Growth & Development of a Cotton Plant

Lifespan

• Cotton plant development has been altered by commercial growers. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) notes that while the plant grows wild naturally as a perennial -- a tree or shrub living as long as 10 years -- cotton farmers have cultivated the cotton plant to grow as an annual.

Height

• While the plant grows as tall as 32 feet in the wild, the domesticated version develops to only between 3 and 6 feet. The cotton plant begins to branch out, with small buds -- called "squares" -- forming along the extending branches, taking approximately three weeks to begin flowering.

Flowering

• The cells of the flower petal begin to expand as they await fertilization from pollen. Upon the completion of this process, the cotton boll -- the rounded sac full of seeds and cotton fiber -- begins to develop. The growth of a boll has three phases -- enlargement, filling and maturation, reports the University of Missouri Extension service.