Ocimum, Ornamental Basil 'African Blue'

Its botanical name is Ocimum kilimandscharicum × basilicum 'Dark Opal.' It's a sterile inter-genus cross, which is why the name is so lo...Read Moreng. While it cannot produce seed, it propagates easily from tip cuttings. Every fall, I take healthy cuttings and root them, then grow them out in #3 nursery pots over winter. By spring, I have landscape size plants, and I stress the landscape aspect of this plant. It gets big, up to 4 feet high and 6 feet wide. It produces abundant purple blooms on spikes held above the leaves. This plant is my champion bee attractor. It also attracts many butterfly varieties, especially in the fall when native nectar plants stop blooming and go dormant. It is NOT frost tolerant. A light frost will damage it and stop flower production. Nor is it a root hardy perennial: I mulched heavily one fall, but the roots died. It is heat and drought tolerant, blooming through Central Texas summers while nearly every other plant goes dormant. If you want to keep pollinators in your garden during the summer, I highly recommend including African Blue Basil in your landscape.

This is an amazingly beautiful and hardy plant. The flavor to me is a little "spicer" than a run-of the mill sweet basil. It is attractiv...Read Moree to honeybees, and there were literally swarms of them a great deal of the time when the plant got larger while being planted in the ground in my garden in South Texas. The only caveat with this basil is that it needs plenty of room to grow because it can become HUGE. It overshadowed my mints and thyme and it was difficult for them to get sunlight. This plant likes to be the center of attention, apparently. It finally died with a frost. If I had to grow another one, I would keep it in a container and protect it from frost. Otherwise, a very enjoyable, lovely, flavorful basil.

This is the one basil to grow in Florida because it is so resistant to heat, humidity, drought, and deluge that it is hard to go wrong. ...Read MoreThe leaves are not as soft and succulent and tender as the traditional Italian style basil, because they are a bit leathery and dry in comparison. All that means that if you are going to eat the leaves raw in a salad, you should be sure to cut the leaves into the finest thinnest chiffonade possible. Cooking the leaves in a sauce will tenderize the leaves and add an amazing dimension of flavor if you simmer it and soften it long enough.
The flowers will steal the show. Amazing flavor, and an amazing garnish. Strip the flowers off the stem, discard the stem, and sprinkle the flowers on top of a salad, or garnish on top of a spaghetti red sauce or any dish that goes nicely with some basil for a culinary event.,,,or...simply mince the flowers finely along with the stem they came with and sprinkle same as above.
I was able to have one plant survive for four years on an east facing wall that was sheltered from the coldest winds from the northwest. Temps got into the low 20's, but the cement block house and concrete driveway absorbed the daytime sun and created a more forgiving microclimate. The "trunk" was almost 2" thick, and the whole thing grew 6' across and waist high.
It was very rewarding to snip the flower stalks and include in a care package for my northern visitors to take home and enjoy out of the freezer a little at a time.
Propagate these cuttings after rooting in a glass of water. I gave out dozens of them in little 3" pots while at work, and used these easy to grow plants as a confidence builder for co-workers who were learning to garden.

I raise 7 types of basil. African Blue is one of the easier ones here in South Georgia. I love the flavor, I makes boat loads of pesto fo...Read Morer friends and family. I use a blend of basil but this is the predominant basil in the blend. It holds up well, flavor does not diminish with freezing for up to 12 months.