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Basil Stem black?
Excript
Posts: 1
HI all, I'm new to the forum and new to gardening. I've taken sweet basil(potted) as my first plant as I read its easy to start with and i have several questions.
As seen in the picture, the stems are rather black/brown so is that normal or is the plant going to die?
2) I've tried planting basil from seeds but to no avail, any idea what's making it from growing? I used my finger to dig a small hole in the soil and i placed a seed and covered it back and even after 2 weeks i see nothing.
3) Does basil plant need direct sunlight on it? or can it survive under a shade?
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Basil is a mediteranean herb. It loves bright light but will go very pale if it gets too much sun. It doesn't like my south facing windowsil. It likes a well drained soil but not to dry out completely. If it does dry out, it will flop, but mine has always recovered if given a drink promptly.
It is also tender, so it needs to be brought insidde before the first frost or that will be the end of the plant. I find it is best treated as an annual. If given a good sized pot it can grow enormous.
I have had the most luck when germinating the seeds by placing the top half of a 2L pop bottle (without the lid) on top of the flower pot with the seeds laying on top of the soil. This allows for a nice humid environment but allows enough ventilation to prevent the seeds or seedling rotting. Make sure the soil is only damp not soggy.
I lost all of my first plants due to overwatering
The stems do go brown from the bottom up as the plant matures and the tissue hardens, but it's hard to say if this is all that's happening there. Needs some more compost over those roots on the surface though!
Also, I've found that it's best to have just one plant per pot, or at least have them well spaced out. This is one reason why supermarket-derived pots often fail unless you dissect out the individual plants and repot them.
They do best in a greenhouse but a sunny windowsill is better than outdoors in our climate.
Hi Everyone
I have been growing basil for decades, mostly from seed that I get in Greece from my cousins. However, this year, though the plants grew lush and lovely as usual, I have just discovered that all those beautiful flowers have not produced any seed.
What have I done wrong? Could anyone help, please!
Thank you.
Hi Phaidra
How intriguing that basil propagated by seed fails to produce seed!
I grow all kinds of "Greek" basil too, meaning seed brought over from Greece, rather than just the fine leaved variety that is generally called "Greek basil" but it always produces seed.
Some years the plants are better than in others, of course, but I suspect that's caused by the climatic conditions of any specific summer. This year they have been kind of average and they're now turning brown.
I wonder if a chilly spell hit your basil flowers just as they were about to form their seed?
Perhaps someone who's more of an expert can help explain this disappointing phenomenon. I'm afraid as a gardener I'd only consider myself a little less than average!
its turning from soft growth into woody growth,
Basil is grown as an annual in this country, but in warmer climates it can be kept going for a couple of years by regularly trimming the flowers out
This might be heresy, but the plants you get from the supermarkets, if you split them up and repot them, you can get loads of basil plants. When I have grown them from seed, I have far too many plants. Somebody told me to do the supermarket plant thing, now I get 8-10 plants from each one. Obviously they don't last for ever, I do this maybe twice a year, and it keeps me in basil.
Hi Danae, I do think you might well be right. Round here summer was very varied. We certainly had some very warm, pleasant days but we also had many cold and wet ones. In the summer I always keep my basil in the garden so it's not protected. As all the basil plants failed, it would seem quite probable the cold weather that hit all of them caused their failure to set seed.
At first I tried to find a thread on this subject for help but couldn't, so I added it to this old one, though not exactly on the same specific point. Thank you for noticing my particular area of focus.
Hi Phaidra, I did notice it and tried to have a guess at its cause but found no solution to it. Sorry! At first I thought you might have a step son, called Hippolytos, who sabotaged your efforts.
Phaidra and Hippolytos under the same roof?
Only Sophocles could create such a tragedy
I have found that it never really lasts more than a summer. But it is so easy to grow if a plant gets a bit leggy or goes to seed I have plenty more ready to take their place
Here is my Top Tips for Basil
Buy a healthy plant from the Supermarket Fresh Herbs section. Normally they are about £1.99.
As soon as I get them home I take loads of cuttings:
Basil roots very easily from cuttings in a glass of water on a windowsill. Snip off a couple of inches of stem, cut off the lower leaves and put a slice lengthways down the remaining stem. Put in a glass of water on a sunny windowsill. Top up with water as required.
In two weeks you will have really good root growth. Pot these up in a light compost, (as a mediterranean plant, loose is best and water often). You will have basil plants for the house, patio, green house, bedding etc.
Hope this is useful
Andrew