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PunkRotten
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Is this Basil gonna die?

Hi,

I got 2 Basil plants in pots. And they both are not looking good. The leaves are always droopy, sometimes discolored, and some of it is decaying. I took a few pics, are they gonna die? I think I watered them too much. What should I do?


[img]https://i54.tinypic.com/29nxv68.jpg[/img]


[img]https://i53.tinypic.com/s0vpc5.jpg[/img]

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rainbowgardener
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That doesn't look to me like two basil plants, it looks like about seven. I think they are over-crowded. I'd separate them out into their own pots and quit overwatering. They might well make it; they don't look that bad. The bottom leaves tend to yellow after awhile anyway. Pinch off the tops so they bush out more.

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applestar
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They won't get all wilty as fast -- which I wonder might be why you are watering them too much -- if you give them a bit of relief from the most intense sun. I usually plant mine under the tomatoes -- not directly under but between and just a bit in front.

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PunkRotten
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What you see pictured I have in another pot too. I got these at Lowes and just replanted them as is. So a Basil plant should only have one main stem? Also could I cut a branch, leave it in some soaked paper towel and get roots and then replant that too?

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PunkRotten
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The stems that are all brown are they gonna recover?

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hendi_alex
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As far as your plants are concerned, I think that they are suffering from excess water. The plants like to dry out between waterings, and don't like to stay overly damp for too long. I combat the issue by working a good portion of perlite into the potting soil of potted plants.

Also I always thin plants to no more than one or two plants per pot as IMO they will grow more vigorously for a longer period of time if not over crowded. Many nurseries will allow 5-7 plants to germinate because they fill the pot very quickly and make it look like a very vigorous plant. I would separate and plant such plants in one's and twos as noted above. They may slow down a bit or suffer a little transplant shock, but usually do just fine. Otherwise I would snip all but two or three of the plants to the ground at harvest, in order to allow the remaining plants to fill out and mature into bigger plants.

Here are a couple of my plants that were started from seed in community pots with 6-7 seeds. They were divided very early. The first photo has two plants in a 3 gallon nursery pot and the second photo has a single plant in a 3 gallon nursery pot.

[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2440/5797663489_08de721511_o.jpg[/img]

[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2002/5797663813_9a87e66242_o.jpg[/img]
Last edited by hendi_alex on Sat Jun 04, 2011 8:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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digitS'
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I don't know why that 1st photo didn't come thru Alex. I will post Alex's 1st photo here of "two plants in a 3 gallon nursery pot."

[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2440/5797663489_08de721511_o.jpg[/img]

These pictures should be a lesson to us: basil plants can grow nicely and to good size when they have sufficient room.

Punk, I think your plants have [url=https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/ag/SustAg/fusariumbasil.html]Fusarium wilt (NCSU info, click)[/url] Yes, they may die but I've had plants like that which have lived quite a long time and were harvested. I didn't notice any unpleasant flavor to them but they were not dying at harvest.

Lettuce-leaf basil has been terrible for Fusarium wilt. There are resistant varieties and I have grown "Nufar" for a number of years. This year, I also have one called "Gecofure." (Where the heck do they come up with these names?! :roll: .) Anyway, I've never had Fusarium wilt in Nufar and it is just a real fine Genovese type.

Steve

erinduke
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Mine looked like this before I knew to cut back significantly on watering and also trim the buds before they bloom. After I started trimming it and basically stopped watering it, it grew from a 8" plant to 3 feet now and all the leaves are vibrant green.

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new_growth
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erinduke wrote:Mine looked like this before I knew to cut back significantly on watering and also trim the buds before they bloom.
My basil just bloomed... what is beneficial about trimming the buds? I've never heard of this, but I've also never seen flowers on a basil plant before. I was pretty confused when I saw buds forming, but I didn't investigate because I believed it was fine or at least a sign that the growing conditions were desirable.

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rainbowgardener
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All dicots are flowering plants and will flower if given the chance.

However, once your basil starts flowering and especially once those flowers start making seeds, the plant tends to put most of it's energy into making flowers/ seeds, not into making leaves. It will get a lot less bushy and make a lot less harvestable basil.

Clip the flower stalks off just above the previous leaf node and the stem will divide at that point, making the plant bushier, with more leaves.

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smaxey843
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this is exactly the problem I was having. plant just bought out of the store and into a coffee can. I also have followed rainbow's directions and thinned the plant out and I'll be updating my progress in that thread if you have time it may help you in addition to the information thats already been presented, I can understand keeping the answers quick if you've JUST answered the same question three days previously.



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