I like to use Nicotiana ‘Whisper Mix’ to anchor the back of some of my flowerbeds that don’t get as much sun. Nicotianas bloom happily in sun or part-shade. About 10 years ago I panicked when I couldn’t find ‘Whisper Mix’ anywhere for sale. That summer I tried ‘Marshmallow’ which grows about the same height as ‘Whisper’ (3 to 4 feet). I wasn’t impressed. Some of the plants didn’t send up flowers at all!
I forgot my previous history with ‘Marshmallow’ and tried the cultivar again this past summer.
That also means I conveniently forgot that the plants create a giant rosette of foliage that may sit for some time doing nothing.
It happened again this summer. In fact one plant I stuck next to our screen porch didn’t send up flowers until September. Between May and September it was just a giant “cabbage”.
However the plants that DID bloom were hummingbird magnets. Every evening 2 or 3 hummingbirds would visit our backyard, and the first plants they flew to were always ‘Marshmallow’.
The flowers are much smaller than ‘Whisper’ but there are a lot more of them.
Thankfully ‘Whisper Mix’ has been available again for the last several years. However because the hummingbirds were so taken with ‘Marshmallow’, I’m tempted to grow both cultivars next summer!