Common basil green leaves
Aromatic plant basil
Common basil white flowers green leaves
Common basil flowers
Contents
Find all our tips in the Monstera application
Basil Ocimum basilicum, much more than an aromatic plant
Contents
Find all our tips in the Monstera application
A member of the Lamiaceae family, like common thyme and rosemary, Common Basil has mysterious origins. It is thought to have originated in India, Iran or Egypt. One thing's for sure: it's become the essential ingredient of Italian cuisine. But this herb has many other virtues.
How to recognize common basil, Ocimum basilicum?
In mild climates, common basil is an evergreen perennial. In our latitudes, it's an annual plant with a bushy habit and a height of no more than 60 centimetres.
Its quadrangular, woody stems support rounded, petiolate, opposite leaves. The green blades are two to six centimetres long and four centimetres wide. Their edges are whole or slightly serrated.
In summer, common basil is adorned with bracts of white flowers grouped in spikes. The upper lip of each flower is divided into four lobes, from which four stamens protrude.
Common basil is an emblematic condiment in Italian and Provencal cuisine. Its spicy, subtly aniseed taste can be found in pasta, sauces, crudités, pesto... But the aromatic herb also has antispasmodic and anti-nausea properties, making it popular in traditional pharmacopoeia. Finally, it is a melliferous plant that attracts pollinators while keeping unwanted insects such as mosquitoes and aphids at bay.
Our maintenance tips
Your plant needs a lot of water. But its foliage fears humidity. When watering, avoid wetting the leaves.
Watering
Keep the soil in your Common basil always fresh. When the substrate is one to two centimeters dry, you can water.
Use room-temperature, non-calcareous water. What's best? Recovered rainwater. If you don't have any, you can use filtered water. You can also use tap water, provided you let it stand for a while.
After watering, empty the water stagnating at the bottom of the dish. It may rot the roots.
Repotting
In spring, transfer your Ocimum basilicum to a larger pot, so that it can continue to grow.
Soak the root ball for a few minutes to rehydrate the roots. Then get a perforated pot and pour in a drainage layer (clay balls or gravel).
On top of this, add a light, rich substrate, such as potting soil for herbs. Place the root ball in the center of the pot, then fill in with potting soil, packing lightly around the plant.
Finish by watering generously: mint appreciates humidity and this will help it to take root.
Fertilization
You can stimulate the growth of your plant during its growth phase, in spring and summer, with fertilizer.
Use a fertilizer for aromatic plants to stimulate growth. Follow the dosage prescribed by the manufacturer to avoid damaging roots or foliage.
Harvest
Harvest leaves as and when you need them, varying the harvesting areas so as not to exhaust the plant.
It's best to cut a whole stem, then detach the leaves you need, rather than picking them off one by one.
When pruning the end of a branch, remember to pinch it lightly: this operation stimulates the branching of your Common basil and encourages more abundant production.
Pinch
Pinch your plant regularly throughout the year.
Pinch the ends of the stems to force them to branch out.
Plantation
Once the last spring frosts have passed, you can plant.
Soak the root ball of your Common basil in a bucket of water for a few minutes.
Then dig a hole about twice as wide and deep as the root ball. Clean the soil, removing stones, roots and weeds. If you're planting several plants, space them at least 20 cm apart to allow sufficient room for root development.
Place your Ocimum basilicum into the hole, taking care not to bury the leaves at the base of the plant. Fill in with garden soil and pack lightly.
Water abundantly at the base, without wetting the foliage, then add mulch to conserve soil moisture.
When your Common basil has at least four leaves, you can install it in the ground.
Soak the root ball of your Common basil in a bucket of water for a few minutes.
Then dig a hole about twice as wide and deep as the root ball. Clean the soil, removing stones, roots and weeds. If you're planting several plants, space them at least 20 cm apart to allow sufficient room for root development.
Place your Ocimum basilicum into the hole, taking care not to bury the leaves at the base of the plant. Fill in with garden soil and pack lightly.
Water abundantly at the base, without wetting the foliage, then add mulch to conserve soil moisture.
Seedling
Fill pots with potting soil for seedlings and plantations. Water or mist the substrate to keep it moist.
Sow your seeds at Ocimum basilicum and cover them with a centimetre of soil.
Place your seedlings in a bright spot where the temperature is between 15°C and 25°C.
Keep the soil moist by misting or watering by capillary action.
Disease / Threat
Information
| Family | Lamiaceae - Lamiaceae |
| Type | Ocimum - Ocimum |
| Species | Common basil - Ocimum basilicum |
| Lifecycle | Annual |
| Foliage | Evergreen |
| Exposure | |
| Substrats | |
| Planting methods |
Open ground In pots Planter |
| Categories |
Vegetable |
| Tag |
Beginner |
| Origins |
Western Asia South Asia |
| Hardiness (USDA) | 10b |
| Leaf color |
|
| Flower color |
|
Discover plants from the same family
