How To Take Cuttings From Basil

Take cuttings from basil for fresh leaves over winter

Taking cuttings from Basil is one of the easiest gardening tasks. If you take cuttings towards the end of summer you can grow the young plants on a sunny windowsill and have fresh leaves over the winter.

 You will need:

•    glass jar with water
•    sharp knife

Take cuttings of about 10cm (4”) in length, cutting just below a leaf node; if you make the cut on a slant then it won’t stand flat on the bottom of the jar and it will be able to take up water easier.

Remove all the leaves except the top two pairs.

Place in the water.

Replace the water every other day and after a couple of weeks the cuttings should be growing roots.

Once they have grown a substantial root system pot them up into 9cm (3.5”) pots using a mixture of 50/50 good quality peat-free potting compost and Perlite.

Stand on a warm sunny windowsill and water by standing in a saucer of tepid water in the morning. Pour away any water which hasn’t been absorbed after half an hour; basil hates standing in cold wet compost. Watering in the morning allows any excess moisture to evaporate during the day.