Content
- To avoid a basil being made from wood
- Regular pruning prevents woodiness
- Here, woodiness is desired
- Tips & Tricks
To avoid a basil being made from wood
Over time, basil tends to lignify gradually. This is accompanied by reduced growth of the leaves and a noticeable loss of aroma. What you can do to prevent this undesirable development is available here.
Regular pruning prevents woodiness
The vast majority of all basil species and varieties are created by Mother Nature as a subshrub or shrub. If your king cabbage tends to lignify, it is a completely natural process. However, you do not have to accept this development, because that's how a royal herb stays juicy-green:
As long as at least one leaf pair remains on the king's cabbage, the plant drives fresh out of it. It is therefore worthwhile to keep an eye on the herbal plant and, if necessary, to cut back excess shoots even without current need. What is not immediately consumed can be preserved very well by freezing or placing.
Here, woodiness is desired
For perennial varieties of basil and wild basil to withstand the weather conditions, they depend on woody shoots. Thus, the herbs can spend the summer in the bed without lying flat on the floor after a thunderstorm. In addition, the woody branches give them sufficient resilience to withstand hibernation in the house well.
A prime example of woody basil is the wild species from the country of origin India. Known under the denomination Tulsi ', the herb plant thrives as a richly branched bush. The reddish-colored leaves convince with a slight Blutwurstaroma, which is preserved even after the lignification. Whole shoots are always harvested here in order to brighten the shrub at the same time.
Tips & Tricks
If the lignification of a one-year-old basil is already well advanced, you will not have to go without the herb's pleasure for a long time. Simply cut several shoot tips as cuttings that are not lignified. In water glass, the offshoots will rooted quickly. Planted in nutrient-rich substrate, they transform quickly into a vital young plant with a lush green habit.
GTH