COLUMBIA, S.C. — Basil is a popular herb to grow because it's easy to take care of, comes in beautiful varieties, and can drop the grocery bill (especially if you love margarita pizzas and pesto). Basil is a short lived annual. It typically can complete its entire life cycle in just a few months, but an easy pruning technique will keep this herb tasty and beautiful through the summer.
Basil flowers are absolutely beautiful, but if you're growing basil for future dinners, it's best to cut those blooms off before they even begin to develop. When basil is in flower, the plant dedicates its energy to the blooms and future seeds which will make the leaves smaller and less tasty. Basil is a true annual which means it won't live a long life, but you can force it into producing leaves instead of flowers by pruning properly and encouraging bushy growth.
These herbs will show signs of developing blooms on the top of their branches where new leaves come out. When you see a bunch of (what appears to be) tiny, tightly clustered leaves, that's a future bloom. This can be pinched off and used for recipes as the blooms are also edible and it's perfectly okay to end up with a few blooms on the plant. As long as there are some leaves left on that stem, the stem will produce 2 new shoots to replace the one that was taken away.
This pruning method is the best way to get the most food from basil plants, but for cooks looking for a quick basil leaf, there's nothing wrong with just pulling off a leaf or two. These plants are very forgiving, but they're not destined for long lives. That's why when the plants start to loose their vigor, they can be allowed to bloom so the seeds can be collected for new plants! A little tough love will keep your basil plants impressive for months to come!