Why no flowers on my Nicotiana sylvestris?

Hi Sid. Do they get enough sun? My Nicotiana (although not Sylvestris) were brilliant because they had about 9 hours of sun a day. I bought them from plugs not seed though. When did you sow them and how long did it take to get to this size?

Hi Muddy - just took this photo this afternoon. The seedlings were quite slow to develop - sowed them early spring - but they got a real growth spurt on them eventually. I would think they did get enough sun, but I haven't grown them before, so not sure. They do get a good amount of sun where they are....wouldn't consider it shady as such, but it does get a bit of shade at certain times of day from an apple tree.

Hi Sid,
I used to grow these and quite often they didn't do anything in the first year, but in the second year they were spectacular! I found sylvestris did best in shade. They look quite mystical at dusk and the scent is divine. Hope you can give them another chance and that they perform well for you!

But aren't they not hardy and therefore require winter protection.
They always flower first year at nursery. but they are started off mid feb from seed in heated greenhouse and so have atleast a months+ advantage!

Pennyfarthing - that's very interesting...I thought they were annuals..? Did you leave yours in the ground all winter? Do I need to lift mine and can I overwinter them in an unheated greenhouse?

Nicky - my greenhouse is unheated and I think I started mine in March in a propagator - they were slow to germinate and I wonder if they've just not had enough time. But that said, they had a growth spurt but seem to have stalled about a month ago.....

Mine didn't even germinate. Don't know what I did wrong

Sorry to hear that Cestina...my germinated quite sporadically - I just pricked them out one at a time and potted them up.

I've just looked this plant up in a book and, sure enough, it does say they can be overwintered outdoors where the temperature only occasionnally falls to -5 degrees and they resprout from the rootstock in the spring. The book advises a deep dry mulch to protect them. No probs! lol

I'm glad you found that out Sid. They might be sold as annuals but I've always left them in for a couple of years. Some might not survive but many do, I find. I usually grow them in shady, sheltered corners.

Thanks Penny - to look at them you'd certainly think they were annuals. They wouldn't have survived last winter here - very hard - but hopefully this winter will be kinder!