Basil is one of the most versatile vegetables out there. It tastes great, is packed with nutrients, and is easy to grow—if you know what you’re doing of course.

You’re probably thinking, “That’s great, but how do I grow basil like a pro?”

Well, we’ve got some great tips that should make growing basil like a pro a breeze! Here are our favorite tips to help you prune basil like a pro.

Tips for Growing Basil

Growing basil is actually very easy. At its core, basil is a hardy herb that tolerates most conditions, except for extreme heat and drought.

Most types of basil will even grow in shady spots indoors.

However, to grow basil to its fullest potential you should make sure to provide it with the following:

-A well-drained soil that holds plenty of organic matter.

-Lush, rich soil

-Well-drained soil that is rich in organic matter

-Sunlight

Let’s talk about the soil first. If you look down to the soil level in your garden, you’ll notice that there are a couple of layers. The top layer of soil will be very rich in organic matter (read: farmer’s compost). The layer right below that will be lighter in organic matter, and the last layer will be the least rich in organic matter.

While it’s ideal to have the top layer of soil be extremely rich in organic matter, it’s perfectly acceptable to have the other layers be just as rich. The less-rich layers are still going to be rich enough in organic matter to support your basil plants.

When you’re planting basil in your garden, make sure you start your seeds in a very rich soil. This will ensure that your plants get a decent start, and will grow into healthy, happy plants.

How often should you prune basil?

You don’t need to prune basil every time you see it. However, some types of basil do benefit from being pruned.

You should prune basil once every four to six weeks. This is a general rule of thumb, but you’ll have to do a little trial and error to determine what’s best for your particular basil.

If you prune your basil too often, your plant will start to look a little messy. This is because the pruning cuts will remove some of the leaves, but will not cause any damage to the plant. If you leave it this way, your basil plant will continue to produce flowers and seeds.

If you prune basil too often, the plant will start to look a little messy.

However, if you prune your basil too little, the plant will start to produce fewer leaves, which means that it won’t be able to produce as many leaves as it should. This will result in fewer nutrients being delivered to the plant, which can lead to some pretty nutrient-deficient leaves.

How to prune basil?

There are a couple of ways that you can prune your basil, but they all boil down to removing a small portion of each leaf. Depending on the type of basil that you’re growing, you can prune it in a couple of different ways.

You’ll have to figure out which method works best for the particular basil that you’re growing. The following are three of the most common techniques that you can use when pruning basil:

-Scissor pruning

This method involves using a pair of garden scissors to remove a small portion of each side of the stem.

It’s a pretty simple technique, but it’s important to only prune basil plants once every four to six weeks. If you let your plants get too old and large, you’re not going to be able to use the same method that you’re using on the fresh young plants.

-Hand pruning

This is a more advanced method that you’ll have to use when your basil plants get older.

The main difference with this method is that you’ll be using a pair of secateurs. Secateurs are specially designed garden tools that are used to cut and trim plants.

Some people prefer to use secateurs because they provide a clean cut, whereas scissors could potentially leave some dirt and residue behind from the previous cut.

If your basil plants are older, and you’re looking to get even more out of your plant, it’s best to use this method.

-Thinning

Lastly, you can also use a method that involves removing a small portion of each leaf, but this time you’ll be removing the base of each leaf along with the stem.

This method is used to remove weaker or unhealthy plants from the main stems. It’s not something that you want to do too often though, as it will affect the overall health of your basil plant.

If you’re growing basil in a container, you can also use a method called topping. Topping is where you remove a small portion of the stem on each side of your plant.

This will encourage the plant to branch out, making it look more attractive.

4 Steps How to Prune Basil Like a Pro

To prune basil, you’ll first want to remove any dead or damaged leaves. As your basil plants grow, you’ll need to remove some of the weaker leaves to make room for the newer, stronger ones.

To get started, you’ll want to remove any dead or damaged leaves.

Next, you’ll want to cut the stem of your basil plant. While the top portion of your stem is the part that will grow leaves, the bottom portion is the part that will bear fruit and the seeds.

To prune your basil, you’ll want to cut the stem of your basil plant.

-Take your secateurs and remove a small portion of the bottom portion of the stem.

-Now take your scissors and remove a small portion of the top portion as well.

-Continue to cut the stem of your basil plant, removing any more leaves that are too old.

-Continue to prune basil like this until the plant is at the desired size and the desired number of leaves have been removed.

Conclusion

If you’ve been struggling with growing basil, we hope that our tips and tricks have given you some new insight into how to prune it.

Your basil plants will thank you for pruning them!

Do you have any other tips for growing basil? Share them with us in the comments below!