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!
Happy Thanksgiving!
I want to wish you and your family a wonderful time this Thanksgiving!
Propagating Blueberries through Cuttings – My First Attempt
Last week I acquired three blueberry bushes in a secret deal from my local big blue box store. OK it really wasn’t a secret since they were offering them for half off to anyone. But what they don’t know is that those three blueberries bushes…
Stone in the Winter Garden
This time of year the bones of my become very exposed. The deciduous leaves of most of my plants have fallen and blown away on the wind to reveal the stone and structures that lay underneath. It’s a good time to evaluate how the stone…
Miscanthis Sinensis Tassels Waving in the Wind
Though it is listed in the invasive plants list for Tennessee the very quality that makes Miscanthis sinensis so invasive makes it fun to have in the garden, the seeds! Ornamental grasses of all kinds add great fall color interest with their seed heads or…
Two Plums Up!
‘Bruce’ Plum This weekend I am proud to say that our edible landscaping situation has been improved by two plums! We planted two (hopefully delicious) plum trees along our sideyard. To get proper pollination you have to plant two varieties that bloom within the same…
Using Stone for Garden Borders
The other use for my pile of rock was for garden borders. I’m gradually edging all my garden beds with natural limestone rock. Limestone is readily available all over Tennessee which makes it either cheap or free! I’m happy with the look o limestone but…
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? 🙂