Description of varieties of scented smoking tobacco, planting and care in the open field
The cultivation of fragrant, smoking tobacco is widely practiced by gardeners. The plant is famous for its original aroma, varied color of inflorescences. The smell attracts bees to the garden. There are many varieties of this culture. It is a perennial bush, but in the middle latitudes it is cultivated as an annual. For the safe cultivation of tobacco, you should read the information below.
Description and features
Fragrant tobacco is a herbaceous, flowering plant, representative of the Solanaceae family. Bushes grow up to 0.9 meters high. Shoots are straight, leaf plates are large, flowers are small, star-shaped. There are glandular hairs on the surface. Inflorescences of various colors, depending on the type and variety: red, yellow, raspberry or pinkish. Pale flowers are more smelling. They open up with a diameter of 6-8 cm immediately after sunset.
Pollen falls in June, lasts until September. In the evening, the aroma of tobacco intensifies, it is similar to the smell of violets, sweetish. The plant has been cultivated since 1867. Tobacco easily tolerates the first autumn cold. It is widely used for garden decoration, flower arrangements are made with it.
Growing tobacco seedlings from seeds
For sowing tobacco, shallow containers are prepared. You should also take care of the potting mix. It should contain peat, humus and garden soil in a 1: 1: 1 ratio. Before sowing, so that the seeds swell, wrap them in a damp cloth for 2 days. They are carefully distributed over the surface of the ground, moistened by spraying. The container is covered with a film, removed to a warm place with an air temperature of 20 degrees Celsius.
The first seedlings will hatch in 1.5 weeks. When this happens, remove the shelter, and transfer the containers to a lighted windowsill. The surface of the substrate will need to be loosened regularly. When the seedlings have 3-4 leaves, they can be considered ready for picking.
Sowing dates
Scented tobacco seedlings should be prepared in mid-March and early April. Some summer residents have been carrying out the procedure since February 15, but this is possible in the South. You can plant seedlings in a permanent place in the garden from the end of May or in the beginning of June.
Picking
On average, the pick is carried out on the 20th day.30 minutes before the event, the tobacco is watered to soften the old soil. Remove the plants with an earthen clod, holding the leaves. Afterwards, carefully cut the rhizome by 1/3. Make a shallow hole in a new container. The depression should not be more than 5 mm from the growth point. Sprinkle seedlings with earth, lightly tamping it. Next, you will need moderate watering of the culture with settled water.
Fertilizers do not need to be applied in the next week, the seedlings should germinate in a new place without feeding. The plant experiences a shock when picking, the procedure must be treated responsibly. It is not worth moving a new container to darkened places. You should not wait until the seedlings are strongly hardened. Fragile specimens adapt faster to a new location.
After rooting of the ripped shoots, pinch off their tops. This will help form a new, lush bush.
Hardening
Seedlings can be taken outside 3 days after moving to new containers. For the first days, keep the young seedling outdoors for 2 hours. Further, increase the period by 1 hour. After 14 days, the plants are on the street all day. The air should be warmed up by at least 15 degrees Celsius.
Landing in open ground
It is necessary to transplant tobacco seedlings into open soil by transferring an earthen coma. They stop watering 3 days before transplanting. The site should be dug up in advance. If the soil is poor, add 1 bucket of humus and 3 buckets of compost 2 weeks before planting.
When transplanting, it is worth disinfecting the plant with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. It is diluted in a ratio of 1 ml to 1 liter of water. This will help prevent the development of rot, fungi on the root system.
Site selection
The plant is not demanding on growing conditions, but it is advisable to plant it in a lighted place, on the south side. You can plant a culture in partial shade, in a flower bed, in rockeries. The bush grows well on cultivated garden soil.
Soil requirements
The land should be fertile, since the culture does not grow on saline and heavy soils. There are no special requirements for neighbors, they can be any representatives. The same goes for predecessors.
Tobacco planting scheme
Having taken out the seedling material from the pot, it is placed in a wet hole, 0.5 liters of water is poured. A depression is made in the center, seedlings are placed there. Between individual bushes, maintain a distance of 30 cm. When it comes to tall bushes, the optimal distance is 80 cm. The rhizome is sprinkled with wet earth, crushing a new layer. After, pour dry soil. This will help trap moisture.
According to experienced gardeners, tobacco can withstand transplantation into open ground to a permanent place, even during pollen.
Care
Taking care of tobacco is simple, you just need to water it on time, loosen the soil, fertilize it, treat it against diseases and harmful beetles. The bushes are pruned periodically.
Watering
Tobacco belongs to moisture-loving crops. For the successful development of bushes, their flowering, irrigation is carried out 1-2 times a week. You should be guided by weather conditions. If drought is present, increase the number of irrigations. The ground must be constantly moist. It is advisable to irrigate the soil in the morning or evening.
