How to Grow Basil: Best Tips for Big Bushy Plants

Are you dreaming of big bushy basil plants? Come learn how to grow basil at home with tips to plant, prune, and harvest basil to encourage full, prolific basil plants to enjoy all season long.

Basil is a versatile, delicious, warm-weather annual herb that should be part of every summer garden. It’s one of my favorite easy herbs to grow, especially since we cook with it so much! Using these tips, we harvest pounds and pounds of basil every summer – more than enough to enjoy fresh, dry some, make frozen basil cubes, and stock our freezer with homegrown pesto.

Just a couple basil plants will provide plenty of fresh leaves to enjoy with your summer salads and sauces. However, if you hope to have extra to preserve, plan to grow at least a few plants.

Note: This post was originally published in April 2019 and significantly updated in 2025.

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Best Basil Varieties

The most common type of basil is Italian or Genovese basil. These reliable varieties grow smooth, tender, spoon-shaped leaves that offer that classic sweet-yet-herbaceous basil flavor. We especially enjoy growing Rutger’s Devotion basil, a productive Genovese-type with excellent downy mildew resistance.

Yet there are many other fun and unique varieties of basil to grow too! Consider beautiful Opal (purple) basil, Lemon basil, Sweet Thai basil, or even Cinnamon basil. Here is an awesome mixed-variety pack of basil seeds to try. Some “lettuce” leaf basil varieties offer huge furled leaves. We also love to grow Tulsi (holy basil) for tea, and African Blue Basil as a gorgeous ornamental pollinator plant (though it has sterile seeds, so it’s only available as seedlings or cuttings).

6 Ways to Make Basil Bushy

Before we get into the best practices to care for basil, here are a few quick tips to make your basil extra bushy – giving you abundant leaves to harvest all summer long!

• Separate or thin basil seedlings to give them space. Leaving many basil seedlings crowded together stunts their growth. We like to plant seedlings in clusters of 3, each spaced 5 to 7 inches apart.
• Top or prune basil seedlings once they’re at least 4 to 6 inches tall to encourage branching.
• Add a sprinkle of mycorrhizae and worm castings to the root zone at planting time for improved nutrient uptake and explosive plant growth.
• Prune and harvest basil regularly throughout the growing season to promote fresh new growth and branches – but don’t only pick the leaves off!
• Pinch off flowers, especially early in the season.
• See more details on all these tips below!

Growing Basil from Seed

Basil is easy to grow from seed, though it requires planning in advance since basil tends to grow a bit slowly at first. We typically start our basil seed indoors in the late winter to early spring to get a jump start on the season.

• Start basil seeds indoors about 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost date.
• Fill seed starting trays with damp (pre-moistened) fluffy seed starting mix. Plant just a few basil seeds per cell or pot, and lightly bury the seeds about 1/4 inch deep or less.
• Basil seeds sprout most readily when the soil temperature is 75 to 85°F, so use a seedling heat mat to keep the soil warm as needed.
• Immediately after sprouting, basil needs ample bright light (ideally 12 to 14 hours per day) to prevent leggy seedlings. A sunny window may work okay, though grow lights will provide even better light.
• Keep the seedling soil evenly moist, but not soggy. Avoid overwatering since basil is prone to rot.
• Thin and pot up seedlings as needed to prevent them from getting root bound or overly crowded.
• Before transplanting indoor starts outside, make sure to properly harden them off!
• You can also direct-sow basil seeds outdoors once the risk of frost has passed, though it will sprout and grow much slower that way.

RELATED: Get more detailed tips and best practices for starting seeds indoors, including a list of our favorite seed starting supplies and how to make DIY seed starting mix.

Growing Basil from Seedlings or Cuttings

On the other hand, the most quick and easy way to grow basil is from nursery seedlings – or even grocery store plants. They often come with several to dozens of basil seedlings growing in one pot, so you can gently tease apart the seedlings to get even more plants for free. And yes, you DO want to separate them to grow the biggest basil possible! If left too crowded, they’ll stay small and stunted.

