The cotton tree whose fiber it provides well-known Egyptian cotton

Gossypium barbadense , the cotton plant, is a fast-growing and short-lived shrub or small tree. The yellow flowers are followed by capsules with soft, white hairs attached to the seeds. This is the source of the famous extra-long staple (ELS) cotton!

Thousands of years of cultivation have dramatically changed the fibers in cotton plants. Wild cotton has very little fiber, so little that it is barely visible. Refined cotton has significantly more fiber emanating from each seed.

Botanical description

Gossypium barbadense is originally native to the Andes of South America and is now cultivated worldwide for its high-quality cotton. The earliest known evidence of human use of G. barbadense has been found along the coast of present-day Ecuador and Peru.

The cotton tree is a member of the Malvaceae (mallow) family and related to hibiscus and other ornamental plants in the same family.

The purpose of the fibers for wild plants is unknown, but in domesticated forms, the fibers have been dramatically lengthened through breeding to enable the highest quality textile production.

Care

Gossypium barbadense thrives best in full sun and warm climates. It is therefore ideal as a potted plant indoors. Place the cotton plant in a sunny location where it receives at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily. If you do not have a sunny location, you should use plant lighting.

Water regularly and keep the soil evenly moist throughout the growing season. The plant needs good drainage and cannot tolerate constantly soggy soil.

Use well-drained, nutrient-rich soil. We grow them in our peat-free soil. Cotton plants are relatively demanding when it comes to nutrition and benefit from regular fertilization during the growing season.

The plant is grown as an annual in colder climates or as a perennial in warmer regions, i.e. indoors. It grows quickly and can flower and set fruit in the first year under the right conditions.

Temperatures above 15°C are necessary for good growth. In Sweden it is best grown in a pot that can be moved indoors over the winter or as an annual summer plant in a greenhouse.