Why does Basil keep dying on me?

gayleygoo

Any supermarket potted herbs I've had do this within a week or two. The supermarket wants you to come back and buy more herbs after all the seeds are packed in to get maximum leaves in a short time, but they won't last long like that. As caitybabes said you can carefully split the plants up (maybe a couple to each new pot) and they will be happier with more root space. My friend did this with several pots of supermarket herbs and his herb garden is thriving!

Callie22

My mum always said that basil hates going to bed with its feet wet, and I think in a lot of cases it dies due to overwatering - it's a Mediterranean herb after all so I don't think it does it any harm to let it dry out a bit between waterings. I grow my own on my kitchen windowsill and I've never had any problems. I just put some compost in a pot, sprinkle a few seeds on it, water it, cover the pot in clingfilm and wait for it to germinate. I will admit that I don't bother at this time of year as it's too cold to get it started but once it warms up a bit, the pots come out Then once it's growing, I water it a little bit each morning and that's it.

I also second the idea of splitting the plants. I did this once with a pot from Lidl and ended up with about eight enormous basil plants. The kitchen smelt lovely!

want_to_save

all the supermarket herbs i buy last about 2-3 months i get them home put them on a saucer or put the pot on a huge mug and then water like crazy once its taken its fill then just water when needed.

Parsimonia

Our supermarket basil has been going strong on a windowsill for over a year now. The trick is to let the leaves really wilt before you water it, and then only water sparingly. We get new growth as we pick the mature leaves...

Tamara_2

I had the same problem as you, OP, then someone told me only to water basil plants after mid-day! I know it sounds ridiculous! However, I started doing this and now a supermarket plant does indeed last much longer.But I'm not sure if this has any basis in science...!

room512

I've had a basil plant from the supermarket for ages now. I only remember to water it when the leaves begin to wilt and I water it from the bottom and give it loads of water and then leave it until the leaves wilt again. I also cut it back regularly and pull off most of the leaves (and freeze them).

poorly_scammo

Supermarket basil generally won't last long. The plants are forced in greenhouses with hydroponic lights and temperature controls which often means that they're stringy and weak and therefore don't live for very long.

A way to keep them going for longer is to repot in a larger pot. Tip the basil out of its pot and tease some of the roots which will probably be wrapped around the soil. Put about an inch of compost in the bottom of the new pot, put the plant in and backfill with fresh compost leaving about a centimetre of space at the top. Keep well watered but don't drown it. The compost should stay moist not sopping wet.

Alternatively and certainly cheaper - grow your own. You can buy cheap basil seed all year round and it grows indoors on a sunny windowsil very well.

TravellingAbuela

Thanks all for your tips! As I haven't had much success growing from seed either, I am going for the splitting supermarket pots route. If that fails me then I will assume Basil doesn't like me very much and change my name to Sybil!

calicocat

I'm wondering if people are having better success with Basil from certain shops?

As thinking about it the ones I got from Aldi have been better than one I got recently but can't remember where that was from now.

Where are people getting them from that work out well?

Thanks for the splitting it out tip, I shall try that next time I get one as mine have only ever lasted a couple of months probably.

babyblooz

I tipped mine out of the original supermarket tub and repotted into a bigger pot. I used normal potting compost. I must have had this pot for over four or five months now. It tends to get a bit leggy on the windowsill, maybe because its so close to the light all the time, but I snip off the tops every few weeks to encourage it get bushier. I use the leaves on my home made pizzas and it does taste lovely!