How to Propagate Basil Endlessly
This summer, I’ve been experimenting with a lot of gardening projects at home.
A few weeks ago, I saw something online about propagating basil “endlessly” in water,
and I was curious to try it. It ended up working really well and it wasn’t very hard either.
I highly recommend this project!
Basically, propagation is the process of creating new plants from one ‘parent’ plant.
It’s a great way to save money, because you can multiply one plant into many
without spending anything extra. With basil it’s a fairly simple process,
one you can do on a windowsill with a jar of water. Here’s a list of everything you’ll need.
-One basil plant
-Scissors
-Jar or glass for water
-Pot and potting soil
-Sunlight
First, identify a healthy looking basil plant. Look at the main stem,
and find a point about 3-4 inches from the top where leaves are extending out.
Cut right under those leaves.
Now, trim leaves from your cutting until you have only 3-4 at the top.
It’s important to not keep too many leaves, so that your small cutting
does not have to distribute nutrients to too many places
Fill a small jar or glass with water. Put the basil cutting in the water and
place it in a spot with good sunlight. You want most of the stem to be submerged,
because this is where the roots will be sprouting. Feel free to put multiple cuttings in the water,
but be careful not to overcrowd the space
After about a week, you should start to notice roots growing under the water.
Don’t worry if this takes slightly more than a week, I actually kept my cuttings in water
for an average of about 10 days.
Once the roots have grown out a bit, transplant the new plant into a pot
with potting soil or into a spot in the ground with good soil.
Keep the soil very well hydrated for the first few days after transplanting,
since the roots have become accustomed to living in water.
With proper care, the new plants grow very well. This plant is only about a month old,
and it started from a small cutting with about four leaves.
