Basil... end of season?

[madonnaswimmer]

I have been growing basil from seed in containers for years now. Throughout the summer, I always pinch back the stems to produce more shoots, to make my basil bushier.

It seems my basil always hits a breaking point. All of a sudden, all of my basil plants begin to produce blossoms. I always pick the blossoms before they bloom and pinch back to produce 2 new shoots, but those end up producing blossoms as well. Before I know it, I'm in a race against the clock, harvesting more and more blossoms just trying to keep them from blooming (I had heard that once they bloom, the plant takes on a bitter taste).

[img]https://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a360/madonnaswimmer/Sep1077.jpg[/img]

At the same time, the leaves on the bottom begin to turn from green to yellow, from crisp to soft, and start to droop.

[img]https://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a360/madonnaswimmer/Sep1081.jpg[/img]

If I let these go too long, they will fall off the plant, and then I'm left sweeping up the dry, brittle leaves from the ground (good basil gone to waste!)

[img]https://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a360/madonnaswimmer/Sep1080.jpg[/img]

So I end up racing against the clock on the bottom of the plant as well, picking all of the leaves that start to turn yellow before they are entirely tasteless and/or fall to the ground.

In the end, I end up picking so many blossoms and so many yellowed leaves, that I feel like I'm losing more leaves than I am gaining. I start to wonder why I'm even bothering to water daily. This usually happens to my basil every year, but seems unusually early this year!

Am I doing something wrong? Or am I just at the end of the season? I am tempted to pull every plant up tomorrow (it sure would be nice to stop watering all of those plants!).

[PunkRotten]

Just keep pinching the flowers off while they are still young. But eventually the flowers would overwhelm you and the leaves will change structure. After this the basil is no good for eating. But you can save seeds if you want. In my area I can grow Basil almost year round. They go dormant mid November to late January. That is the only down time. So I start some in Spring and then I start more later so I can keep a supply going.

[Susan W]

OK, my 2c. The basils have been in the pots, now root bound bad. You don't have much warm weather left, so cut and enjoy! I had a couple of pots started Jan (inside) then out, got like yours about July-Aug. I up-potted to give them extra time. They are near history, but did great service.! My new ones come in about end-Sept, as they don't go below 40.
Hope this helps!

[beccababble]

So, it's pretty normal for the basil plan to get "naked" for a few months? My basil plant started from one of the $1.00 seed starter kits from Target, now it's about 8 inches high.

I'd been routinely scouring for new growth and pinching it off for a long time, then we got a ton of rain and the poor thing drowned.

[imafan26]

Basil is annual herb and completes its lifecycle within a year. The longest I get it to survive is about 10 months. Once it starts flowering it does get a little more bitter. When the stems get woodier they don't come back as well either.
A lot of people think basil is a perennial because the seeds drop and the basil grows again. I've heard a few people tell how the basil got 'mowed' but came back.

If you can still grow basil you are lucky. I can only get lemon basil to grow well now. I used to have sweet and Siam Queen basil, but downy mildew has taken hold. I'll have to wait until more resistant strains are developed.

https://www.longislandhort.cornell.edu/v ... _basil.htm