This plant is used for the production of its leaves, which provide the tobacco which goes into cigarettes, cigars and other forms. It can also be used as an ornamental, with its dramatic height and delicate pink flowers
Latin Name
Nicotiana tabacum
Family
Solanaceae
Type of Plant
Annuals
Crops
Seasons
Summer
Specifications
Max Height: 6'
Max Spread: 3'
Uses
Sunlight Exposure
Full Sun
Toxicity
Do not ingest
Harmful to pets
Colors
Native Range
Cultivated
History
Washington wrote to George Augustine Washington regarding the planting of tobacco in 1789, saying, "Although a precise number of Tobacco Hills is, by my general directions, allotted to each Plantation yet my real intention is, that no more ground shall be appropriated to this Crop than what is either naturally very good (for which purpose small spots may be chosen) or which can be made strong by manure of some kind or another for my object is to labour for profit, and therefore to substitute quality instead of quantity there being (except in the article of manuring) no difference between attending a good Plant and an indifferent one—but in any event let the precise number of hills be ascertained that an estimate may be formed of their yield to the thousand."
Other Details
Pollinator
Grown by Washington
Sold at Mount Vernon
Planted at Mount Vernon
Hardiness Zones
Average annual extreme minimum temperature 1976-2005
Bartlett Tree Expert Company has been working with Mount Vernon Estate since 2011 providing expert arboricultural care and GPS mapping for the estate’s historic trees, as well as support from their research facility. Mount Vernon is proud to partner with Bartlett Tree Experts and appreciates their sponsorship of George Washington’s Mount Vernon Plant Finder App.
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