argentina, to Paraguay and Uruguay. Not very hardy, -5°C (23°F), this perennial plant is grown as an annual for garden ornamentation. 'Vedado Pink' forms in one season a tuft composed of numerous branched and flowering stems reaching approximately 80 cm (32in) in height and spreading over 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12in) in width. The plant first forms a rosette of elongated, undulate basal leaves, measuring 10 to 25 cm (4 to 10in) in length, embracing (with two wings, hence its species name), sessile, and covered with glandular hairs that make them slightly sticky. Flowering begins in July-August and continues continuously until October, as long as there is no frost. The inflorescence is a racemose cyme, meaning branched in a loose cluster, bearing pendulous tubular flowers, trumpet-shaped, 5 to 6 cm (2in) long. The back of the corolla is covered with glandular hairs. The flowers change colour throughout the day, adopting a beautiful range of pink tones. Nicotiana alata is one of the most fragrant species in the genus. It emits honey-like, waxy, dry, warm, aromatic scents, which develop in the evening and at night. The fruit is a capsule containing numerous small seeds that can spontaneously reseed in light soil.

Rarely offered in catalogues, the 'Vedado Rose Pink' selection produces magnificent plants both in flowering pots and in slightly free-style beds, or in a cottage-style garden, or in a herb garden. They can be associated with Damask nigellas, whose feathery foliage contrasts well with their plump rosettes, with Buenos Aires verbenas, or with tall paniculate phlox. To fully enjoy their heady fragrance, they can be placed near a pathway but also on the terrace, in large pots.

Note: Attention, our young plug plants are professional products reserved for experienced gardeners: upon receipt, transplant and store them under cover (veranda, greenhouse, cold frame...) at a temperature above 14°C (57.2°F) for a few weeks before being planted outdoors once the risk of frost has definitively passed.