Before reading a certain garden blogger’s post I had never heard of a cotton plant with dark foliage (Gossypium herbaceum ‘Nigra’). Then this spring Nancy Ondra of Hayefield emailed me and asked if I would like to try some seeds. Me being the seed collecting addict I am I said of course! She also sent along some seeds for an ornamental corn called ‘Tiger Cub’ and a rice called ‘Red Dragon’. All of these plants were fantastic, interesting, and not yet in my garden. So far of the three types of seeds she sent the cotton has done the best. The rice requires more water than my garden can offer – in an ideal garden it really needs a naturally damp location. I do have a surviving rice plant but it isn’t as happy as I’d like it to be. The corn has pretty well too and is growing cobs which hopefully will provide more seed. But as I said the cotton has done great.
Here’s a look at the nearly black cotton foliage of ‘Nigra’:
The dark foliage of this gossypium would have look awesome planted enmass next to my ‘Powis Castle’ artemisia. Too bad I didn’t think of that! I’ll collect seed this year and give it a try for next year. I really like the combination of silver and dark foliage.
I planted it next to some of the ornamental corn which you can see in the bottom part of the picture above. The cotton is somewhere between 18-24 inches tall. The more sun it gets the better it grows. I planted a few seeds in shadier locations and they haven’t reached the height of this one yet. If you look real close you can see them beginning to flower.
The bud should open up soon into a beautiful pink-red flower which will eventually turn into the fluffy white seed pods where our clothing come from! One of the major crops in West Tennessee is cotton and every fall or winter when we visit relatives the fluffy remains of the cotton harvest are seen floating through the fields. Pretty soon we’ll be picking cotton! But for now we’ll just have to “wait one cotton pickin’ minute”…surely you didn’t think I could pass up that pun!
Baptisia Australis Seed Sowing Update
Several weeks ago I planted Baptisia australis seeds. It’s also known as false indigo. It took some time but with bottom heat from my seedling heat mat and continued patience several of the seedlings have sprouted. It’s always exciting to see new plants come alive…
Homemade Plant Tags for Hybridizing Plants
Last year I began to experiment with hybridizing. I’m hoping that the plants I cross together result in something really nice but it takes a few years to get something from the crosses. So far I’ve experimented with daylilies, echinacea, and irises. Hostas are on…
Monarch Caterpillar on Milkweed
On our land I’ve purposely allowed the milkweed to grow. I want our land to be a haven and waystation for the monarch butterflies as they migrate south. I’ve been watching all summer to see when they would be passing through and took a short…
My Garden’s Assassins (Assassin Bugs: A Beneficial Garden Insect)
Mother nature sends us all kinds of good things to help us with the bad, we just have to know where to look! Everyone knows about lady bugs and how beneficial they are too the garden but there are other little insects that can do…
Deer and Beetles
The gardening adventure is full of ups and downs. Of excitement and disappointments, of frustration and elation. It wouldn’t be exciting any other way I suppose but those low periods sure can be low. Take for instance the deer infultration this week. The vegetable garden…
Fall Color Project: It’s Not All About the Trees
Sometimes we trap ourselves into thinking one notion and stereotype things accordingly. We tend to think of fall color as a time of changing leaves, which it is, but often we leave out the perennials and shrubbery that provide us with color throughout the fall….
I've never seen these plants before. They are gorgeous. It would be great to have them in a person's garden.
Being from West Tn. I know about the "white" fields. "One cotton minute" is a favorite saying. lol
I also am not familiar with this plant…so beautiful. I really like the color of the foliage.
Out here in the desert west of Phoenix, we are surrounded by cotton fields. We are just starting to see the white seed heads. After the harvest, many of the rural roads around here will have fluffy, white cotton pieces floating around them.
That cotton is beautiful! If you have enough seeds, would you consider sharing with your loyal readers? 🙂