I have a few fresh herbs growing in the garden, one of which is basil. I had some last year as well, and I knew I was doing something wrong. I would pick off leaves to use in cooking and new leaves wouldn't grow back. Instead...it only grew upwards. It got tall and woody with very few leaves. Eventually I...um...stopped watering it.
New year. New basil plant. Same problem. This is what it looked like just a few minutes ago.
So...I did a little research today. This is what I learned.
- When pruning basil, never just pull off a leaf. Always remove leaves from the top and cut at the intersection of the next set of leaves.
- Pruning from the top encourages new leafy growth and discourages flowering (see above!) which can change the taste of the basil.
- If you've let it go wild, like I have, you can cut the top 1/3 - 1/2 off the top (again, cutting at the top of an intersection of leaves). Put the trimmings in water and those trimming SHOULD root.
Here's my basil plant now after a little haircut. If I try to root the trimmings, I'll let you know how it works out.
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