I have been asked to grow some of these plants from seed by a relative who has been having troubles finding potted/plug plants locally over the past few years.
I confess my complete ignorance of the type. I have never even seen one and recognised it as such.
As I have been already given two packets of seeds, meaning "I won't take 'no' for an answer" I have been doing some reading and I think I have everything straight about propagation, 'think' being the obvious word.

My only doubt is this: these plants will live hard and fast in some cubic containers with a side of about 12" so how tight should they be planted to achieve the best visual effect? I am thinking 2/3 indoors-started plants per container or seeding straight in loco and then be back and thin out to 3/4 plants in a couple of weeks. Too crowded? Sounds about right?

Thanks.

Which nicotiana are you growing?

Generic Nicotian x sanderae seeds. The packet just says "mixed colors".

How tall does the packet say the plants will be and how big are the containers? That would determine how many plants you need but your estimates seem OK. You may have to experiment a little.
I have grown different types and varieties before. The one thing about nicotiana is they stay very small for a while. They will stay small if you leave them in the small starter cells. They need to be transplanted into the larger, deeper pot first and then they take off. So what I usually do is start them inside. Once I can handle them, I transplant several of them into an 8" pot left over from the fall mums. At some point the leaves will enlarge and that's when I separate them.

LorettaNJ said:How tall does the packet say the plants will be and how big are the containers? That would determine how many plants you need but your estimates seem OK. You may have to experiment a little.
I have grown different types and varieties before. The one thing about nicotiana is they stay very small for a while. They will stay small if you leave them in the small starter cells. They need to be transplanted into the larger, deeper pot first and then they take off. So what I usually do is start them inside. Once I can handle them, I transplant several of them into an 8" pot left over from the fall mums. At some point the leaves will enlarge and that's when I separate them.

Given the smashing success I've had with seeding tomatoes inside over the past couple of years (a classic case of green thumb gone black), I've decided not to try my luck: I'll just seed the Nicotiana in situ in a couple of weeks at most (the weather is cold and rainy right now) and just thin them out as needed.
Thank for your kindness, I'll keep you posted... provided the ants don't make the seed disappear as soon as they are sown!

The nicotiana I grew went insane...


and self-seeded wildly. I had to use vinegar to eliminate them.

Nicotiana langsdorffii reseeds like crazy for me but not the bedding types. N sylvestris has too long a growing season to direct seed. I guess the only reason I haven't done the N alatas and N x sanderae types in place is they are too small to monitor at first and would dry up quickly. Those don't reseed much for me so far.

I've grown them before, can't remember which type of nicotiana.