The culinary herb basil (Ocimum basilicum) is easy to grow indoors or outdoors. But what do you do when the basil blooms? Should you let it bloom or pinch off the flowers? And if you do that, what can you do with the flowers? Is flowering basil still edible? We answer all questions in this article.
What to do when basil blooms
Forms throughout the entire growing seasonhealthy basil, which is grown at home, has a lot of leaves. But when the growing season is over at the end of summer, the plant blooms. When this happens, you can either cut off the flower buds as soon as they appear to extend the growing season, or you can let them grow to complete the plant's growth cycle and enrich your garden.
Why does the herb bloom?
No matter what variety you have, it will try to bloom at the end of summer. When your plant starts to flower, it means it is switching from growth to reproduction mode. This means that the plant's energy goes into flowering rather than leaf growth. When the basil flowers, the leaves lose their flavor and no longer grow back as vigorously when harvested.
The flower signals that the plant has reached the end of its growing season. Whether it survives the next season depends on the climate in which you live. If you live in an area that experiences frost in the winter, the plant is unlikely to survive. It needs to be replanted next spring. If you wait for the flowering period, you can collect the seeds for re-sowing, or the plant can self-seed.
Flowering Basil: Discouraging the Plant from Flowering
Because the flavor of basil leaves is affected after they bloom, many people want to prevent their basil from blooming. To prevent your plant from flowering, simply watch for the appearance of flower buds and remove them at the first sign. This encourages more lush leaf growth, often allowing you to get another harvest of leaves before the flavor wears off. While pinching off the flower buds helps, it's even better to harvest half of the plant and use it to make pesto. After a week or two the plant has grown even more vigorously.
Can you still eat basil when it blooms?
Basil flowers are edible and can be used wherever fresh basil leaves are used. But be careful: fresh flowers often have a bitter taste compared to the fresh herb. So it's best to try it before serving this edible flower to your family!
Some ideas to try:
- flower heads to a salad of tomatoes,Basil leaves and mozzarellagive
- Chop them and add them to a bowl of fresh pasta
- Sprinkle them over a mixed green salad as a colorful garnish
- Prepare basil flower pesto with pine nuts and parmesan cheese
Make vinegar flavored with basil flowers
- A great way to utilize the essential oils of basil flowers is to make flower vinegar. This is easy to make by steeping the flowers in white vinegar in a jar or bottle.
- You can also pickle the flowers in olive oil to make basil flower oil. Both are great for adding delicious flavor to salad dressings and marinades.
- Try making basil flower tea. Place the flowers in a teapot or cup and pour boiling water over them (the best temperature is just before boiling). Allow the tea to steep for 3-4 minutes and then strain to remove the flowers before drinking.
- You can also prepare an herbal mixture of lavender, lemon balm and/or mint along with the basil flowers.
Let the herb bloom
Allowing the plant to bloom produces attractive purple or white flowers that smell wonderful and attract pollinating insects such as bees to your garden. Allowing the flowers to ripen on the plant will allow you to collect the seeds while the flowers are being pollinated. This will allow you to replant the plant in the spring, which is especially important if you live in an area where it grows as an annual. The leaves should be harvested as they lose their flavor when flowering begins. You can either dry them,to store them, or make a large batch of fresh basil pesto.
The plant dies after flowering
Basil survives even after flowering, but it is likely to die back as temperatures drop in the fall and winter. It's an annual herb that only grows in the warmest climates.
