Nicotiana is better known as tobacco. An excellent choice for a moon garden, Nicotiana’s blooms are in their finest glory in the evening with a strange luminescence and a pleasing scent. There are many hybrids that will stay open all day, but they do not have as pleasing a scent. Nicotiana is a tropical perennial, but it is grown as an annual in northern zones.
N. alata A lovely plant, about three feet tall, with many 1 inch, star-shaped, tube-like flowers that bloom from midsummer to autumn. Although it can reach up to four feet in mild areas, it is compact enough for small gardens. There are many different colored cultivars available ranging from lime green to red. This cultivar is often called Jasmine Tobacco. It is very fragrant, especially at dusk.
N. sylvestris Is considerably taller reaching up to six feet in tropical areas with very long, white, tube like flowers that appear in a cluster atop a stalk. Its scent is more intense than N. alata and its foliage is impressive even before the springtime flowers open.
N. tabacum Is taller still with fragrant, star-shaped flowers, white to purple or red, that attract moths at night. This is the species grown commercially for the tobacco industry. It is also known as cultivated tobacco or Virginia tobacco.
N. rustica about 3 feet tall with terminal clusters of yellow flowers and wide oval leaves.