Basil

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worth1
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Basil

#1

Post: # 2352Unread post worth1
Fri Dec 20, 2019 1:09 pm

I had no idea basil was a perennial until this year.
The plants I pulled even had bark on then.
I bet I could trim it back and protect it and it might come back the next year.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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bower
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Re: Basil

#2

Post: # 2387Unread post bower
Fri Dec 20, 2019 2:32 pm

You should try it, Worth.
Up north here we are struggling to grow it as an annual and keep it happy! One thing for sure, basil doesn't like cold. The house is not even warm enough for it, until the outdoor weather starts to thaw.
AgCan Zone 5a/USDA zone 4
temperate marine climate
yearly precip 61 inches/1550 mm

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SpookyShoe
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Winter basil

#3

Post: # 2390Unread post SpookyShoe
Fri Dec 20, 2019 2:46 pm

The plants I set out in spring to attract the bees are looking raggedy (very), but they're hanging in there. They have bark on them also. It hasn't frozen yet this year, but it has dipped into the 30s a few nights. If we have a hard freeze I know that the basil plants will be done for. My bee basil plants are too large and fragile to protect. They are the size of shrubs. No matter what's happens to them over the rest of the winter, I'll replace them in spring.

I already have enough plants in pots that I have to baby over the winter. I'm not looking for any more to do.
Donna, zone 9, El Lago, Texas

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pepperhead212
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Re: Basil

#4

Post: # 7288Unread post pepperhead212
Tue Jan 21, 2020 11:30 pm

Basil is always the first plant to die from cold, at least in my garden. Gets black spots first, long before the first frost. Before it gets to that point, I take cuttings, and put them in the cloner, to root for the hydroponics in the off season, then repeat, come spring. I never had a bug problem with basils, indoors or out.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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imp
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Re: Basil

#5

Post: # 7352Unread post imp
Wed Jan 22, 2020 11:26 am

I love growing basil. It is so easy and rewards you generously. I like to put my face right into the plant and breathe, LOL, it is very calming even when I am having breathing issues. I do give the plant a shake or 2 before I do that, to check for bees. Guess how I learned to do that !

One of my favorites is the lettuce leaf basil, but I usually grow 5 or 6 types each garden year. They can be lovely and the bees love them very much.
Together, trees make an ecosystem that tempers the extremes of heat & cold, stores lots of water, & makes a lot of humidity. In this environment, trees can live to be very old. To get to this point, the community must remain intact no matter what.

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SpookyShoe
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African blue basil

#6

Post: # 10903Unread post SpookyShoe
Mon Feb 17, 2020 4:38 pm

Last summer I put out three plants with the sole purpose of attracting bees. Over the winter they looked pretty gnarly but they held on, even putting on blossoms. I was going to replace them but now I've changed my mind. I cut away a lot of the cold damage and they're really not looking that bad. One of the plants is about 5 ft tall.
0217201540.jpg
All of the leaves in the the picture are from the live oaks dropping their leaves as they do every year at this time.
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Donna, zone 9, El Lago, Texas

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PlainJane
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Re: Basil

#7

Post: # 10905Unread post PlainJane
Mon Feb 17, 2020 4:41 pm

My African Blue Basil is very woody and shrub-like too. I’ve taken lots of cuttings and I’ll trim back some as well. Once the weather warms up just a bit they’ll explode.
“Never try to outstubborn a cat.”
- Robert A. Heinlein

EdieJ
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Re: Basil

#8

Post: # 10915Unread post EdieJ
Mon Feb 17, 2020 5:08 pm

I found out quite by accident that basil clones well from cuttings. Last fall, I had cut more than I needed so stuck the excess in a glass of water to keep it alive until the next time I needed it and I think it only took 3 or 4 days for it to send out roots. I potted the rootlings and they are still going strong sitting in a north-facing window. I was really blown away. I am going to cut some of the branches to root in the next couple of weeks so they will be ready to go come time to be outside about the middle of April. My favorite variety is Nufar, but I also love lettuce leaf.
North Central AL (mountains)
Zone 7

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MissS
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Re: Basil

#9

Post: # 11037Unread post MissS
Tue Feb 18, 2020 10:21 pm

Thank you EdieJ. That's a great idea and good to know. I think that a few of us will be trying that this year. It sounds much easier than starting new pots of seed.
~ Patti ~

Clkeiper
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Re: Basil

#10

Post: # 11061Unread post Clkeiper
Wed Feb 19, 2020 6:28 am

basil roots very easily.
the African Blue basil will not produce seeds so taking cuttings is the only way to reproduce it.

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GoDawgs
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Re: Basil

#11

Post: # 11079Unread post GoDawgs
Wed Feb 19, 2020 8:32 am

This is the 'Newton' basil that was a freebie from Seeds 'n Such this year. It was started 1/9 and is now 5" tall with a 7" spread. Smells so good!

