Help me with my sweet basil!!

Joined
Jun 16, 2023
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Location
Florida
Country
United States
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.
 

Attachments

  • 55355D93-5D0D-4A76-9A86-B19FB6E06A9D.jpeg
    55355D93-5D0D-4A76-9A86-B19FB6E06A9D.jpeg
    239.1 KB · Views: 31
  • EEA6DAC3-A11A-4E34-81F9-6F7C94171760.jpeg
    EEA6DAC3-A11A-4E34-81F9-6F7C94171760.jpeg
    191.9 KB · Views: 29
  • 1180D476-CD3B-4F98-9E7E-CB1599CF87B4.jpeg
    1180D476-CD3B-4F98-9E7E-CB1599CF87B4.jpeg
    275.7 KB · Views: 35
Joined
Feb 2, 2014
Messages
11,597
Reaction score
5,677
Location
La Porte Texas
Hardiness Zone
8b
Country
United States
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.
 
Joined
Apr 22, 2023
Messages
1,200
Reaction score
574
Location
Ontario
Country
Canada
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?
 
Joined
Feb 2, 2014
Messages
11,597
Reaction score
5,677
Location
La Porte Texas
Hardiness Zone
8b
Country
United States
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.
 
Joined
Feb 13, 2021
Messages
3,983
Reaction score
2,513
Country
United Kingdom
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.
 
Joined
Feb 27, 2023
Messages
235
Reaction score
203
Location
Oregon
Hardiness Zone
8b
Country
United States
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.
 
Joined
Oct 21, 2022
Messages
34
Reaction score
7
Location
Lucerne
Country
Switzerland
I had a similar problem last year.. This year I started pruning early and aggressively and things look much better.
 
Joined
Feb 21, 2020
Messages
1,550
Reaction score
505
Country
United States
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.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Similar Threads


Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
27,983
Messages
265,525
Members
14,713
Latest member
infopacificwestinjury

Latest Threads

Top