Cotton Levant Gossypium Herbaceum is a herbaceous, perennial shrub native to Africa and Arabia. Cotton Levant is easy to grow from seeds, and since this heat-loving perennial does not tolerate frost, Cotton can be grown as an annual in areas north of USDA Zone 9. Gossypium Herbaceum features persistent or semi-persistent foliage with hairy, palm-like, green leaves that are accented with red-purple petioles and blooms with showy, bright-yellow, hibiscus-like, rounded flowers.
Cotton blooms all summer and into fall producing the flowers which are followed by brownish, globular seed pods that open in maturity exposing the seeds embedded in flossy, white fibers. Cotton Levant is a very interesting, flowering shrub to grow in a garden, and Cotton can be grown as a container plant in cooler areas and moved indoors. Gossypium Herbaceum needs a lot of light and grows best in full sun and fertile, moist, but well-drained soil tolerating heat and long periods of drought.
PLANT PROFILE
Season: Annual/Perennial
Height: 30-60 Inches
Bloom Season: Spring/Summer/Fall
Environment: Sun/Partial Shade
Soil Type: Moist well-drained, pH 7.0
USDA Zones: 9-11 (As Perennial) All regions of North America (As Annual)
PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS
Sow Indoors: Winter/Spring (4-6 weeks before last frost)
Sow Outdoors: Spring
Seed Depth: 1/4 Inch
Germination Time: 7-14 Days
