I would think it could grow there. Soil must be warm in the
spring for it to germinate. Many moons ago when I was a
small fellow my folks allways saved their seed.
Norm

Frances, I worked for a cotton seed company testing germination for several years. I do not remember any commercial cotton growers near Knoxville, but if you can grow Hibiscus, you can grow cotton as an ornamental. It is actually a tender perennial, so you might consider growing it in containers. It's really a pretty plant - the flowers open white and then turn pink the next day.

If you try to plant your seeds now, you probably won't have much luck. They frequently need a few months to "break dormancy". In the wild that's most likely the plant's natural defense mechanism to keep them from germinating too early only to be killed by cold weather conditions.

Cotton is needs consistently warm temperatures to germinate, so if you plan to plant it directly in the ground, I'd wait until late April or early May when you can be guaranteed not to have any more cold weather. Your best bet would be to start the seed in pots so you could move them inside if the night temperatures dip into the 50's.

Cotton seed is extremely susceptible to fungal contamination, so cotton seed manufacturers treat theirs with an anti-fungal mixture. Since your seed is still in the boll, your best bet would be to remove as much of the "lint" as possible from the seeds and soak them for ten to twenty minutes in a 10% bleach solution (1 part bleach + 9 parts water) to sterilize them. Don't forget to wash your hands really well before handling the seed and don't dry it on paper towels or newspaper or you'll undo your sterilization process. Just pour off the bleach solution and plant the seeds immediately in containers in sterile soil. Your seeds should germinate in three or four days and you should see sprouts in less than a week. They'll bloom in mid-summer and you should have bolls by fall.

Good luck!

Thanks so much for helping me. It will be fun to give it a try. I knew I'd get great info from someone here!!!

Thanks again,
Frances

My next door neighbor told stories of his mother growing cotton just outside of Blaine to refill their comforters. That would have been 60 years ago.
(Krikit knows how far Blaine is from her house.)

Hey Ann!!! - thanks for the info - and yes, I am a VERY near neighbor to Blaine. It's probably equal distance between my house and yours.