Cotton (Gossypium) - live plant

• A live, rooted plant
• Sold as an ornamental and botanical collector's plant
• Packaging suited to live plants

The cotton plant belongs to the Malvaceae, the family of mallow, hibiscus and okra, and this shows immediately in its flower: a large hibiscus-like corolla, cream to pale yellow when it opens, which turns pink and then purple within a day or two before dropping.

What follows is the real show. The capsule, called the cotton boll, swells for several weeks and then splits into four or five sections, revealing a mass of white fibres. These fibres are hairs that grow on the seeds: their biological role is dispersal by the wind.

Cotton is a heat-loving plant. In our climate, it is grown as an annual or in a pot, with as much sun and warmth as possible. In open ground north of the Loire, it generally does not complete its cycle.

Sow or plant in warmth, free-draining compost, regular watering during growth. Forming and opening the bolls requires a long, warm end of season: a greenhouse, a conservatory or a south-facing wall makes all the difference.

It cannot tolerate frost.

Will I really get cotton?
Yes, if the plant has enough warmth and time to bring its bolls to maturity. That is the tricky part at our latitudes, and it is where sheltered growing changes everything.

Why do the flowers change colour?
This is normal for cotton: the flower opens pale and turns pink as it ages, often within twenty-four to forty-eight hours.

Is it hardy?
No, not at all. Grow it as an annual, or overwinter it frost-free in a pot.

Does it need a large pot?
Yes, a generous one. Cotton roots deeply and stays stunted if it is cramped.

This plant is sold as an ornamental and botanical collector's plant. Also worth exploring: our rare plants.