With Nicotiana ‘Avalon Bright Pink’ you get a big display in a petite package. The plants only grow 7 to 10 inches tall, but they practically explode with clear, pink blooms.
The spectacle lasts for several weeks, but then comes the one caveat. The poor little plant practically poops itself out trying to please you and needs to be cut back before it will bloom again. That usually takes about 3 weeks in my garden. With taller nicotianas this isn’t as much of a problem because you can cut down individual stems as they finish flowering so the plants are in bloom all summer long. ‘Avalon Bright Pink’ stems are so tightly packed together that it’s just easier to give the plant a shave and wait for the second act.
‘Avalon Bright Pink’ is a 2001 AAS winner. I start my plants indoors from seed 9 weeks before sticking them in the garden. I’ve never had any disease problems with nicotianas, and the only pest that seems to enjoy them occasionally is aphids which are more of a nuisance than harmful.
Some annuals demand full sun for best performance, but ‘Avalon Bright Pink’ and most of the other nicotiana cultivars flourish in part-shade. The pink flowers look particularly charming with purples like ageratums and salvias.
