Cotton – Nankeen (3.25″ pot)

Description

Cotton needs a long warm season, but I have had success growing it in a pot and bringing it inside if the weather turns too cold in early fall. It is a fun and downright delightful ornamental to grow and great for kids. The cotton can be removed from the pods and spun or the pods with the tufts of cotton are just so cool in arrangements….

This is Nankeen-colored cotton – a rich tan color.

I got these seeds from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange: 130 days. [Pre-1860. Seed and history supplied by John House III of the Mansfield State Commemorative Area, Mansfield, LA. Introduced 1997 by SESE.] A short-fiber, naturally brown cotton grown since the Civil War. The lint is a non-fading attractive dark copper color that becomes brighter as it is washed. Branches of the plant are longer and thinner and leaves more lobed than other cotton. Unlike modern hybrids, its blooming cycle is longer, it grows well in poor dry soil, it’s hardier and appears to have slightly better insect-resistance. Nankeen is planted as an ornamental in some parts of Louisiana.