Think my basil plant died in too much rain?

Question

I planted a basil in a container on my balcony and at first it was growing well. But then came the monsoon season, it's been raining almost everyday and now all that's left of my basil is dry woody stems, all the leaves browned and fallen off. Is the plant dead? Has it drowned in too much rain? Should I cut back the woody stems, and if so will it grow back? Or should I just pull out the whole thing and start over?

Thanks for all the help so far. Some additional info: - a couple of stem tips are still green, but slowly turning woody too. The stems that are already woody are not growing any new leaves. So from the sound of it, pruning is useless huh? Pull it out and start over? So sad...

Answer 1

Hi:
It sounds like your basil has gotten too much rain. It also sounds like you live in a warm climate. Basil is very easy to grow and I would probably recommend two possibilies.

Is there any new growth at all on the plant? If there isn't, the plant is probably gone. If there is, prune back the woody stems and see if in the next few weeks there develops any new growth. I would also protect it from anymore rain for awhile, if you can.

The second possibility is to grow some Basil from seed. It is very easy to do and Basil requires darkness for germination. The germination process takes about seven to ten days.

I have grown many herbs in a greenhouse and indoors. Basil is considered an annual but I have actually gotten two to three years out of one plant.

I will link you to my landscape article page of my website. I have some articles I have written on herbs and one is herb growing from seed. I will also link you to my site map as this page has everything that is on my website. Browse through and see if there is any other information that may help you.

Good luck to you and if you need any other further suggestions, please feel free to contact me at the website. Have a great day and hope this has helped some.
Kimberly

http://www.landscape-solutions-for-you.com/landscape.html

http://www.landscape-solutions-for-you.com/Site.html

Answer 2

It's almost certainly dead. It's easy enough to grow from seed, so just rip it out and start again. You need quite a bit to make pesto anyway! :)

The more you trim (as long as you don't overharvest) the more it will put out leaves!

You might also consider using a soil mix that is better draining to avoid the problem in the future. Add some medium to coarse perlite to the pot and mix it in well to improve the drainage. Make sure that the pot has a good-sized hole in the bottom as well to allow water to drain out freely.

Answer 3

If it had gone to seed, it's done. Basil is an annual.