Successfully Propagate Basil By Sowing And Cuttings

If the recipe book is full to bursting with Mediterranean dishes, a single basil plant no longer covers the need for these aromatic herb plants. How to easily grow more copies by propagation, find out here.

Basilikum vermehren

Obtain seeds yourself and sow skillfully – this is how it works.
If you want to win the seeds yourself, allow the basil flower. After the stems have faded, pick them off. Over a bowl, scrape the flower-seed mixture with your fingers. Then sift it until the black seeds remain. Store the seeds in a dry and dark place until the date for sowing. In March/April proceed like this:

  • Fill a seed tray with growing soil or peat sand.
  • moisten the substrate with a fine spray
  • sow the seeds and press them down as light germinators cover the seed tray with foil or place it in a heatable
  • a heatable mini-greenhouse
  • in a half-shaded window place at 20-25 degrees Celsius expect germination

Within 1-2 weeks, the cotyledons will sprout from the seed. The film can now be removed. While the seedlings are kept slightly moist, they quickly reach a growth height of 5 centimeters. Pricked out into a potting soil and sand mixture, the plantlets will be strong enough by mid-May to be planted out in the bed or pot.

Instructions for propagation by cuttings


Each vigorous basil has what it takes to become a mother plant for 10, 20 or more new plants. Cut the desired number of shoot tips at a length of 10 to 15 inches. If you make the cut just above a leaf axil, the royal herb will sprout again busily here. Continue in these steps:

  • defoliate the cuttings in the lower half and place them in a glass of water.
  • let them root in a half-shaded, warm place
  • the process is complete when the root strands are 4-5 centimeters long
  • fill a large pot with potting soil as well as sand, perlite or coconut fibers for permeability
See also  Sparrows Nesting Under The Roof: How To Gently Drive Them Away?

Plant one basil at a time to the bottom pair of leaves and water generously.

Propagate purchased basil by division.
Ready-grown basil plants from the supermarket are so tightly packed together in their pots that they give up the ghost within a week. Clever amateur gardeners make a virtue of necessity and propagate the king herb by division. Here’s how:

Pot up the purchased basil and cut it into four pieces with a sharp knife.
Plant each segment in its own pot with a mixture of potting soil, compost and sand
Drainage at the bottom of the pot prevents harmful waterlogging. Alternatively, plant the segments directly into the garden bed.

Tips & Tricks
Does the basil from home-grown seeds taste completely different from the mother plant? Then it was one of the numerous varieties. In contrast to wild basil, with seeds of one variety it is always a guessing game which characteristics of the parent plants will prevail. Thus, amateur gardeners who are willing to experiment, create their own personal variety of basil.

Author

  • Successfully Propagate Basil By Sowing And Cuttings

    Meet James Jones, a passionate gardening writer whose words bloom with the wisdom of an experienced horticulturist. With a deep-rooted love for all things green, James has dedicated his life to sharing the art and science of gardening with the world. James's words have found their way into countless publications, and his gardening insights have inspired a new generation of green thumbs. His commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship shines through in every article he crafts.

    View all posts
See also  How To Take Care Of Ferns Outside