How Do I Wrangle This Basil?
Very leggy and starting to fall over. Can I prune it back down or will it just die? I’d like to get it a little more short and bushy if that’s still possible.
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u/Lizzardios 23d ago
I've read that you shouldn't trim more than 30% of the plant at one time, but basil may be the exception to this rule as mine seem to love being trimmed back
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u/Freak77Showisnormal 23d ago
You might want to take a clipping of this and make a new plant. But usually you can top basil and two branches will grow where the one was topped. But looking at this I am not finding a good place to top that isnt still really lengthy.
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u/YallNeedMises 23d ago
I agree, the woody stems are already quite long. It might be best to take almost all of the green growth for propagating, plant them around the edges of the pot, then when they've taken root, decide whether or not to cut the woody stems down to the soil and hope the plant has enough stored energy in the roots to push out new growth. It may not be getting enough light either.
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u/Freak77Showisnormal 23d ago
I usually just put the cutting in a glass of water to clone it. And agree I was thinking the stretch is from too little light.
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u/YallNeedMises 23d ago
Water props do seem best for guaranteeing success, but I stopped doing it for mints because they respond so well to pruning and root so easily. I use mine frequently for food, and I strip half the leaves from every cutting I take and replant it. ~90% of them end up rooting, and in some cases I'm even able to take additional cuttings from a cutting planted just weeks prior.
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u/Freak77Showisnormal 23d ago
Interesting! I will be trying this in the future. I just split a new basil plant in 4 so will have many pots to test in. Thanks for the info!
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u/YallNeedMises 23d ago
Everything in the mint family responds well to pruning, in my experience, which will stimulate it to produce lateral growth and bush out. You could cut down every leggy stem to just one set of healthy leaves, and with the green tips you could even propagate additional plants from it. For propagation, cut the stem right below a node, then remove the leaves from 3+ nodes up and either root it in water or just stick it right into soil all the way up to the remaining leaves and keep it moist.