Growing Basil from Store-Bought Stems

[Yogi]

I’ve found that fresh basil stems from the grocery store can be surprisingly useful for propagation.

If you buy a bunch of basil and end up with a few stems you didn’t use, you don’t always have to throw them away. As long as the stems are still green, firm, and healthy, they can often be rooted in water and later planted in soil.

Actually it’s very simple, just make sure to keep some key points.

Has anyone else here had good results growing basil this way from supermarket stems?

I put together a detailed guide for anyone interested:

 

[dirty hands]

I bought basil at the store a few months ago and now have 4 pots and more rooted in water i need to transplant. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[DiggersJo]

Yes been doing this for a while now, but others I know also split the bought plant into 4 or more and re-pot.

 

[dirty hands]

My basil in pots started wilting so I threw them in the ground yesterday just before the storms came through. They look better already.
They looked like they were pot bound. Maybe wrong soil or something for long term growth.

 

[Ruderunner]

In the ground?

You'll have shrubbery in the fall.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

In the food stores I shop at the basil comes in a plastic bag with the roots showing, I have always found a pot and soil somewhere about my house and give it a home. The other day bought some mint at the food store, same deal, its now in a pot, and very happy.

 

[Xraycer]

The stores by me always cut off the roots on bagged basil and mints. Scallions, however, always have the roots left on. A couple of months ago, I had decided to regrow them using the bottom portions with the intact roots. Today, this is what resulted.

 

[reder]

I've actually had pretty good luck doing this with basil stems from the grocery store. Not every stem roots, but enough of them do that it's worth trying. I order herbs through Instacart pretty often, and whenever the basil arrives fresh with nice healthy stems, I save a few and stick them in water. It's a great way to get a little extra life out of something you were going to use anyway.
Thanks for putting together the guide!

 

[Esther Knapicius]

The mint mentioned above that is in a pot is toooooo happy. Now have to think of a earth spot somewhere about that I can let it go nuts. but now wondering, is all mint Hardy to a zone. I know there are different types of mint, give off different flavor profiles. Never got into it as I rarely cook with it. I know there are still many spots about that is clay soil in my garden, that would slow it down some.

 

[Tundra20]

here is purple basil from seed

 

[dirty hands]

In the ground?

You'll have shrubbery in the fall.

Im good with that. Im just having fun and glad to see it growing.

 

[Meadowlark]

here is purple basil from seed

I need to try that purple basil.

I grow my Basil from Flyover Seeds (@Martin Mikulcik) in cinnamon, lime, and sweet Basil. Grow it in large clumps scattered around the garden. The aromas coupled with tobacco and other plants in the garden is heavenly.

 

[Martin Mikulcik]

The mint mentioned above that is in a pot is toooooo happy. Now have to think of a earth spot somewhere about that I can let it go nuts. but now wondering, is all mint Hardy to a zone. I know there are different types of mint, give off different flavor profiles. Never got into it as I rarely cook with it. I know there are still many spots about that is clay soil in my garden, that would slow it down some.

I'm a mint appreciator myself, I've gotten most of my plants from fragrant fields, i can recommend a few if your interested, the differences are quite real but the cooking utility is overlapping

Mints are generally quite hardy, I've heard mojito mint is less hardy and there are mint relatives like yerba bueno that aren't particularly hardy

 

[Martin Mikulcik]

I need to try that purple basil.

I grow my Basil from Flyover Seeds (@Martin Mikulcik) in cinnamon, lime, and sweet Basil.

Could you ever detect a cinnamon smell when the basil first germinated?

 

[Meadowlark]

Could you ever detect a cinnamon smell when the basil first germinated?

I think so...but my sense of smell isn't what it used to be. However, when they are all deployed in the garden along with other flagrancies mixed in it becomes something magical.