You may want to research this a bit more. Apparently because cotton is a crop in the South, the average gardener is not allowed to grow it for fear that his/her plants will attract a pest that, due to lack of proper controls, is allowed to prosper and affect the "real" crops. That is what I've heard and others have confirmed it when people ask about it from time to time.

Best bet is to check with your county agent or extension service.

By the way, as a plant, it looks a lot like okra. So you could plant okra instead. Leave some okra pods on the plant and they will dry out and look quite textural.

This was the kind of information I mentioned.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ornamental cotton

I had no idea it might be illegal to grow Cotton in a home garden, Thanks for the interesting info, Esh. Had contemplated growing a plant or two myself for amusement, until I read that more chemicals are used to grow cotton than any other crop...figured it must attract lots more pests than just the famed boll weevil. Actually, after all these decades of trying to eliminate the boll weevil, it must have mutated into a superbug of sorts. josh