Herbs are some of the easiest plants to grow, as you can simply leave most of them alone to thrive on a windowsill, but in summer basil requires a little extra care to stay healthy. Basil is a cool-season plant, which means it will become greatly stressed out during the hot weather in August, and it can begin flowering.
While this might sound nice, basil flowers as a survival response to being kept in a high temperature, and it will focus all its energy in producing seeds rather than growing leaves. This will cause basil leaves to become bitter and any flavour they once had will start to fade, so you are left with a horrible-tasting herb that cannot be used in cooking.
Once basil plants begin flowering, it means the plant is nearing the end of its life cycle, so it will signal to the plant to begin withering away and die much earlier than it should.
However, Dagny, a gardener and founder of The Cottage Peach has shared there is a really easy way to keep basil tasty and alive for much longer, as all you need to do is prune it/
She said: “Pruning basil is crucial for encouraging bushier growth and preventing the plant from flowering too early. When basil plants start to flower, they divert energy towards seed production, resulting in reduced leaf growth and a decline in flavour.
“Regular pruning helps maintain the plant’s focus on leaf production, ensuring a steady supply of fresh and aromatic leaves throughout the growing season.”
Basil needs to be pruned regularly in summer to prevent flowering, but luckily it only takes less than two minutes as it is very easy to do.
All you need to do is look for a node, which is a little bump on the stem where leaves or buds are growing out of, and it will see you will two leaves growing opposite each other.
Then, simply cut the stem above the node using a pair of scissors. This encourages basil to keep growing new stems instead of flowers so you get a bushier plant filled with tasty leaves.
Make sure to also harvest a basil plant regularly once you have noticed it is filled with leaves. Use your fingers to pinch the leaves off the stems, and it is fine to cut entire stems if you are using a lot of basil in a recipe
Taking a few minutes prune, and harvest basil helps prevent the herb from flowering in summer, so you will have a longer-lasting and bushier plant for the next few months.