Published by Brian Wagner on 11/11/25 in “Growing Flowers from Seed.”
Once used by women in medieval times to dilate their pupils, Atropa bella-donna (commonly called deadly nightshade) is an herbaceous perennial native to Europe and the Caucasus region. Its flowers and glossy black berries are beautiful but deadly – all parts of the plant are very poisonous, to both humans and animals.
In its native geography, Deadly Nightshade thrives in the dappled light of the forest edge – and even persists under the forest canopy if sufficient nutrition and moisture is available. As a member of the Solanaceae family, it is also hardy to Zone 5.
It is called ‘bella donna’ because this means ‘beautiful woman’ in Latin, so named because women would dab their eyes with it – and which would cause their eyes to dilate, looking large (like an Anime character).
Growing from Seed
Care should be given when handling the seeds: even touching them can cause skin irritation. Certainly care should be given to not spill seeds if children or pets are around. Use gloves when handling the seeds, and after you’re finished touching them wash your hands with soap.
Seeds are known to have a non-deep physiological dormancy, which means that seeds require either cold stratification or after-ripening before growing. To grow from seed, cold stratification is necessary if the seeds are fresh – around 2 months at 4C (40F). If the seeds have been kept in dry storage for 6 months or longer, you can skip cold stratification.
Germination can be a bit finnicky, but here’s the trick. Daytime temperatures should be quite warm, around 30C (~90F) – but night temperatures need to be cooler, around 10C (50F). When day and night temperatures are different they are referred to as alternating temperatures. For this particular species, germination is much more difficult without them – i.e., if you were to keep the temperature at 30C all day and night, the seeds would likely not germinate. Also, seeds should be surface sown, as light is required for germination. Seeds should germinate in about 3 days at this warm temperature, but if using a slightly cooler temperature they will take 7-10 days.
References
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Ruminska A, Suchorska K, Weglarz Z. Effect of gibberellic acid on seeds germination of some vegetable and medicinal plants. InI International Symposium on Spices and Medicinal plants 73 1977 Jul 31 (pp. 131-136).
Sievers AF. The Germination of Belladonna Seed. Am. Jour. Pharm. 1914;86:483-505.
Suchorska K, Ruminska A. THE INFLUENCE OF GA3 PRE-SOWING SEED TREATMENT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF PLANTS AND DRUG VALUE OF DATURA INNOXIA MILL. AND ATROPA BELLADONNA L. InII International Symposium on Spices and medicinal Plants 96 1979 Jul 16 (pp. 221-226).
Yurukova Grancharova P, Yankova Tsvetkova E, Baldjiev G, Cantos M. Reproductive biology of Atropa belladonna: embryological features, pollen and seed viability. Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Phytologia Balcanica. 2011; 17(1): 101-112.