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What are the best conditions for basil to grow? I live in the UK and it never seems to last that long. Recently I've been putting the plants in the shade and drenching them in water, which seems to be working so far.

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6 Answers

up vote 31 down vote accepted

There is one magic tip to prolonging the life of a basil plant: Pinch the flowers as soon as they appear!

Plants such as basil basically just grow till they flower and then stop. As far as the plant is concerned, it has crossed the finish line and there's nothing left for it to do. So when you keep taking away leaves for your culinary needs, you're weakening the plant.

On the other hand, by pinching the flowers, what you're doing is effectively pushing the finish line forward, so the plant still runs towards it. So you'll get new growth every time you pinch them off and your plants will be lush and last longer.

Here is a nice illustration from this site that shows where to trim the flowers to encourage growth. The article is a good read too!

enter image description here

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up vote 19 down vote

Additional to the other answers, basil famously doesn't like to be damp overnight. Water mornings, not evenings.

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2  
ooh thanks for this this. I always water everything at night, will have to start finding time to water my herbs in the mornings. – wax eagle♦ Jun 9 '11 at 12:38
A mistake I'd been making. Thanks! – Lisa Jul 21 '11 at 7:36
I believe that it's best to water most all plants in the morning rather than night. Watering at night makes them wet all night, which is promotes disease. This goes for grass, vegetables, etc. I personally like using a timer to water very early in the morning. – Marty Fried Apr 1 '12 at 5:19
up vote 12 down vote

I am attempting to grow Basil for the first time also, but mine seem to be doing pretty well. From what I found basically they needed a to be planted in soil that will drain well. In a quick google search I found this site that added a few other things:

  • will not survive indoors
  • susceptible to cold and frost, and to drastic temperature change
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I've also read that temps below 50°F can damage the plant -- it may not recover. – bstpierre Jun 8 '11 at 19:57
2  
I've got basil indoors and it is surviving if not thriving. The main problem seems to be that my pot doesn't drain well, not that the plant is indoors. – Jon Ericson Jun 8 '11 at 22:08
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My indoor basil is doing really well because it's at the eastern window sill above kitchen sink and we don't draw a blind on the window except midsummer so gets loads of sun. – Lisa Jul 21 '11 at 7:37
Plant may not do well in soil indoors, but to say it won't survive isn't necessarily true. Example: basil can easily spend it's whole life indoors under growth lights in a hydroponic setup. – WienerDog Feb 17 '12 at 14:52
up vote 11 down vote

Basil, and herbs in general, do not need to be fertilized. Consider that basil grew well in Mediterranean geographies in the crags of rocks. So don't overwater, fertilize, or put it anywhere but in full sun.

Also, @yoda is 100% right, you have to keep on top of pinching the flowers off. But as a rule of thumb, if it has been a while, never remove more than 1/3 of the foilage at any one time.

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up vote 9 down vote

In the past it has grown almost like a weed in our pots on our deck here in North Texas. Admittedly we deliberately help it to re-seed itself: we grow it as an annual and winter frosts kill it. The location is hot (often 100F+) and full sun in the afternoon, but they do take quite a bit of water. So perhaps shade is the wrong thing?

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up vote 0 down vote

Basil is a great companion plant. Have a search for 'basil' on this list of companion plants to see what's good to plant nearby.

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