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Worried about my basil

sayedhasnainshah3aqVNNwnPsayedhasnainshah3aqVNNwnP Posts: 13
in Plants
Hey guys! I recently bought a basil plant (think it was on Friday) and I'm a bit worried about how it's looking, I've been giving it plenty of water every day and I've got it up against the windows where there's the most sun. I'll put in a picture so you guys can have a look. I just feel like it's drooping a bit and I'm unsure about why? I'm thinking that it's a sun problem as this past weekend, it hasn't been especially sunny where I am. Also, when I bought my basil, I got it as a plant, not as seeds just in case anyone was wondering. But yeah, right now I'm just a bit worried about how much it's drooping, I would have thought that it would be more erect in how it's standing.
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  • omghiomg_123omghiomg_123 Posts: 96
    Did you repot it when you bought it? Perhaps it’s root bound. Or maybe overwatering, how wet is the compost? They also don’t like being wet overnight so best to water in the morning. I don’t think it’s a sun problem as one weekend is unlikely to make a massive amount of difference. If I was you I’d look at the watering, see how wet or dry the compost is when you water by sticking your finger in a little and seeing how damp it is. Only water if it’s starting to go dry. Maybe consider feeding it as well?

    in any case, it looks a little droopy but not too drastic at the moment hopefully you’ll manage to sort it
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    How nice that two new members have been able to help each other.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • CeresCeres Posts: 2,698
    I sometimes buy herbs in pots from the supermarket and the compost dries out very quickly so that the plants need watering every day. They sit on a north facing windowsill so are never dried out by the sun. It could be that your basil in planted in similar compost. I always pick up the plant first thing in the morning to see how light it feels and it usually needs a quick soak to set it up for the day.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    You can also split the plant into two or three plants, and pot them up separately. Take it out the pot and see how well it's filling it with it's roots. If it is, you can divide it   :)

    If that's not possible, then re pot into a bigger pot, but check it's not rootbound - ie a bit solid and dense. If that's the case, just tease the roots out with your fingers and get it into a bigger pot. If it's a bit dry, give it a good soaking first too, before re potting  :)

    The best way of growing basil is to divide into clumps rather than pricking out each seedling individually, so your s'market plant is actually lots of little plants all together  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    Basil likes to be warm. Is it in a warm place? I also pick mine up so see how light the pot feels but it rarely needs watering every day.

    When you use it don't use the individual leaves. Pick off the top of the shoot down to a pair of leaves. It will then make sideshoots and grow sturdier and bushier.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • sayedhasnainshah3aqVNNwnPsayedhasnainshah3aqVNNwnP Posts: 13
    omghiomg_123 said:
    Did you repot it when you bought it? Perhaps it’s root bound. Or maybe overwatering, how wet is the compost? They also don’t like being wet overnight so best to water in the morning. I don’t think it’s a sun problem as one weekend is unlikely to make a massive amount of difference. If I was you I’d look at the watering, see how wet or dry the compost is when you water by sticking your finger in a little and seeing how damp it is. Only water if it’s starting to go dry. Maybe consider feeding it as well?

    in any case, it looks a little droopy but not too drastic at the moment hopefully you’ll manage to sort it
    I've repotted it now, and as a another comment said, I've also split the plant into two and put them into separate pots.

    The compost tends to be dry when I water it, I give the plant water at about lunch time.

    What kind of feeds? I've read that basil should have a weak feed (can't remember why, I think it affects the taste?).

    Thank you! I do have some basil seeds that I'm going to try doing when I get some free time with my mum so she can help me out. I'm very excited but also nervous with this project!
  • sayedhasnainshah3aqVNNwnPsayedhasnainshah3aqVNNwnP Posts: 13
    Busy-Lizzie said:
    Basil likes to be warm. Is it in a warm place? I also pick mine up so see how light the pot feels but it rarely needs watering every day.

    When you use it don't use the individual leaves. Pick off the top of the shoot down to a pair of leaves. It will then make sideshoots and grow sturdier and bushier.

    It's in the conservatory right now, which tends to get warmer than other places in the house. Currently, where I live, it's about 18 degrees. It's gonna be a lot more warmer this week, going up to 23-24 degrees and less cloudy so the sun will be out more.

    Could you explain this more please? So I should pick all the leaves but two?

    Thank you for the response! Also sorry for the weird formatting of this reply, I'm still trying to get used to this!
  • sayedhasnainshah3aqVNNwnPsayedhasnainshah3aqVNNwnP Posts: 13
    Fairygirl said:
    You can also split the plant into two or three plants, and pot them up separately. Take it out the pot and see how well it's filling it with it's roots. If it is, you can divide it   :)

    If that's not possible, then re pot into a bigger pot, but check it's not rootbound - ie a bit solid and dense. If that's the case, just tease the roots out with your fingers and get it into a bigger pot. If it's a bit dry, give it a good soaking first too, before re potting  :)

    The best way of growing basil is to divide into clumps rather than pricking out each seedling individually, so your s'market plant is actually lots of little plants all together  :)
    Thank you for this advice! I consulted with my friends mum who is also a gardener and she said something similar about how I should split up the plant as supermarket ones are like 2 or 3 plants in about one pot. So this morning, I split up the basil and hopefully this weekend it'll be a lot better.
  • sayedhasnainshah3aqVNNwnPsayedhasnainshah3aqVNNwnP Posts: 13
    Ceres said:
    I sometimes buy herbs in pots from the supermarket and the compost dries out very quickly so that the plants need watering every day. They sit on a north facing windowsill so are never dried out by the sun. It could be that your basil in planted in similar compost. I always pick up the plant first thing in the morning to see how light it feels and it usually needs a quick soak to set it up for the day.
    Yeah, this plant is from asda and to be honest, it does seem like it's drying out quite quickly. I tend to put water in, and drain the excess water that comes out of the pot and onto the saucer.
  • sayedhasnainshah3aqVNNwnPsayedhasnainshah3aqVNNwnP Posts: 13
    B3 said:
    How nice that two new members have been able to help each other.
    Ahaha, It's definitely been very helpful! I'm happy to know there's a community out here that will help me out!
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