15
votes
Accepted
Should I trim off flower buds on basil?
If I get your question right, should you pinch the buds of the basil plant before they flower in order to maximize leaf production?
Answer yes. If you don't trim the buds off, then they will flower, ...
- 3,619
12
votes
Is it safe to hard prune my basil plant?
I would suggest a slightly different approach:
Make cuttings from the top(s), that way you will get smaller and compact plants (that you can then prune before they get long and leggy) and with a bit ...
- 16.8k
11
votes
A dark blight is eating my Basil. What to do?
That might well be slug or snail damage - given there's lots of leaf litter laying around your plant, you've created a perfect environment for slugs to hide beneath during the day, and then appear at ...
- 135k
9
votes
Accepted
My basil is "rotting", here's all the clues I have gathered
Looks like a heavy whitefly aphid infestation - they're usually underneath the leaves and suck the sap within, causing the leaf to shrivel and die. You can't treat with pesticide because it's an ...
- 135k
8
votes
Basil: Are these aphids, whiteflies or something else?
It's nice to see a post about potential infestation and being able to calm the poster:
These are adventitious root stubs, or in other words, tiny roots starting to form. There are a number of reasons ...
- 16.8k
7
votes
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How should I "free" these trapped sprouts?
Leave them be.
They will either pop open by themselves, or die.
If you try to help (well, when I used to try to help) the overall success of the operation tends to be less than just letting them be, ...
- 25.2k
7
votes
Should I try planting my plant in soil?
I've grown basil hydroponically using aquarium water for the nutrients and it looked a lot better than yours which needs a lot more sunlight. In fact most of the basil I see in the supermarket seems ...
- 23.4k
7
votes
Planting too many seeds in small pot
Your plants will have to compete with each other for light, and root space. Because they are so packed and crowded, none of the plants will grow optimal this way. If you just want basil cress, you can ...
- 13.2k
7
votes
Accepted
Is my basil plant dead
Major bummer. Your car got too hot, too much light. Over 85 degrees F the plants 'turn off'...above 90 and they start dying. Your basil is toast, literally.
Take those leaves, lay them out on a ...
- 40.5k
6
votes
How close to space sweet basil?
6" tall and droopy sounds like insufficient light...
Spacing depends on your intended use/harvest strategy, IME.
Last year I did mine 9"x9" (23cm) with intention to harvest them younger than my ...
- 25.2k
6
votes
Accepted
Why do people say not to overwater basil, when it grows better in standing water?
Many plants grow fine in water. That's the basis for hydroponics. The main methods are deep water culture, flood and drain, and thin film. They all have in common moving water to ensure that the ...
- 23.4k
6
votes
Accepted
Can I revive my basil that wasn't watered for a week?
"Worth it" is often personal taste. Of these plants (in those store-bought pots are many young plants, not one), the smaller ones with the large leaves on top will probably bounce back and grow a bit ...
- 16.8k
6
votes
Accepted
Why is my basil plant oozing brown sap?
It looks like a scale infestation. Unfortunately, Basil, being an edible plant, isn't that easy to treat because you can't use heavy duty insecticides, so its probably best to dip a cotton bud or ...
- 135k
6
votes
Can I use ladybug larvae to get rid of aphids?
The Planet Natural's website has good information about the problem. here is some information they have on the subject.
The common ladybug or lady beetle — every school kid’s favorite insect
— ...
- 337
5
votes
Should I prune a basil plant as it's growing?
If you see flowers starting to form, you then need to remove those otherwise the energy of the plant goes into making flowers and not leaves.
It's generally recommended that you want to make your ...
- 23.4k
5
votes
Accepted
Should I try planting my plant in soil?
Definitely the plant needs nutrients (soil or fertilizers). Note there are some liquid fertilizers that can be applied on leaves.
On the other hand, I don't know if such plant will survive on ...
- 14.7k
5
votes
Should I try planting my plant in soil?
Beautiful idea using this bulb. Where did you find this incandescent bulb? An antique store?? Grins. You need to know that water roots are not at all the same as soil roots. You could easily ...
- 40.5k
5
votes
Accepted
What are these tiny reddish brown insects on basil leaves?
Looks like a large number of spider mites. There are the whitish egg cases and webs but I have not seen red spider mites before.
If you want to harvest the basil you cannot use pesticides so 5 ml ...
- 60.5k
4
votes
Can I revive my basil that wasn't watered for a week?
Yes. It is very interesting to see a dry basilicum to improve within few minutes (so you see it in real time).
Basilicum is a plant who originates in dry places, so it will not die, and at first rain ...
- 14.7k
4
votes
Accepted
What to do with a slender, tall Basil plant? (how to make it "bushy"?)
Yes, remove the flowers, and remove that tiny apical tip with new leaves. You need far more light! In fact I'd cut that plant in half right down to new leaves AFTER you are able to get a true grow ...
- 40.5k
4
votes
Which basil has the strongest licorice flavor?
There are two varieties of basil said to have a licorice flavour - Thai basil (Ocimum basilicum thyrsiflorus) and Licorice Basil (O. basilicum 'licorice'). There's a comprehensive list of cultivars ...
- 135k
4
votes
Accepted
Is something wrong with my plants?
Rosemary looks over watered, you are correct that the roots may have some rot. They are great at being "left alone". If you are leaving them alone, sometimes the use of gardening soil instead or ...
- 1,215
4
votes
Pinching vs Pruning
It depends on the plant type. For example with bonsai it is recommended to pinch conifers (pines) instead of cutting them with scissors. The reason is that you can cut needles in half and they will ...
- 13.2k
4
votes
Basil cutting didn't survive after planting in pot
I'll take a guess that you were too rough with it when you potted it up, and broke off most of the roots. It certainly looks healthy enough as a cutting, but remember that the roots and especially the ...
- 11.5k
4
votes
Accepted
Is it safe to hard prune my basil plant?
It may be already too late or (just my opinion) not really important:
Too late:
From my experience, basil never (or very rarely) starts new sprouts if you cut branches down to the "dried wooden&...
- 238
4
votes
Accepted
Basil plant diagnosis
The basil plant is showing signs of switching from leaf production to flower and seed. It looks like a fairly mature specimen that has been pinched back a number of times to harvest tips and leaves, ...
- 21.2k
4
votes
Why does my basil have brown edges, yellowy spots, and split ends?
You might want to examine it closely with a magnifying glass to check for any infestation of insects or mites, but otherwise, the problems it has are probably cultural/environmental, partially from ...
- 135k
4
votes
Will rubbing alcohol make my basil inedible?
Isopropyl alcohol acts as a desiccant and melts the wax that is some insects bodies.
It also evaporates so very little remains. It is not absorbed by the plant and washing with water after you ...
- 60.5k
4
votes
What are these white things on my Basil Plant?
It does look like whitefly.
My experience with this insect is, it usually shows up when the plant is under stress. And while the plant is under stress it is tough to get rid of. The one that got me ...
- 738
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