Nicotiana

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

, Whitefly

Whitefly

Aleyrodidae

A puff of white when you brush the leaf, and stickiness underneath.

, Thrips

Thrips

Thysanoptera

Silvery streaking with black specks — the specks are how you tell them from mites.

.

Attract Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Lacewings

Lacewings

Chrysopidae

Golden-eyed adults that mostly drink; larvae that hunt like small alligators.

, Ladybugs

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae

The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

, Minute pirate bugs

Minute pirate bugs

Anthocoridae

Two to three millimetres, and both stages hunt — thrips and spider mites, thirty a day.

to keep them in check — plant French MarigoldGreat, African MarigoldGreat and LungwortGreat nearby.

Growing from seed

Start Nicotiana indoors about 8 weeks before your last frost, keeping seeds in warm soil (around 20–25 °C). Seeds usually come up in around 10 days. Move seedlings out once the danger of frost has passed, in partial sun, spaced about 30 cm apart. Expect the first blooms in roughly 70 days.

Keep track of the seeds you own.

Companion Planting

• 
  French Marigold
  

  French MarigoldGreat pair

  • ❧French Marigold attracts Hoverflies and Lacewings and more, which prey on the Aphids and Whitefly and more that attack Nicotiana
  • ❧French Marigold suppresses pests that trouble Nicotiana
  • ❧French Marigold acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Nicotiana
• 
  Candytuft
  

  CandytuftGreat pair

  • ❧Candytuft attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Whitefly and more that attack Nicotiana
  • ❧Nicotiana draws Butterflies that improve pollination for both
  • ❧Candytuft acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Nicotiana
• 
  Clover
  

  CloverGreat pair

  • ❧Clover fixes nitrogen in the soil that Nicotiana feeds on
  • ❧Nicotiana draws Butterflies that improve pollination for both
  • ❧Clover acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Nicotiana

How to grow Nicotiana

1. Sow8 weeks before frost
2. Germinates10 days
3. Space30 cm apart
4. GrowPartial sun
5. Harvest~70 days

Water: Medium · Height: 100 cm · Soil: Well-draining, fertile