Tobacco

Planted at Mount Vernon

Pioneer Farm

Hardiness Zones

Average annual extreme minimum temperature 1976-2005

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

Purchase

Seeds available to purchase from Mount Vernon

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Latin Name

Nicotiana tabacum

Family

Solanaceae

Type of Plant

Annuals

Crops

Seasons

Summer

Specifications

Max Height: 6'

Max Spread: 3'

Uses

Crop

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

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.

Bring Washington's Garden Home

Purchase our historic seeds, collected from plants grown at Mount Vernon and plant them in your own garden.