How to Grow and Care for Tobacco plants

Tree tobacco (Nicotiana glauca) is a wild tobacco species native to South America. On other continents, tree tobacco is considered an invasive species. All parts of this plant are poisonous.

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) is a herbaceous annual plant that is used commercially to produce tobacco. Tobacco produces fragrant, funnel-shaped flowers that bloom in summer. This plant is considered a weed when it is found in gardens or among other crops. Bees are attracted to its fragrant smell. This species grows best in full sun, partial shade, and moist, rich soil.

Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana alata) is native to Central and South America. Unlike its more famous cousin, flowering tobacco is primarily used as a fragrant ornamental flower. The blooms can come in shades of red, pink, yellow, white, or lime green. Flowering tobacco should be kept away from other plants of the nightshade family due to the potential to transfer a viral infection.

Coyote tobacco (Nicotiana attenuata) is an annual herb that forms a rosette at the base and produces small white tubular flowers that bloom along a tall stem. The leaves contain high concentrations of nicotine, which serves as a defense against herbivores and insects. This plant has ceremonial value to Aboriginal peoples.

Aztec tobacco (Nicotiana rustica) is a very potent member of the tobacco family, likely native to South America. It has naturalized in the southeastern United States as a weed, and is cultivated in tropical and subtropical countries around the globe for use in pesticides, smoking, and snuff. This species is unusually high in nicotine, which is toxic in large amounts.