Image

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SpookyShoe
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Newton basil

#12

Post: # 11098Unread post SpookyShoe
Wed Feb 19, 2020 10:02 am

Nice looking plant. Did you grow it under lights?
Donna, zone 9, El Lago, Texas

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GoDawgs
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Re: Basil

#13

Post: # 11111Unread post GoDawgs
Wed Feb 19, 2020 12:13 pm

Yes, I did. It's almost time to move it to a larger pot again and then out to the porch. But I think I'll wait until next week as we have a few lows in the 20's coming up by the weekend.

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peebee
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Re: Basil

#14

Post: # 11357Unread post peebee
Thu Feb 20, 2020 10:02 pm

GoDawgs wrote: Wed Feb 19, 2020 8:32 am This is the 'Newton' basil that was a freebie from Seeds 'n Such this year. It was started 1/9 and is now 5" tall with a 7" spread. Smells so good!

Image
What a great pic, I can almost smell it from here!
Zone 10, Southern California
Will eat anything once before I judge.
Anything meaning any foods of course.

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karstopography
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Re: Basil

#15

Post: # 17513Unread post karstopography
Thu Apr 16, 2020 7:31 pm

I love basil, my favorite herb to sniff. Last year I grew a sweet, Thai and a purple variety. The purple was our favorite, both to the eye and the palate.

This year, I’ve got Italian, Cardinal and pesto Perpetuo going. Planted some purple type seeds recently around the base of a few peppers, haven’t sprouted yet.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

EdieJ
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Re: Basil

#16

Post: # 17528Unread post EdieJ
Thu Apr 16, 2020 11:09 pm

My Newton basil seeds I planted either didn't sprout or died soon after 😢 and Crimson King did the same thing. I only got one Nufar and one Lettuce Leaf. I do still have the basil plant I started from cuttings this past winter. It's looking kind of weary but I'm hoping that this weekend when I can start letting it get some fresh air it will perk back up.
North Central AL (mountains)
Zone 7

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pepperhead212
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Re: Basil

#17

Post: # 17536Unread post pepperhead212
Fri Apr 17, 2020 12:21 am

EdieJ wrote: Mon Feb 17, 2020 5:08 pm I found out quite by accident that basil clones well from cuttings. Last fall, I had cut more than I needed so stuck the excess in a glass of water to keep it alive until the next time I needed it and I think it only took 3 or 4 days for it to send out roots.
Basil has always been one of my fastest cloners! I think sage was the only thing that was faster, but only a couple of times.

To increase the amount of roots that develop on most of the herbs, I lightly score the stems horizontally many times, and do about 3 vertical rows of these, then dip them in rooting compound, and the roots seem to grow out of those scored marks! Here's a photo, showing how many roots show up, after just a little over a week, starting in just 3-4 days. I was looking for one showing the score marks, but they were sort of filled in!
ImageSerrata basil, ready to plant. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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PlainJane
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Re: Basil

#18

Post: # 17547Unread post PlainJane
Fri Apr 17, 2020 6:34 am

Interesting [mention]pepperhead212[/mention] , I’m going to try scoring the next batch of African Blue cuttings.
“Never try to outstubborn a cat.”
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WoodSprite
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Location: center of Pennsylvania, USA, Zone 6a

Re: Basil

#19

Post: # 17724Unread post WoodSprite
Sat Apr 18, 2020 9:01 pm

Basil will grow roots along the stem when the stems are planted deeper than they were growing, like tomatoes and peppers do, even without scoring. I always plant my basil deeper than it was growing in the pot. I'm curious if the scoring makes it happen faster, though. Have you done experiments on that, [mention]pepperhead212[/mention] ?

Many times I have found roots starting on stems that were out of soil but close to soil - like branches that were growing near the base of the plant. I think there was a microclimate of increased humidity there and that's partly what caused it.

I love basil. My favorites are the various globe or bush basils. They stay in nice, compact little globes/balls. The leaves are small and the stems are tender. To harvest, I cut off a handful and chop it, stems and all. Mmm-mmm.
~ Darlene ~
My garden is made of multiple 6' diameter x 24" tall round stock tanks, located in a small clearing on our wooded property in the center of Pennsylvania. Hardiness zone 6b (updated). Heat zone 4.

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karstopography
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Re: Basil

#20

Post: # 17726Unread post karstopography
Sat Apr 18, 2020 9:27 pm

BBE9F161-8251-4DA1-9AF0-19813A318C62.jpeg
This is Pesto Perpetuo basil, smells so good. Evidently, it’s non flowering. Haven’t used any in the kitchen yet, but it seems to be thriving.
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Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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