What do I do with these basil cuttings that I'm attempting to make new plants?

[Rock]

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I decided to get super into pesto and was spending too much on basil. I realized I could probably grow it and this is literally the first thing I've ever tried growing so.. that's my level of skill.

I watched numerous videos on how to use cuttings to start a new plant and I guess I doubted myself and instead of trying with a couple, I tried with a dozen. And bought a more mature plant from a nursery (in the ceramic vase.) I know how to care for that one, kind of. But, what am I supposed to do now with these cuttings? Most of the resources I found online just talk about how to take cuttings and turn them into plants but don't really mention what to do after establishing a little growth as I have here. I do not need to harvest any of these leaves if that helps. I just need to know what I'm doing next on all of these and going forward.

Thanks for any help and advice! I really appreciate it!

 

[Anniekay]

When the roots almost fill up the soil area they're in, repot them into slightly latger pots. You might want to get some pots that are quite deep but not more than 2" wider across the top than the pots they're in.

When warm weather comes in spring you can put them outside but move them out slowly. Harden them off to outside weather by putting them out in shade for a few hours then bringing them in, increasing the length of time they're outdoors and increasing the amount of sunshine they get gradually over a two week period. If you plant them in soil outside after hardening them off you might want to get a raised bed and fill that with garden soil and let them get to full size in there.

 

[Rock]

When the roots almost fill up the soil area they're in, repot them into slightly latger pots. You might want to get some pots that are quite deep but not more than 2" wider across the top than the pots they're in.

When warm weather comes in spring you can put them outside but move them out slowly. Harden them off to outside weather by putting them out in shade for a few hours then bringing them in, increasing the length of time they're outdoors and increasing the amount of sunshine they get gradually over a two week period. If you plant them in soil outside after hardening them off you might want to get a raised bed and fill that with garden soil and let them get to full size in there.

Thank you very much for the advice!

Should I be pruning the leaves so that I can create more branches to get more basil? Also, should I be using the 'plant food' I bought from the nursery at this point?

Thanks!

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Plants are annuals, biennials, or perennials, basil is an annual, it only lasts one year, so you should get flowers at some point. If you let them go to seed you can grow from seed next year, easier and even cheaper. The seed are pretty small and hard to separate from the dead material around them, I simply dry out, crush them a bit, and take out the obvious big bits before sowing. If you pinch out the growing tips, good on tomato, they should sprout side branches. My approach to such things is never to do all of them all at once, pinch out a couple of the bigger ones and see how it goes, we don't know how well established they are. Same with feeding, I have never fed basil, but my starting compost is good, and maybe they would be better for it if I tried, try giving a couple of them a bit and see if it makes a difference. I keep mine fairly damp, it strikes me as strange for a Mediterranean plant, but they seem to prefer it, a saucer or tray underneath can help.
Welcome to the forum, and the world of gardening.

 

[big rockpile]

I know. Basil is very easy to start from seed.

I basically have a whole garden full to run bugs off.

big rockpile