Cotton plant : Information, Planting and Its Uses

                      
                                     Cotton plant
Cotton plant is a shrub and is widely cultivated in over 90 countries for its fiber and secondly for seeds. This is basically perennial but now- a-days it is treated as an annual plant.The plants can grow to be about 6 to 20 meters high, but are kept much shorter in cultivation. Cotton leaves are broad, with anywhere from three to seven lobes on each leaf.Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, around the seeds of the cotton plants. Under natural conditions, the cotton bolls will increase the dispersal of the seeds.It prefers warm and humid climate. So it is very common in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Botanical name: Gossypium

Family : Malvaceae

Life cycle: Perennial

Plant height : 6-20 m

Leaf Colour: Green

Flower Colour: White, Yellow, Pink

Temperature: 16-35 °C

Light: Full sun/ half sun

Soil: Loamy, sandy

Climate : Tropical, subtropical

Advantage: Easy to grow

Planting

Cotton plant likes warm climate. The ideal temperature should be 15-35 °C.

Cotton can grow in almost all well drained soils sandy loam soils with enough clay, organic matter and a moderate concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus. The best yields are often achieved in loamy soils that are rich in calcium carbonate.
Cotton plants are grown from seeds. Seeds can be directly seeded into garden, or seeded indoors for transplanting later.

Space plants 12" 15" apart.These plants are heavy feeders. Mix plenty of compost and manure into your garden prior to planting. Add fertilizer high in potassium, on a regular basis.Keep the soil moist, not wet, during the growing season. Water deeply.Harvest cotton from the bolls when they break open.

Uses:

All parts of the cotton plant are useful. The most important is the fiber or lint, which is used in making cotton cloth. Linters – the short fuzz on the seed – provide cellulose for making plastics, explosives and other products.

Fibre
• Textiles and yarns for clothing, towels, bedding and other household items.
• Cordage (cords and ropes)
• Cord for car tyres
• Plastic reinforcing
• Stuffing inside pill bottles

Seed
• Plastics
• Explosives
• High quality paper products
• Batting for padding mattresses, furniture and automobile cushions
• Computer chip boards
• Flat-panel television screens

The cottonseed is crushed to separate its three products, namely oil, meal and hulls.
• Oil – refined oil is used in shortening, margarine, cooking oil, salad dressing and cosmetics. Less refined grades are used to manufacture soap, candles, detergents, artificial leather, oilcloth, and many other commodities.
• Meal – livestock, poultry and fish feed, and fertiliser.
• Hulls – fertiliser, fuel, packing.

Leave
• Ploughed under to enrich the soil.
• Fibre from stalks is used for pressed paper and cardboard.

Red Majic Peony: Description and Planting tips

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                                 Red Majic Peony
'Red Magic' peony is the kind of fragrant perennial, long lasting garden flower. The flowers are narrower shape and dark to deep cream at the center. The plant is the 28-36" tall and 24-36" wide.
 Red Magic peonies have bright cranberry-red, large (5-7") double blooms. Fragrant flowers with feathered, twisty petals make this peony a standout garden performer.Flowers have glossy green foliage.The plants are very easy to care.


Common Name : Garden Peony Red Magic, Double Peony

Botanical Name : Paeonia lactiflora Red Magic

Mature Height : 28-36" tall

Light Requirements : Full Sun

Flower Color : Red

Flower Size : 6-8" flowers

Foliage : Color Green

Soil Type : Loamy Soil, Well Draining

Advantages : Deer Resistant, Rabbit Resistant, Easy to Grow, Fragrant, Cut Flowers, Low Maintenance, Great for Mass Planting


Planting Steps:

Choose a site with well-drained soil and sunny place.

Dig a hole 12" wide and the length of the roots. Add any compost in the bottom of the hole. Plant the roots 1" to 2" below the soil level with the eyes (buds) pointing up. If planting more than one, plant 2-3 feet apart to allow enough space. Do not allow any air pockets, adding pressure to compact the soil.

Once planted, gently give water around the plant. Add a light mulch or chopped leaves to reduce weeds and to regulate soil temperature and moisture. Water every day for 5 days in the morning or evening, unless it rains or there is lots of moisture. Be sure not to over water.

Difference between Annual, Perennial, Biennial

Annuals:

Plants that perform their entire life cycle from seed to flower and to seed within a single growing season. All the roots, stems and leaves of the plant die in annually. End of the cycle after annual plants produce mature seeds, they die, having exhausted themselves from sprouting, growing foliage and flowers, and finally producing viable seed in just one growing season. The mother plant dies, the plant may have left hundreds to thousands, of seeds to carry on her legacy. For annual plants, one generation per year is the norm, so they have a life cycle of one growing season. For e.g Dianthus, poppy, zinnia, cosmos, are annual .

Biennials: 

Biennials are a unique group of plants that only produce leaves the first year and then flower, go to seed and die the second. Generally, the seed is started between May and June and plants are set out in late August to early September.Biennial plants complete their life cycle over two growing seasons. The first season they grow only foliage, commonly a low-growing rosette of leaves. The second growing season they form flowers and produce seeds; then, the mother plant dies. Common biennial flowers include foxgloves and Canterbury bells. But did you know that cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and celery are also biennials? We usually harvest them in their first season of vegetative growth, so we never actually see the flowers.

Perennials: 

Perennials, on the other hand, live for three or more growing seasons. They can be planted from bulb or seed – often bulbs must be planted in the fall to produce spring-blooming plants.You can purchase young plants at a nursery to plant in the spring. Perennials generally have shorter blooming periods than annuals, so gardeners often pair them with perennials that bloom at other times to maintain constant colour from spring to autumn.

First season growth results in a small rosette of leaves near the soil surface. During the second season's growth stem elongation, flowering and seed formation occur followed by the entire plant's death.It grows from seeds and bulb, Perennial plants continue to grow and flower for more than two years—and many will live for decades.

As with annuals and biennials, perennials produce flowers that, if successfully pollinated, form seeds. The difference is that the mother plant doesn’t die after producing seed. If we define a life cycle as the time it takes a plant to go from seed to seed, you can see that perennials’ life cycles can vary widely. For many common perennials, completing a life cycle usually takes from two to perhaps five years or more, For example, if you plant a cone-flower seed, you’ll get only foliage the first few years, with flowers and seed coming in subsequent years. If the first seed is formed the third season, then we would say the plant has a three-year life cycle, from seed to seed.

The word perennial is commonly used to describe long-lived herbaceous plants—those with green, non-woody stems. In temperate regions, most perennials die back to the ground in the winter, then sprout from the roots or crowns in the spring. Woody plants like shrubs and trees are also perennials, in that they grow for many years. However, in common usage, a distinction is made between woody and non-woody perennials. The word perennial is reserved for herbaceous, non-woody plants. Woody plants whose above ground parts persist through the winter are categorized as shrubs, trees, or woody vines.

Rose, Hibiscus