Is it worth saving my basil plants?

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

I've waited too long to repot my basil. What is going on here with the leaves? Is this due to them needing to be repotted, and would it be worth repotting them in a large garden bed, or am I better off buying new ones and starting over?

Another related question that I have is, what is the best way to get rid of and prevent/control thrips on herbs that you plan to consume? I seem to end up with them every time I start my herb garden, and I think they may be finding their way over from a neighboring garden, although I'm not sure how large of distances thrips can travel. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

PRO
Bespoke Gardening
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
My take would be no. What USDA zone are you in, Hannah? If you don't know, figure it out from this great, hyperlocal map:

https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/InteractiveMap.aspx

I am wondering if the basil plants were sitting outside waiting to be planted during cool, rainy weather? Basil like it HOT -- warm soil, warm air, warm night temperatures. If you're in zone 6b or cooler, IMHO I myself would still wait awhile before buying and planting basil unless you have a snug and cozy microclimate or are planting in pots that you can bring inside on cool, damp days or cold nights. Basil is wonderful and it is SO hard to resist buying it when it looks fresh and wonderful in a garden center!
Hannah Nichols thanked Bespoke Gardening
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
4 years ago
Have those plants ever been fertilized?
Hannah Nichols thanked rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
Related Discussions
worth saving dahlia and aster seeds from hybrid plants?
Q
Comments (4)
Hi All, Thanks for your responses. What I meant by "worth saving" was that I am a bit concerned whether I will have "any" flowers/bloom at all from the offsprings, since the parent was a hybrid in the first place. I absolutely dont mind different colors or mixes, but I do wish for flowers if I go through the effort of saving the seed and then replanting etc. It would be disappointing to say the least, if the offsprings don't bloom at all.
...See More
Why did my transplanted basil wilt and can I still save it?
Q
Comments (4)
It wilted due to stress. Maybe a lack of water. I'm guessing there were few root hairs on the roots. Transferring from a system where roots are constantly wet to one where they are only slightly damp can be a shock. Try watering heavily. They might pull out of it. Sometimes a plant can look like it's dead when it's in shock, but pulls out just fine. But, sometimes they really are dead. I grow all plants hydroponically at the beginning. All my soil garden plants are started in an ebb and flow system. However, these plants are in coco coir and develop some really nice root hairs. My plants rarely experience transplant shock and when they do, it's because I did something clutzy like dropped them when pulling them out. I've transplanted from DWC (where the roots just dangle in water) to soil, too. The plants suffered for a day, but pulled out of it. I thought they would die. Something to consider is that if you plant in direct sunlight, that could hurt them, too. It's best to transplant to soil on overcast days or shade the plants with something. I'm guessing the basil is of pretty good size, too. It's best to harvest some of the leaves to reduce transpiration if the plant is used to constantly being immersed in water. I wouldn't do it now as the plants seem to be overly stressed, but in the future you might keep that in mind.
...See More
Is this scale, and is this plant worth saving
Q
Comments (7)
well that should definitely be enough light for an indoor plant .... thinking way outside your box.. at my first house.. i had a weird wall space like that.. and ended up hanging an oriental carpet runner as a wall hanging ... which left a few inches of wall showing on each side of a cool asian design ... as to the plant.. it is a very large plant.. in a very small pot .. it will .. eventually .. need to be up potted ... i am not into house plants .. so i will defer to the others as to ID and diagnosis .. but do let me know what you think of the runner idea ... ken Here is a link that might be useful: the sky is the limit on color and design ...
...See More
Is my adenium worth saving?
Q
Comments (17)
First of all to Gill, Rick and Stuart: thank you for replying so quick to my questions. It is so wonderful to be in contact with knowledgable people who also understand this inexplicable adenium addiction. The plastic pot I bought the plant in did have drain holes. Clearly a case of a grower just trying to make a quick buck without caring about the product itself too much. In another tread on this forum someone referred to adeniums from the Netherlands as the crap growers' product from the Netherlands (or something similar). He or she must have had the same experience. Anyway, things never seem to go the way one had planned. I didn't get round to carry on the operations based on the advice above first thing this morning, as I had our weekly shopping to do which also gave me the opportunity to buy another pot for this adenium more suitable to its new size and shape. I should have held back... You were right about the dark end at the bottom of the roots.... Not all as bad, but nevertheless something that couldn't have been neglected. One of the tiny darker spots (not shown in a separate picture yesterday) on the side of one of the big roots turned out to hide a completely hollow root.... Here are the results after today's operation. I'm afraid there's not much left of the caudex, and I wonder whether or not the plant will recover in a nice way. On the other side it only cost EUR 7 so for that price it may have been a good object for practice. Now, a few more questions. When you say I'm gonna have to let it hang for a few weeks, do you actually mean "hang it up" with string or something, or is it okay to lay it on its side on a big plate (indoors, in the shade)? And a few weeks, with alll the big cutting I've done, would you say 10-14 days? Tomorrow I will go out and hunt for yet another smaller new home pot for it. Any maybe I'll treat myself to another one of these (saw a nice one yesterday but convinced myself I didn't need a second one - but that was then...).
...See More
Hannah Nichols
Original Author
4 years ago
@Bespoke Gardening, thank you so much for your comment and sharing that map. I read this back when you posted it, and forgot to respond then. I live in Brooklyn, NY. It looks like I'm somewhere between 7a and 7b. That's good to know about waiting until later in the season to buy basil. I bought mine as soon as the temperature got above a high of 60, but I see that I should have waited. Since then, it has warmed up a lot. We removed the junky looking leaves and repotted the basil and it's absolutely thriving! I was ready to give up on it but I think the weather changed just in time.

@rhizo_1, I haven't fertilized them. We did just repot though, and the basil is really thriving in the warm weather.
PRO
Bespoke Gardening
4 years ago
Glad to hear it! Sounds like you're in the clear!

I was cautious on your basil since it has been having a major problem with basil downy mildew in the last few years. One of the symptoms is that they look yellow as if they have not been fertilized! The disease is a real nasty one -- like late blight of tomato, it can travel miles and miles on the wind, and no organic fungicides have been found to treat it. Although in the North it typically doesn't overwinter (so far) and it doesn't like cooler temperatures, lots of us buy our basil plants that are greenhouse-grown, and thus the possibility of its survival in the North and the cycle continuing exists. (Seed can also carry the disease.) I know Rutgers has been partnering to develop resistant varieties that are now for sale at wholesale level, but I'm not sure how far into the retail market they have managed to penetrate.

Has anyone seen basil for sale yet that is marketed as disease resistant?

Is it worth saving my basil plants?

Comments (4)

Bespoke Gardening

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

Related Discussions

Hannah Nichols
Original Author

Bespoke Gardening

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Is it worth saving my basil plants?

Comments (4)

Bespoke Gardening

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

Related Discussions

Hannah NicholsOriginal Author

Bespoke Gardening

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Hannah Nichols
Original Author