Is your basil thriving particularly well this year? Then simply grow more specimens from it with the help of cuttings. This form of propagation is quite uncomplicated, as the following instructions prove.
Cut the perfect cuttings – this is how to do it.
The best cuttings come from shoots that present themselves with juicy green leaves and no flowers at all. Cut off the tips at a length of 10 to 15 centimeters. Set the scissors so that the cut is made just below the base of a leaf. Use only cutting tools that are freshly sharpened and meticulously disinfected, because treacherous fungal spores lurk everywhere.
How to succeed with rooting in a water glass
It is always a small miracle when a cutting sprouts roots. You can watch the process every day in the water glass. This is how it works:
- defoliate the cuttings in the lower half.
- fill a glass with water to put the cuttings in it
- the addition of a small piece of charcoal prevents rotting
- place in a half-shaded, warm window place
- Ideally, the water should be renewed daily. If the process is successful, within a few days you can enjoy the first tender roots.
Potting cuttings properly
Once the roots have reached a length of 3-4 centimeters, pot up the basil. Here’s how to do it right:
- Fill 9-cm pots with lightly fertilized substrate, such as herb or potting soil.
- press a hollow into it with a pricking rod
- insert one rooted cutting at a time
- fill up to the lower pair of leaves with soil and press down with the pricking rod
- place the propagation containers in a bowl with a 5 centimeter high water level.
- Once the mini basil are watered from the bottom, initially place them in a semi-shaded area. After a few days, move the seedlings to a sunny location. Once your seedlings have rooted through the growing pot, plant each basil in beds or a pot with nutrient-rich soil.
Tips & Tricks
Did your basil surprise you with a bloom? Don’t fret about the bitter taste the leaves now take on. Instead, enjoy the bloom and then harvest the seeds. Thanks to a short germination time of 1-2 weeks, grow a new king herb in no time.