Question
I have a friend in Canada who has never seen a cotton plant. She wants me to snip a cotton stalk with a pretty cotton boll or two and send it to her for use as a wall ornament. I think she plans on framing it like a painting and hanging it on the wall, as she lives on her own hobby farm and said she has a lot of rustic and antique things in her house. So it sounds interesting to me. Here in Mississippi most cotton is mature and has been defoliated and will be ready for picking in the next month or so. MY question is this: how to I prepare a cotton stalk with boll so it will last and retain it's natural beauty as well as withstand the rigors of shipment? Do I wait until the stalks are dried in the field before I make my selection, and then exactly what should I do to preserve it? I was thinking maybe spray it with some type of preservative or light shellac or varnish, but I have no idea. Maybe just pick it and let it dry well. Possibly also of consideration is the fact that it has to clear international customs and can not contain any microorganisms that could infect indigenous agriculture. Can you help please?

Answer
By and large, you want to simply hang the cutting upside down in a coll and dry (DRY) place and let it naturally dehydrate in order to best preserve it.  Success with vary with the amount of moisture already in the cutting, so take more cutting than you think you will need.  To ship them,use a deep box with plenty of packing peanut and give the branches lots of rooms to shift around and a cushioned barrier to protect them.  As to customs, I am unable to give you advice. Please contact your local government to access the parameters of shipping.