Pruning those basil plants will ensure they continue to flourish throughout the summer. The cool thing a
bout basil is, if you cut one stem, it will reproduce to form two stems. This helps the plant to not seed or flower too quickly allowing the plant to concentrate on forming new leaves. The more often you trim the plant, the more leaves it will grow.
When Should You Trim Basil?
The earlier the better! The best time to start is when the plant it is about 6 inches tall or when it has grown at least six leaves.
What tool do I use and how do I trim them?
Basil plants are very soft and can be damaged easily. The best tools to prune basil are either a sharp pair of scissors or just your fingers.
Now for the pruning! When you see young basil plants developing three sets of leaves, locate the stem right above the third set and cut it. This will stimulate the side shoots to grow. If time gets away from you and you notice a flower stalk starting to grow, pinch it back.
And that’s it! Simple right? Just a few minutes of trimming will keep that Basil coming all season so, grab this scissors and get pruning!