For the best results, choose a container with only a handful of young tender basil seedlings inside; those will be easier to separate without damaging the roots compared to larger, super-crowded bunches. Even better, choose a 6-pack of basil seedlings if available.

It’s also incredibly easy to grow basil from cuttings. We often do this to create more free plants after trimming our basil seedlings. See our guide on how to propagate basil by rooting cuttings in water.

Pruning Basil Seedlings for Bushy Plants

Here is one KEY to growing large, bushy basil plants! To encourage branching, it’s best to start pruning basil seedlings when they’re still quite small. Without pruning, basil tends to grow tall and lanky, which produces less leaves to harvest and also makes the plants more susceptible to flopping over.

Once basil seedlings are at least 4 to 6 inches tall and have several sets of leaves, use fine trimming snips to cut off the top of the seedling (or, carefully pinch off the tops with your finger tips). Prune basil seedlings just above a “node” – the place where two larger leaves are growing out of the stem. Always leave at least 1 or 2 sets of nice leaves on the seedling to grow. See photos below. Within a couple weeks of pruning, the basil will grow two new branches from the node area!

Now you can either eat the pruned tops, or use the longest cuttings to propagate basil in water to grow even more basil plants.

Planting Basil Outside

• Plant basil outside in spring ater the risk of frost has passed, ideally once daytime temperatures are regularly in the 70s and overnight temperatures don’t dip below 40-50.
  
  
• Basil grows best in moderately rich, loose, well-draining soil, such as potting soil amended with aged compost. Since basil is prone to root rot when overwatered, amend heavy clay soil with horticulture sand, compost, and/or potting mix to improve drainage.
  
  
• Be sure to harden off indoor seedlings first and follow other transplanting best practices. We love to add a handful of worm castings and sprinkle of mycorrhizae to the planting hole. Both help to reduce transplant shock, encourage healthy root development, and increase nutrient uptake – which all lead to larger, bushy basil plants!
  
  
• Basil makes a wonderful tomato companion plant. We always plant basil near the base of our DIY tomato trellis.
  
  
• See spacing recommendations and tips about planting basil in containers to follow.
  
  

How Far to Space Basil Plants

Depending on variety, it’s often recommended to space basil plants 8 to 12 inches apart. However, we prefer to plant our basil in clusters of three in a triangle, with each seedling spaced about 5 to 7 inches apart. That way, they don’t become stunted but still grow together into one large bush, which looks quite nice while the plants do provide support and shade for one another. Potted basil can also be planted more densely, with each seedling spaced about 4 to 6 inches apart.

Growing Basil in Pots or Indoors

To grow basil in a pot, choose a container that is at least 6 inches deep and 6 inches wide for one to two basil seedlings. But bigger is better, since the size of the container will limit the size of your basil plant as it matures. Use an even larger pot to plant multiple basil seedlings together, with enough room to space them at least 4 inches apart.

Fill the pot with rich, well-draining potting soil and ensure the container has ample drainage holes. If you plan to keep the potted basil indoors, you can line the inside of the pot with porous landscape fabric to prevent the soil from running out of the drainage holes while still allowing water to escape.

Place the pot of basil in a location that gets ample bright light. When growing basil indoors, keep it in a sunny windowsill or under a small grow light for the best results.

Don’t miss our tutorial on how to make a DIY container herb garden planter!

Optimal Temperature and Sun to Grow Basil

Basil is a tropical, tender herb that thrives in warm conditions. The ideal temperature range to grow basil is 65 to 85°F. Basil needs at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight, though it will benefit from some afternoon shade in the hottest climates. While it can handle an occasional cool or hot snap, prolonged exposure to heat over 90°F will cause stress.

Basil is not frost-hardy, and quickly becomes stressed and stunted when overnight temperatures are routinely below 50°F. Since we have cool, foggy spring weather here, our basil plants look a bit sad and yellow until things start to heat up more in summer.

