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How to Prune Basil for Big, Bushy Basil Plants (With Photos)

Avatar Published: Jul 11, 2019 by Meredith Skyer · This post may contain affiliate links.

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A big, bushy basil plant.

Have you ever bought a beautiful little basil seedling from your local nursery, only to have it quickly turn scraggly, tall, woody, and sparse?

For many years we struggled with the same issue.

We’d try time and time again to grow basil, excited to add it to our soups, salads, and Italian dishes, only to have it fail over and over again. 

It wasn’t until I received one simple tip from a friend that I was suddenly able to grow big, bushy, beautiful basil plants. 

It turns out, the way you prune the basil has everything to do with your success in growing it. 

Why it matters how you prune basil

You may think, it’s just a plant, why does it matter how I pick off leaves?

When it comes to pruning basil (or many other plants for that matter), the leaves you choose to remove matter for the health of the plant and for your continued enjoyment of fresh basil all season long.

For the plant to remain healthy, grow vigorously, and provide you with plenty of basil this season, it’s important to learn how to prune it correctly.

The wrong way to prune basil

When learning how to correctly prune basil, it’s important to first know the wrong way to go about pruning.

Most people are tempted to pick off the biggest leaves of the plant, those growing on the bottom branches.

The biggest leaves on the bottom branches are the powerhouses of the whole plant. Those big leaves take in the most sunlight and make sure the basil plant is getting adequate nutrients. Pruning them off significantly hurts the plant. 

Not only does removing those bottom leaves hurt the plant, it doesn’t help the plant create new leaves and branches. 

A potted basil plant

The correct way to prune basil

Now that you know the wrong way to prune basil, let’s go over the correct way to pick off basil leaves. 

The leaves that you should remove are those growing on the top of the plant.

Yes, they’re smaller and won’t make nearly as much Caprese salad as those big leaves on the bottom, but there’s a good reason to pick off the leaves from the top of the plant.

Every time you prune the leaves from the top of the basil plant, it allows the plant to create two new branches from the spot that you picked.

Those two new branches will create new sets of leaves, and when you prune them again, they’ll create two new branches again.

Pruning this way allows the plant to grow outward instead of only upward. It will grow exponentially bigger every time you prune the plant. 

Alternatively, if you were pruning the plant the wrong way, it would continue to grow leaves from the one central branch, but would eventually turn woody, skimpy, sparse, and ultimately die. 

3 Steps to Prune Basil Correctly

1. Identify

Identify the spot on the branch where you can clearly see new tiny leaves forming.

Identify the spot on the basil plant where tiny leaves are forming.

2. Cut

Cut the branch just above those tiny leaves, making sure not to disturb the leaves themselves. Use some herb pruning shears to ensure a clean cut.

Cut the branch just above the tiny basil leaves.

3. Repeat

Repeat this process with all branches that have tiny leaves growing.

A cut basil branch.

In a few weeks you’ll see that those tiny leaves turned into new branches, and you can again prune the new branches just above new sets of leaves so those will branch out again.

A big, bushy basil plant.

And there you have it, the secret to growing big bushy basil plants!

Make sure you learn how to dry and preserve your harvested herbs so that nothing goes to waste. You can learn two of the easiest methods for drying herbs at home in our article here.

How to Prune Basil for Big, Bushy Basil Plants (With Photos)

How to Prune Basil for Big, Bushy Basil Plants (With Photos)

Yield: N/A
Active Time: 1 minute
Total Time: 1 minute
Difficulty: Easy
Estimated Cost: Free

You've probably been pruning basil wrong all your life!

Materials

  • None

Tools

  • Herb Pruning Shears

Instructions

    1. Identify the spot on the branch where you can clearly see new tiny basil leaves forming.
    2. Cut the branch just above those tiny leaves, making sure not to disturb the leaves themselves.
    3. Repeat this process with all branches that have tiny leaves growing.

Notes

In a few weeks you’ll see that those tiny leaves turned into new branches, and you can again prune the new branches just above new sets of leaves so those will branch out again

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • TABOR TOOLS Pruning Shears, Florist Scissors, Multi-Tasking Garden Snips for Arranging Flowers, Trimming Plants and Harvesting Herbs, Fruits or Vegetables. K17A. (Straight, Stainless Steel Blades) 
    TABOR TOOLS Pruning Shears, Florist Scissors, Multi-Tasking Garden Snips for Arranging Flowers, Trimming Plants and Harvesting Herbs, Fruits or Vegetables. K17A. (Straight, Stainless Steel Blades) 
© Meredith Skyer
Category: Herb Gardening

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Herb Gardening

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Meredith Skyer

Meredith Skyer is a writer, artist, and homesteader residing in Western New York with her husband and menagerie of farm critters.

She has spent the last 12 years learning and implementing a myriad of homesteading skills, specializing in growing food and animal husbandry. Her biggest passion is working in conjunction with the natural world to harvest healthy, organic food from her own backyard.

Meredith is a freelance writer and founder of Backyard Chicken Project, a place for crazy chicken people to gather, learn, and share in their love of chickens. She also contributes articles to Mother Earth News Online, From Scratch Magazine, and Grit.

Meredith works from her woodland homestead where she spends her days writing, creating animal-inspired art, and chasing after her flock of chickens.

You can visit her at www.backyardchickenproject.com

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How to Prune Basil for Big, Bushy Basil Plants (With Photos)

How to Prune Basil for Big, Bushy Basil Plants (With Photos)

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