Basil

Ocimum basilicum

Family Lamiaceae

Annual annualZones 2-11

Botanical illustration of Basil

Pesto by the blender-load is basil's opening offer, but the real luxury is smaller: warm leaves torn over tomatoes minutes after picking, when the perfume is still loud. From June until frost, one short row keeps a kitchen in more basil than it can use.

An easy, fast annual for the sunniest bed, it flowers for the bees and keeps pace with any tomato patch — the two ripen on the same schedule for a reason. Tuck a few plants wherever summer hits hardest and harvest by the stem all season.

Where to buy basil — 8 nurseries compared

  • Full Sun
  • Moderate water
  • Fast growth
  • Attracts bees
  • None winter chill
Basil — a print from the Plant Library collection

From the print shop

Growing basil? Hang it.

Our Plant Library collection carries basil — Ocimum basilicum, print Nº 42, “Basil.”

526 designsfrom $12.99white or black backgroundmatte poster, unframed

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✓

Will it fruit where you are?

Enter your ZIP — we look up your USDA hardiness zone (2023 map) and check it against what basil actually needs.

Life cycleAnnual
Winter chillNone

Basil · Common problems

Common basil problems

Pests, diseases and weather to keep an eye on.

Pests

3 problems on file

Diseases

3 problems on file

Weather

1 problem on file

Basil · Growing & propagation

Growing basil

Light, water, soil, propagation and the season’s jobs.
What it needsThe details
Light
Full Sun
Water
Moderate, even

Morning water, dry leaves by night

Soil
Rich, Well-drained · pH 6.0 - 7.0
Fertilizer
Light liquid feed every 3-4 weeks

Overfed basil loses flavor.

Pruning
Continuous

Pinch above a leaf pair every 2 weeks — every pinch doubles the stems.

Spacing
10-12 inches

How to plant & propagate basil

Maturity
60-90 days (ongoing)
From seed
Start indoors or direct-sow after frost

Loves warmth (70°F+)

Propagate
From seed

Basil · Seasonal care & spray guidance

The basil growing playbook

Field-tested instructions for every job basil asks of you, compiled from university extension guidance — in the order the season brings them.

When to spray basil

Growing season. DM-resistant vars ('Prospera', 'Rutgers') beat any spray. Water at soil level only.

As growth begins

early spring

2 jobs
SowingIn spring

Start basil indoors three to four weeks before your last frost

Sow seed in flats three to four weeks before your frost-free date and hold the mix at 70 degrees F or above. At that warmth seed germinates in about five to seven days, and the seedlings reach plantable size right about when the garden is warm enough to take them. Field basil runs 60 to 85 days from seeding or transplant to first cut (Rutgers FS1279), so in short-season zones a direct-sown plant spends its best weeks as a seedling. Started early, it goes out already branching. Basil also germinates and grows poorly below 70 degrees, which a spring seedbed rarely offers.

Planting outIn spring

Wait for 60 degree soil and 50 degree nights before planting out

Set plants out well after your frost-free date, once soil is at least 60 degrees F and nights stay above 50 degrees F. Space plants 6 to 12 inches apart in the row (Rutgers FS1279). If a cold night is forecast, wait - a week in the flat costs less than a check in the field. Basil is tropical and takes cold injury far above freezing: Illinois Extension reports cold soil and air stunt growth and blacken leaves at 50 degrees F. A plant chilled at transplant sulks for weeks and never catches the one set out warm.

While it flowers

at bloom

1 job
PruningAt bloom

Pinch flower buds the day you see them

As soon as flower buds form at the stem tips, pinch them out along with the top set of leaves. Keep doing it through the season. Pinching stem tips on young plants the same way builds a bushy plant with more leaf. Once basil turns to flowering it stops putting energy into leaves, and the leaves it has already made turn bitter and the stems go woody. The bud is the switch, so you catch it at the bud.

Through summer

the growing season

2 jobs
WateringThrough summer

Water the soil, not the leaves, and do it early

Give about 1 1/2 inches of water per week (Utah State Extension). Use drip or a wand at the base of the plant, and water deeply and infrequently early on a sunny day so any splashed foliage dries quickly. Never leave basil going into evening with wet leaves. Downy mildew needs liquid water sitting on the leaf to infect, and it sporulates in overnight humidity. Dry leaves at nightfall break the cycle, which is why airflow and drip do more for basil than any product a home gardener can buy.

What to watch forThrough summer

Downy mildew: turn the lower leaves over every week

Through warm humid weather, check the undersides of the lowest leaves weekly, in the early morning. You are looking for pale yellow blocks between the veins on top and velvety purple-grey fuzz underneath. Pull and bag infected plants immediately, and harvest heavily off healthy ones while you still can. Peronospora belbahrii is a water mold whose spores blow in on summer wind and sporulate on wet leaf undersides overnight. It moves from the bottom of the plant upward and can take the whole planting, so the only cheap moment is the first leaf.

