How to Make Basil Grow Bushier

Pruning portions of basil are a great way to harvest.

Basil, whether used fresh or dried, adds flavor to many meats, pasta dishes and even eggs. While growing your own basil provides you with instant access to the herb at any time, you can get more production from your plant by encouraging basil to grow bushier. A basil plant that forms more of a bush shape, rather than relying on a few individual stems, means dense growth and a larger supply of leaves. Making basil bushier is a simple process requiring no special tools or experience.

Things You'll Need

• Herb scissors, optional

Instructions

1. Allow newly planted or transplanted basil to grow undisturbed in spring until the stems reach 6 inches tall. Find a portion along the length of a stem just above the first two to three sets of leaves.

2. Pinch the stem above this leaf set with your fingernail, or clip it with herb scissors removing the top of the stem from the plant. Repeat removing each stem top until all of the basil stems you see are pruned. Each cut end should form two new branches. All of the leaves from the removed tips can be used fresh or dried.

3. Repeat this pruning process on the secondary branches every two to three weeks pinching off all the new secondary branch tips. Use the leaves of these tips fresh or dry them.

4. Inspect the top of each stem of your basil plant in summer, as the day’s heat encourages bolting, or flower production. Look specifically for small clusters of unopened flower buds that appear in the center of the stem tips and may not be the same color as the leaves.

5. Locate the portion of stem that grows about 1 inch below the flower clusters but above a pair of leaves. Pinch the stem at this position with your fingernail or clip it with herb scissors and remove the flower buds.

6. Continue removing the flower buds from the basil stems’ tips of the until all buds are removed. Cook the buds into any meal that normally uses basil. Check the plants weekly for new buds.

Tips & Warnings

• If you plan on collecting seeds from your basil plant, allow at least one set of flower buds to mature, open, and form a seedpod. Let the pod dry on the stem over the fall until it is brown before collecting and opening to retrieve the seeds.

• Providing adequate water to your plant in the form of weekly watering with the upper inch of soil drying between watering encourages deep roots and hardy plants.

References

• “Growing Under Glass”; Hilery Hixon
• Basil Guide: Growing Basil
• Culinary Herb Guide: Cultivation of Basil