Help me with my sweet basil!!

[Jadeross]

Hello! I planted a few basil plants I got from they store and they were looking beautiful!! In the past few weeks they’ve started dying off and I have no idea why they look horrible but one of them is even growing flowers. I don’t really know how to help them since I’m new to this.

 

[Chuck]

Primarily the thing that is happening is that they need to be fertilized. They are supposed to be green, not yellow. And secondary to this is that the plants are at the age they flower, make seeds and reproduce themselves. And as basil is an annual its life span is only about a year or a little less. Less than a year if grown outside. If you want a steady supply of basil you should take cuttings periodically.

 

[pepper]

Primarily the thing that is happening is that they need to be fertilized. They are supposed to be green, not yellow. And secondary to this is that the plants are at the age they flower, make seeds and reproduce themselves. And as basil is an annual its life span is only about a year or a little less. Less than a year if grown outside. If you want a steady supply of basil you should take cuttings periodically.

I don't know much about growing basil but they seem stretched out like they are reaching for sun don't they? Maybe not. Usually when I see basil growing they are thick with leaves and shorter so maybe not enough sun isn't helping either?

 

[Chuck]

I don't know much about growing basil but they seem stretched out like they are reaching for sun don't they? Maybe not. Usually when I see basil growing they are thick with leaves and shorter so maybe not enough sun isn't helping either?

Basil requires a minimum of 6 hours of direct sun, 8 is better.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

If you want a steady supply of basil you should take cuttings periodically.

Or plant seed on a regular basis. Basil seed is pretty cheap, because it is so small you get a lot, but you can also let your present plants flower. When the flowers turn brown put them in a paper bag somewhere to dry for a bit, then treat them a bit roughly to separate seeds, stems and left over bits of flower. I can never get all the flower out, but it does no harm.

 

[Eeilee]

Yeah like others said they are bolting. Totally normal for basil. You can cut off the flowers if you don’t want it to self seed.
Once it bolts it is a bit bitter to eat.
Grow some fresh every couple of months, indoors or out with plenty of light.

 

[negan]

I had a similar problem last year.. This year I started pruning early and aggressively and things look much better.

 

[oneeye]

Most nursery plants only have a small charge of fertilizer in the potting mix. One can supplement or up-pot into new fresh potting soil to keep the plants green longer.