Hello There I had a holy basil plant and it somehow or other died. I have still that dried out pant. I want to know that if can I propgate a new plant through the stem of that plant? Is it possible ? If yes, how can I do that? Many thanks Preeti
Thanks for your reply. I would be very grateful if u can also guide me as to how propagate tulsi,the holy basil,from seeds and stem cutting. I tried with seeds in peat moss cups and peat pellets but it did not work. Somebody told me that she used to put manjari,the whole flower cluster in water and when it used to shoot a root,she used to pot it and whole plant used to grow. Does anybody knows about it,if yes then please kindly guide me the whole process. Thanks in advance Preeti
Basil can be rooted from cuttings when placed in water. Remove the flower portion first though as it is an excessive drain on the stem while it is trying to root. Basil can also be grown from seed. Your peat pot method will work but temperatures need to be 26-30ºC for good germination with plenty of air movement. Simon
thanks for the information. i m totally new to gardening,so another question. i m pasting a url to this posting. if we take out all flowers,then a very small piece of green stem will be left over,do we put this in water and how exactly do we do that,do we just take a bowl of water and put the stem in it or is there some other way to do it. many thanks preeti http://florawww.eeb.uconn.edu/acc_num/199400166.html
You need to find cuttings with 3 to 5 inches of growth before the flowers. Remove the flower stalk and remove the bottom pair of leaves then place the bottom inch in a glass of water & keep in a bright location. Cuttings that long are easy to find in culinary Basil. You should be able to locate them for Holy basil. Young green vigourous shoots are best, they won't root as well if the base has started to get woody. Simon
Now I understood to some extent. Many thanks. This week I Am going to one devotee house who has some holy basil. I will bring some manjaris as explaiined by u. How long does it take app. for the stem to root? And when and how should I pot it? Thanks again. Preeti
You should start to see some new roots in a couple of weeks. When the roots 1-2" long and branching, pot it up in some good potting soil & keep it moist.
i was there at my freinds house this saturday, unfortunately her holy basil still did not have manjaris, I wanted to know if even leaf stalk or other stems can be used for propagating and if there is any requirement for plant to be some min matured for using above cuttings? thanks
As said before, young vigourous shoots, 3 to 5 inches long will root best. Stems will probably root better if they aren't flowering. Simon