lottena
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Joined: Fri Aug 07, 2009 8:39 pm

When to cut Basil

I have a Basil plant that's huge now- the flowers bloomed and are shrivelling and the stems closest to the root are hard- should I do something about this?

I saw someone mention cuttings- should I cut the flower bits and see if they root?

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rainbowgardener
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Location: TN/GA 7b

You don't want to let it flower. As soon as any little flower buds appear, I pinch them out. That keeps the plant getting bigger and bushier and making more leaves, which is what you want. Once a basil plant flowers it puts its energy into the making seeds instead of leaves. And then it dies.

The bottom stems will tend to get a bit woody as they age, but as long as it keeps putting out new growth, that doesn't matter.

You can take cuttings from it to start new plants. Lots of people do that in the fall to have basil in pots indoors for the winter. You don't want "flower bits" for the cutting. You want to cut off the top part of a stem, take all the leaves off except the little ones developing at the tip. Stick it in a pot in moist potting soil. Keep it moist and protected (part shade) until it is rooted and starts growing.

lottena
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Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Aug 07, 2009 8:39 pm

thanks.

so now that it's past flowering, what should I do? still take those parts off and cut off the other parts for indoors?

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Gary350
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Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

If it is making flowers, trim it now or the plant will die. Pinch off all the tops with 2 leaves.



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