How to Protect Basil from Heat or Cold

Basil is admittedly a bit picky about it’s preferred temperature range, but there are ways to work around that!

To protect basil during heat waves, shelter the plants with shade cloth. Or, plant basil between other taller plants that can offer protection and partial shade, such as between peppers, squash or tomatoes. Don’t overcrowd them so they get too little sun though! Since basil grows well in containers, you could simply plant it in a pot and move it to a partially shaded location as needed too.

Protect basil from temperatures below 40°F using frost cloth, cloches, or other protective covers. Mulching around the base of plants also buffers the roots against temperature extremes.

RELATED: Learn how to use garden hoops and row covers to protect plants from frost, heat or pests – including our favorite supplies!

Water and Mulch

Basil prefers consistently damp soil. However, overwatering or standing water can easily lead to root rot, especially in cool conditions. So, it’s best to water basil when the soil just begins to dry out slightly. Potted plants generally dry out faster and therefore need more frequent water than basil growing in raised garden beds or in-ground.

We rely on our handy automated raised bed drip irrigation to provide a nice consistent watering schedule. Though they’re not particularly heavy feeders, we also water our basil plants with dilute seaweed extract or compost tea once or twice during the growing season for additional nutrients.

Add a couple inches of mulch to the soil around your basil to aid in even moisture retention. Good mulch options include compost, straw, leaves or fine wood chips.

Harvesting Basil

The secret for big bushy basil is to use it! By regularly pruning and harvesting basil to enjoy, you encourage more and more new growth. Basil is not intended to be grown to a full size and then harvested in its entirety. Also, it’s not ideal to pluck off individual leaves alone – which is tedious and won’t promote new growth.

To harvest basil, cut stems just above a node (like we did to prune seedlings). How deep you cut depends on the size and age of your plant. Always leave a few sets of leaves behind per stem, but feel free to cut several inches off the top – not just the tip! However, avoid cutting too deeply on the main center woody stalk from an established basil plant, as that part may not bounce back.

When I harvest basil, I usually trim a little from various areas at different heights to encourage branching all over. Watch the video below to see how I do it!

RELATED: See our new guide on how to harvest basil for even more step-by-step photos and tips.

Pinching Basil Flowers

Basil will naturally begin to flower as it ages and transitions its energy into producing seed rather than growing new leaves. Basil may also start to flower early in response to stress, such as extreme heat, drought, or other unfavorable conditions. Once it starts to flower, the leaves will start to get increasingly tough and bitter.

To delay flowering and encourage more fresh leaves to grow, it’s best to pinch off basil flowers soon after they form – especially early in the growing season. Paired with routine pruning and harvesting, your basil plant will continue to produce new tender leaves. Yet as the season goes on, we generally let our basil flower for the bees to enjoy.

How to Store Basil After Harvest

We’ve found the best way to store basil is to place freshly cut stems in a bowl or jar with water, just like flowers in a vase! (Don’t soak the leaves in water however.) Then, simply keep it out on the counter at room temperature. Basil should stay fresh and perky for over a week this way. Change the water every few days as needed.

Ways to Preserve Basil

If you have more than you can use fresh, please enjoy these ideas to preserve basil:

• Make our popular lemon walnut Besto Pesto recipe to freeze.
• Dehydrate basil leaves for easy dry storage.
• Make frozen basil cubes with olive oil, which are perfect to use for everyday cooking!

And that concludes this lesson on growing basil. I hope you enjoyed this post and learned something new. Please feel free to ask questions in the comments below. Have a fantastic growing season!

You may also enjoy:

• How to Dry Fresh Herbs: 4 Easy Ways + Storage Tips
• How to Make the Perfect Zoodles (Zucchini Noodles) with Pesto
• How to Plant Tomatoes: When, How Deep, Fertilizer, Pots & More
• Growing Herbs 101: How to Start a Kitchen Herb Garden, Indoors or Out