How to Cut a Basil Plant

Cut off the top growth of a basil plant seedling.Cut off the top of the plant just above the third fully developed pair of leaves. Make this cut exactly where the stem of the top growth emerges from that pair of leaves. This early pruning encourages new leaf production and healthy root growth.

Cut off all new tips at transplanting time.Since you first pruned the seedling, the basil plant has begun to create stems, branching like a tree. When it is time to set the plant in the garden, remove the tip from every stem. Make the cut exactly where this fresh growth emerges from between the pair of leaves below it, as you did when you pruned the seedling. This pruning encourages the plant to channel its energies into establishing a strong root system and producing more branches.

Cut the maturing basil plant every three to four weeks.At transplanting time, you cut away new growth to encourage production. Now it is time to reap the rewards. Every three to four weeks, cut each stem so that no fewer than two pair of leaves remain. By mid-season, you will have a bumper crop.

Remove all seed heads.As the plant matures, it begins to produce seed heads. This process signals the plant to stop producing new leaves. As soon as you see seed heads develop, cut the seed head stem below the pair of leaves from which the seed heads are emerging.