Hi everyone! Im just getting in to gardening and I have a lot of questions! Right now I'm worried about my basil!
a while back a bought one of the seedlings from the grocery store. There was more than one sprout in the pot and I managed to keep one alive. However I'm afraid I didn't treat him right! the leaves are tiny. Its very branchy and there are new flowers everyday! What did I do? can I fix it? how do I avoid it with other seedlings?
Basil are short lived.
Once they have set seed, the parent plant considers the job done, and dies.
To keep them living and producing more leaves you need to keep pinching off the flowers that try to form before they get too big, and pinch a few of the tallest stems to encourage them to branch.
Even now, you could try removing all the flowering stems down into the leaves, see if it will sprout new growth lower down. It sure could.
Other than that, bright light (full sun in the milder seasons) or a grow light, if this is a north (dim) window.
Here is a copy of your picture.
The circle shows some leaves with flowering stems. Trim lower down than these.
The arrows show some good places to trim.
I would also try a small amount of fertilizer that is high in nitrogen, see if that will encourage more leaf growth.
Hi Izimm13, I bought a Bonnie basil plant two years ago, and after it went to seed I saved some and winter sowed them and I had plants the following year.So I keep saving seeds from my plants.You should try saving some and make your own plants.
Diana has good advice. Keep in mind that basil and other "annual" plants are not reliable. I have had years when I had the neighbors praising my amazing basil plants and years when I couldn't get a good basil plant no matter what I tried. Sometimes it's the plants, sometimes the weather, sometimes maybe I overwater or underwater. Just keep trying and you're sure to have some success.