Loosening and weeding
Loosening of the soil around the tobacco helps to remove weeds and oxygenate the soil. It is preferable to do the manipulation immediately after watering, this will allow you to pull out the weeds with roots. Dry soil will need to be weeded with a hoe. If there was wheatgrass on the plot, you need to dig it up and remove the rhizomes before planting. Loosening is carried out every time after watering the plant.
Top dressing
Tobacco does not need frequent weeding. Fertilizers are applied 2-3 times during the growing season. Use a standard dose of minerals for flowering plants or nitrophosphate.
The make-up stimulates abundant, lush flowering.
Diseases and harmful beetles
Fragrant tobacco is renowned for its high resistance to diseases and pests. It contains many phytoncides that scare away harmful beetles. If there is an invasion of aphids or other insects, the bushes are sprayed with insecticides. For diseases like powdery mildew, fungicides help.
After flowering
The plant does not require pruning, but wilted inflorescences are removed to maintain their decorative appearance. The procedure does not affect the abundance of pollen.
Types of tobacco
Below are 5 types of scented tobacco. Each of them differs in size and appearance. All varieties are grown in the same way.
Forest
The bush grows from 0.8 to 1.5 meters high. The flowers are white, fragrant, and the shoots are straight. The species was first bred in Brazil. It is advisable to use it for the purpose of growing on the back facade or curbs.
Langsdorf
The plant reaches 1.2 meters in height. Inflorescences are dark green, bell-shaped, smell good. In the wild, crops grow in Chile and Brazil.
Winged
The herbaceous bush is cultivated by gardeners in the form of an annual, its height is about 0.6 meters. The leaf plates are small, lanceolate. On the surface of the bush, there is a prolapse, which consists of glandular hairs. Flowers are finely visible, loose, cream or carmine shade. Their length is 75 mm, with a bend in diameter of 50 mm. Flowers bloom at night, but breeders have bred varieties of winged tobacco that open in the daytime, and dwarf bushes that do not need a garter.
Sander
The Sander tobacco cultivar is a hybrid that was bred by crossing winged tobacco and Forgeta in 1903. The plant reaches 60-100 cm high. It has large flowers, 7.5 cm in diameter, tubular, star-shaped, without aroma. They open only during the day, the corollas are collected in a loose inflorescence. The main color of the petals is reddish-carmine, but sometimes it is white. The leaves are large, oval, collected in a root rosette.
Mutabilis
The Mutabilis variety is famous for its high growth, which reaches 1 meter. Peduncle paniculate, with a mass of branches and flowers. The homeland of tobacco is South America. The bush blooms for 1 season, it is an annual. The leaves are dark green in color, the buds are like a closed gramophone.
Popular varieties
Below are the actual varieties of tobacco that are cultivated in the CIS countries. They take root without problems in the climate of northern, southern and middle latitudes.
Splash
The undersized bush reaches a height of 0.6 to 0.9 meters. Inflorescences are light lemon, long, petals hang down to the bottom.
Evening breeze
The tobacco variety grows up to 0.6 meters high. The flowers are red-crimson.
Red Davil
The bush is compact, grows up to 0.4 meters in height. Inflorescences do not close during the day, they are dark scarlet.
Crimson Rock
The plant reaches 0.45-0.6 meters in height. The buds are crimson red. The variety received a Fleuroselect award.
White Bedder
The bush grows up to 0.5 meters in height. Inflorescences are white, open during the day.
Lime Green
The tobacco reaches 0.75 meters in height. The flowers are greenish, the variety is widely used as a basic element in garden decor.
Domino Saman-Pink
The height of the bushes is small, 0.3 meters. The inflorescences are salmon-pinkish.
Sensation
The variety grows up to 60-80 cm high. Flowers of various tones.
Nicky
Niki's variety is dwarf, grows up to 30 cm high. The colors are white or crimson.
Havana
A series of tobacco is medium-sized, grows up to 60 cm. The flowers are fragrant, white, bluish, scarlet or purple in color.
Avalon
The color of the tobacco variety is different. The bush grows from 15 to 30 cm tall.
Perfume
Bushes reach up to 30 cm in height, leaves are rich green. Flowers can be of different colors.
Roll
The variety is undersized, grows up to 15-20 cm. The flowers are shaped like a corolla. The color is bright, crimson. The leaves are emerald.
Taxido Samed-Pink
The tobacco reaches 20 cm high, the leaves are dark green. Inflorescences are deep pinkish, sometimes light purple petals are found.
Taxido Lime
The bush grows to a maximum of 20 cm. The color of the inflorescences is deep yellow, like a lemon.
Use in garden design
Fragrant tobacco goes well with short, curly perennials located behind and behind. Clematis and Kampsis are widely planted next to the culture. If the varieties of tobacco are tall, it is better to place stunted annuals like ageratums, marigolds behind them. You can combine different varieties with regard to the shade range, focus on your taste preferences.
