How to Prune Basil Plants: The Ultimate Guide to Success

How to Prune Basil Plants is a process that should be done carefully so that they promptly produce new, healthy growth. One of the important steps that you should include when growing basil plants is pruning.

When the plant is relieved of its excess foliage, it starts producing new, fresh, and colorful leaves that increase the yield, especially when grown commercially. If you are ready to learn more about how to prune basil plants, make use of the information in this article.

How to Prune Basil Plants The Proper Way?

To prune basil plants the proper way, you must first know the right time to do so, then gather your tools, and prepare the process. Then you should be keen on the maturation stage of the plant, cut the flowers, and the diseased parts as well.

Pruning basil plants is vital in the cultivation process, whether grown in containers or herb garden beds. All basil species, including lemon basil, Thai basil, or Genovese basil, tend to flourish promptly and properly pruned, so make sure to get read for that.

1. Know the Right Time

You should know when it is the right time to trim basils, and begin the trimming process once the seedlings are between six and eight inches in height, so now they should also have sets of three to four leaves each. At this stage, the plant will most likely have only a single stem, and you should clip it back to the same level as the side shoots.

This means that you will be removing single-stemmed basil plants into double-stemmed ones, which in turn increases your yield. It should take about two weeks from the initial trimming to the pruning of the plants again, especially during spring and summer.

This process is more successful when carried out during the active growing season. As a matter of fact, you must note that wintertime is not ideal for pruning, especially if your aim is to stimulate growth. In short, these plants go dormant in the cold season, and their development is stunted during this period.

You should neatly cut off the basil leaves from the stems using bare hands if the density of the foliage is low. If the foliage is dense, it is best that you use sharp pruners. So what you can do is to wash the basil leaves first with clean water. Dry the leaves with a paper towel, group them in bunches, and use a twist tie to wrap them.

2. Gather The Right Tools

Before pruning basil plants, you should get some pruning shears, scissors, or a sharp knife. Make sure rubbing alcohol is put in place, so you can sanitize the pruning tools before, during, and after trimming.

You should also have a plastic bag or bin to place the unwanted, pest manifested, or diseased foliage. This way, with the right measurements taken, the process will be safe, where no diseases will be transmitted, as you have cleaned the gear and have a designated place for disposal.

3. Prepare for the Process

Before getting in contact with your aromatic herb plant, make sure that you thoroughly wash your hands to reduce the chances of passing harmful pathogens to the plants. You can use your finger to snip off some basil leaves and stems. Alternatively, you can use hand pruners or herb snips. In addition, note that lightweight and compact snips are ideal for herb pruning.

It is best to pinch flower buds or top shoots of basil plants using your fingers. If you are looking forward to conducting deep pruning, we advise you to use sharp pruners to avoid tearing the basil plant’s stems. If the plants get torn, it takes a long time for them to heal, which introduces pathogens into their tissues.

4. Know the Stage of Maturity

Closely take a look at the targeted basil plant before cutting it. If the basil plant is mature, you should clip the central stem to the point where two or more tiny leaf buds appear from the basil leaf axil.

Now, keep in mind that this point is found at the same level as the lower set of basil plant leaves. The leaf buds are very visible, and once you are ready to undertake this process, start by cutting off the main stem, about one-quarter inch above the plant’s leaf buds. This point is very critical because it will encourage growth and prosperity for the rest of the plant.

If you do not want to harvest basil plants yet but need to add flavor to your dinner with a few stems, you should target the ones you would have trimmed off anyway. However, if you need to gather enough basil stems to preserve, ensure that you cut back only a third of the plant, and not further than that.

5. Cut the Flowers

Basil plant maintenance includes trimming the flowers. Basil plants lacking some care needs tend to flower sooner than those exposed to consistent moisture, well-drained soil, and lots of sunshine.

This means that you should always expose your plant well to its care requirements so that they concentrate its energy on the development and upkeep of its leaves and stems. Malnourished basils direct their energy to flower production rather than foliage development.

If you notice flower buds appearing on your plants in mid-summer, it’s a sign that your basil plants are lacking some of the care requirements they need. However, to help your plants recover, you should use a pair of disinfected pruning shears, a sharp knife, or scissors to snip the flowers off. The best time to snip off the flowers is when you notice them start to develop. This helps your plants to focus on the growth of leaves and stems.

Some basil varieties produce flower buds on the shoots’ tips, but the flower buds can be easily mistaken for a cluster of small leaves. The flower buds grow or elongate with time with small white flowers appearing, while the Thai ones produce purple ones.

So, make sure that you pinch these buds off the moment you notice them starting to emerge so that the plant does not lose its precious energy to the buds.

Whichever method you choose, just make sure that you do not injure your plants. Pathogens that cause serious growth and appearance problems intrude the plants through the torn parts.

You can shear or prune the plant’s flowers in the same way you would shape boxwood hedges. When pruned this way, plants respond by vigorously producing more foliage, which is the way that this plant is known to be prosperous.

6. Remove Diseased or Pest Infested Foliage

Although regular pruning is a necessity in basil cultivation, one of the main purposes of this process is to remove diseased and pest-infested foliage. Bushy basil plants provide perfect hiding and breeding conditions for pests like beetles, thrips, aphids, and whiteflies, so you must remove that to avoid hindering the life of your plant.

In this case, harvesting basil foliage timely should help reduce the chances of pests’ intrusion and reproduction. When fresh air circulation is high, fungal development is reduced.

Apart from pesticides and other disease-eliminating methods like Neem solutions, you can cut basil plant parts that are manifested off. Ensure that you dip the pruning tools in rubbing alcohol each time you make a cut on the plant to curb fungal transmissions to the healthy parts of the plant.

Conclusion

This ultimate guide has given you the directives for pruning your basil correctly. Below are some of the most decorated highlights of this guide:

• Pruning basil can be done to stimulate growth, harvest, and to eliminate pests or diseases.
• You should prioritize washing your hands thoroughly and sanitizing pruning tools before, during, and after the pruning process.
• If the basil plant is mature, you should clip the stem that is central to the point where two or more tiny leaf buds appear from the basil leaf axil.

Trimming basil plants can be accomplished by the aforementioned easy steps. Just follow this article and help your plant flourish and increase your harvest.