Is your basil thriving particularly well this year? Then you can easily grow additional specimens using cuttings. This form of propagation is very easy to do, as the following instructions prove.
How do I grow basil from cuttings?
To grow basil from cuttings, cut off 10-15 cm long shoot tips and remove lower leaves. Place them in a glass of water, ideally with pieces of charcoal to prevent rot. As soon as the roots are 3-4 cm long, pot them in lightly fertilized substrate and water from below.
Cut the perfect cuttings – this is how it works
The best cuttings come from shoots that have juicy green leaves and no flowers at all. Cut off the tips here to a length of 10 to 15 centimeters. Position the scissors so that the cut is made just below the base of a leaf. Only use cutting tools that have been freshly sharpened and meticulously disinfected, because treacherous fungal spores lurk everywhere.
This is how rooting works in a water glass
It is always a small miracle when a cutting sprouts roots. You can follow the process daily in the water glass. This is how it works:
- defoliate the cut cuttings in the lower half
- fill a glass with water to put the cuttings in
- the addition of a small piece of charcoal prevents rot formation
- place in a partially shaded, warm window seat
Ideally, the water is renewed daily. If the process is successful, you can look forward to the first tender roots within a few days.
Pot cuttings properly
Once the roots have reached a length of 3-4 centimeters, pot up the basil. How to do it right:
- Fill 9 cm pots with lightly fertilized substrate, such as herb or potting soil
- press a hollow with a pricking rod
- insert one rooted cutting at a time
- fill with soil up to the bottom pair of leaves and press down with the pricking rod
- place the cultivation containers in a bowl with a 5 centimeter high water level
Once the mini basil has been watered from below, first place it in a semi-shady place. After a few days, the young plants move to a sunny location. Once your pupils have rooted through the growing pot, plant each basil in a bed or a pot with nutrient-rich soil.
Tips & Tricks
Did your basil surprise you with a flower? Don't worry about the bitter taste the leaves now take on. Instead, enjoy the splendor of the flowers and then collect the seeds. Thanks to a short germination time of 1-2 weeks, you can grow a new royal herb in no time.
