Tobacco Hungarian Seeds

Hungarian Tobacco is Nicotiana tabacum, a tall, broad-leaved member of the nightshade family (Solanaceae), offered here as planting seed for botanical and collector gardens. The seed is dust-fine and must be sown on the surface: it needs light to germinate and has too little reserve to push up through a covering of soil.

Also known as: common tobacco, cultivated tobacco, Java tobacco, tambaku (Hindi), tabaco (Spanish/Portuguese), tabac (French), Tabak (German), tütün (Turkish), dohány (Hungarian)

About this selection

The name comes from our supplier's list, where this lot is sold as Hungarian tobacco. The label does not name a registered cultivar, and this lot has not been tested by us, so the plant and sowing figures on this page are ranges documented for the species, not measurements of this seed.

Plant size and leaves

• Height: an upright plant about 0.9 to 3 m (3 to 10 ft) tall, with a thick, little-branched stem.
• Width: about 30 to 60 cm (1 to 2 ft).
• Leaves: simple, alternate and velvety with sticky hairs, reaching about 45 cm (18 in) long.
• Growth: rapid once plants are set out.
• Spacing: allow 30 to 90 cm (1 to 3 ft) per plant.

Flowers and seed

From summer into autumn the stem ends in a branched panicle of tubular, five-lobed flowers 2.5 to 7.5 cm (1 to 3 in) long, cream, pink or greenish white. Bees, moths and butterflies visit them. Pollinated flowers ripen into capsules packed with many minute seeds, so plants left standing can be kept for your own seed.

Growing

Scatter the seed thinly on a moist, firmed seed mix and leave it uncovered. Keep the surface evenly moist; watering from below, as commercial growers do with float trays, avoids washing the seed away.

• Light: required for germination, so do not bury the seed.
• Temperature: about 21 to 24 C (70 to 75 F) by day and 16 to 21 C (60 to 70 F) at night at the tray surface.
• Emergence: usually 5 to 10 days after sowing, with most seed up by about two weeks.
• Seedlings: after the four-leaf stage, nights can drop to 10 to 18 C (50 to 65 F).
• Site: full sun or part shade, with some afternoon shade in hot summers, in consistently moist, organically rich, well-drained soil.

Seedlings usually reach transplant size about 8 weeks after sowing in early spring, and in as little as 6 weeks later in the season. The plant does not survive temperatures below the mid-20s F (about -4 C), so in most gardens it is grown as an annual and set out once frost is over. Where winters stay above that, it can persist as a perennial.

Troubleshooting

• No seedlings: the seed was covered or pressed too deep. Sow again on the surface.
• Slow, patchy emergence: a steady, unchanging temperature signals to the seed that it is buried. Let nights run cooler than days.
• Seedlings collapsing or roots turning dark and slimy: damping-off and Pythium root rot in waterlogged, dirty trays. Start with clean trays and fresh mix.
• Disease in the garden: the species is susceptible to tobacco mosaic virus and southern bacterial wilt, so check plants regularly and remove any that fail.

FAQ

What conditions does Hungarian tobacco seed need to germinate?

Light and warmth. Sow on the surface of a moist seed mix without covering it, at about 21 to 24 C (70 to 75 F) by day, and let nights run a little cooler.

When should I sow it?

Sow indoors in early spring: seedlings usually reach transplant size about 8 weeks after sowing, and set plants out once frost is over. Later sowings can reach transplant size in as little as 6 weeks.

How tall does it grow?

Species ranges are about 0.9 to 3 m (3 to 10 ft) in height and 30 to 60 cm (1 to 2 ft) in width, with leaves up to about 45 cm (18 in) long. Actual size depends on soil, moisture and sun, and this lot has not been measured.