Harvest time

as it ripens, and picking

2 jobs
FeedingAt harvest

Feed lightly once you start cutting, and no more

If a soil test shows fertilizer is warranted, work it into the top 6 inches before planting; if using compost, apply no more than 1 inch of well-composted organic matter per 100 square feet. Once plants reach the harvestable stage, sidedress with an organic or all-purpose liquid nitrogen source at 1 to 2 tablespoons every 2 to 3 weeks per 10 feet of row. Basil in pots needs feeding weekly, because watering flushes the nutrients out. Each cut removes leaf the plant has to rebuild, and basil responds to nitrogen. Keep it to a light, repeated feed rather than one heavy push - and site the plant in full sun, which Utah State notes gives more essential oils and better flavor than shade.

HarvestingAt harvest

Leave four sets of leaves standing on every cut

Harvest by pinching branches or leaves, or cut with sharp scissors or a knife, taking stems back to just above a pair of leaves. Always leave at least four sets of true leaves on the plant. Field basil runs 60 to 85 days from seeding or transplant to first cut, then re-cuts through the season. New shoots break from the buds in the leaf axils you leave behind, so the stub you leave is the next harvest. Cut too low and there are no buds left to regrow from.

Basil · Companion plants

Basil companion plants

Good companions

Avoid

Underlined names have their own growing guide in this library.

Basil · Calculators & field guides

A little help in the garden.

Calculators for the figures. Field guides for the hands-on work.

Basil · Yearly calendar

The basil year, month by month

What basil asks for, month by month.

Jan

No calendar activity is listed for this month.

MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Bloom
Harvest

BloomJune to August

HarvestJune

What each band means

  • Bloom — flowers open — pollinators working, frost on blossoms is the danger.
  • Harvest — picking time — check ripeness every few days.

These are the species' typical months — expect them a few weeks earlier in warm zones and later in cold ones. Watch the plant, not just the calendar.

Basil · Ecology & uses

Ecology & uses

What it does for the garden, and what it is grown for.
Botanical illustration of Basil

Ocimum basilicum

Basil in the garden system

  • Herbaceous layer annual
Attracts
Bees
Moisture
Facultative / average
Deer
Browsed

Protect young plants

Origin
Introduced

What basil is grown for

✓ Commonly eaten

Use
Pesto
Use
Culinary
Use
Tea
Edible value
3/5

Harvesting & storing basil

June - Frost (leaves). About 60-90 days (ongoing) from planting.

Edibility, identification, and traditional-use notes here are general reference — not medical or veterinary advice, and not a claim that any plant treats or prevents anything. Medicinal ratings record how strongly a plant features in herbal tradition, nothing more. Never eat or dose a plant you have not positively identified. More on how to use this library.

Basil · Varieties & cultivars

Best basil varieties & cultivars

There are far more than these — the ones below are the named varieties of basil people actually plant.

Named varieties of basil differ in days to maturity, disease resistance, flavor, and habit — pick one that fits your season and space.

11 varieties

Rutgers Devotion DMR

Also known as Devotion

Zones
2-11
Disease
Downy mildew
Size
Uniform upright

Genovese sweet basil — A Genovese-type sweet basil with uniform upright growth and dark green flat to cup-shaped leaves. This is the one to grow if you want true pesto basil in a region where downy mildew arrives every summer.

Where to buy ‘Rutgers Devotion DMR’

Story Thyme Farms may earn a small commission from these links, at no cost to you — it never changes what we recommend.

EtsyBrowse growers↗

Sources & plant identity

Know what you’re growing.
See where the knowledge comes from.

Botanical illustration of Basil

Basil

Ocimum basilicum

The plant, at a glance.

Botanical name
Ocimum basilicum
Plant family
Lamiaceae
Growth habit
Annual
Origin
Introduced
USDA plant symbol
OCBA
Invasive risk
Low
Every garden is different.

Hardiness, size and timing vary with your cultivar, soil and climate.

Rooted in research.

University extension research, brought together with hands-on growing experience at Story Thyme Farms.

Explore Basil’s sources7 reference links
for Basil

Research from these sources

NC State ExtensionRutgers UniversityUniversity of MinnesotaClemson UniversityUniversity of TennesseeCornell University

Publisher marks identify sources, not sponsorship or endorsement.

Questions

Basil questions, answered straight.

Is basil safe for kids and pets?

Basil is commonly eaten and isn't considered toxic, but "commonly eaten" isn't a guarantee for any particular person or animal — allergies, quantity, and which part you eat all matter. Never eat a plant you haven't positively identified, and check with a vet before letting pets or livestock graze anything new.

When do you harvest basil?

June - Frost (leaves). From planting, expect about 60-90 days (ongoing) to maturity.

What grows well with basil?

Proven companions include tomatoes (classic — improves them and repels pests), peppers — the full companion list, and what to keep away, is in the Growing tab above.

How do you propagate basil?

From seed.

Elsewhere

Where basil sits in the library.

Where basil sits in the library

Herbs91All collections

Grows in the same world

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