Ocimum basilicum Seeds | Sweet Basil
LATIN NAME: Ocimum basilicum
COMMON NAME: Sweet Basil
Plant Profile
Ocimum basilicum, commonly known as Sweet Basil, is an upright, bushy, annual in the mint family. Sweet basil is green scent of summer kitchen, and small, white flowers open in loose spikes above glossy leaves. It is a plant of open, sunny, deep, moist, rich ground. Its appeal to pollinating insects adds a second, ecological layer to its ornamental one. In combination, these characteristics make a persuasive case for growing it.
Science & Biotechnology
Like other members of the mint family, Ocimum basilicum draws steady attention from botanists and plant breeders, who value the genus both as a subject of research and as a source of garden-worthy material. From a research perspective, species of this kind are valuable material for work on propagation and on the selection of uniform lines.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden, Sweet Basil earns its place in borders, containers and mixed plantings, and it also rewards growers who raise plants for cutting, drying or kitchen use. Sweet basil is a fine, generous plant of herb garden and summer kitchen. It is a fine, generous plant of open, sunny, deep, moist, rich garden. Pinch out growing tips through early season, and plants will bush out into fine, full mounds. Thereafter it wants only the ordinary attentions any garden plant receives.
Basil is the royal herb: sweet basil perfumes the world’s kitchens, while holy basil, tulsi, is Ayurveda’s most revered adaptogen tea, studied for stress and metabolic support. Basil’s eugenol and linalool give the genus genuine antimicrobial chemistry.
Growing from Seed
Sweet Basil is one of those generous plants that come along well from seed. Fill a pot with a light seed compost, sow evenly on the surface, cover thinly and stand it somewhere warm, bright and evenly moist. Prick the seedlings out once they are large enough to handle, grow them on in bright light, and plant out when conditions allow.
Our Take
Given the right start, Sweet Basil is a long-term garden companion. Even moisture while the seed is chitting is the main thing; afterwards it largely looks after itself.
Related Reading
Continue exploring with these related plants: