I have tried posting this everywhere. Not really getting feedback. Its leaves are turning yellow in some places. The lower leaves. This happened before too. Nearly lost all of its leaves the last time this happened, but i brought it back big time with a fertilizer. Now its leaves are yellowing again.. I have no earthly idea why!! Yes i preen off the flowers, btw.

Do you put it outside in the summer?
You don't say where you garden.
Maybe it wants to see the sun.

The plants are too crowded in the container and they aren't getting enough sunlight. Basil often don't last long indoors, at least not in a healthy condition, and they have a limited lifespan even under better conditions. Try taking some clippings and root new plants. Put fewer in the next pot and place outside or in brighter light.

I hope you meant "prune", not preen.

BigAppleRoseGuy said:Do you put it outside in the summer?
You don't say where you garden.
Maybe it wants to see the sun.

I actually used to keep it outside yes, it nearly died back then. I kept it under somewhat of a porch then too though. Very small staircase landing outside. It was doing the same thing only way worse. When I fertilized it it bounced back big time. I live in Texas. Should it get even better sun than on the porch?

NMoasis said:
The plants are too crowded in the container and they aren't getting enough sunlight. Basil often don't last long indoors, at least not in a healthy condition, and they have a limited lifespan even under better conditions. Try taking some clippings and root new plants. Put fewer in the next pot and place outside or in brighter light.

I hope you meant "prune", not preen.

I will look for a better pot, does small
Root space cause their leaves to yellow or is it the sunlight issue? Nooo why is their lifespan short?

I really don't want this one to die

Not necessarily a bigger pot. Put fewer plants in the pot. One plant in that pot would be thicker and healthier than those 15 or so spindly stalks, especially if you put it outside in sun for at least the first half of the day. That isn't how basil should look. They are too crowded for root space, nutrients, water and light. Basils need light and space. You can only force growth so long with fertilizer before it finally gives up. It's like depriving a human of food and exercise and keeping them alive with vitamins and IV liquids...their health will deteriorate.

In the garden, basils are treated as annuals, which means they sprout, grow, flower, set seed and die in less than a year. They are short-lived perennials in tropical climates. Indoors they don't stay happy for long. I'm so sorry, I can't suggest anything else for your plant.

NMoasis said:Not necessarily a bigger pot. Put fewer plants in the pot. One plant in that pot would be thicker and healthier than those 15 or so spindly stalks, especially if you put it outside in sun for at least the first half of the day. That isn't how basil should look. They are too crowded for root space, nutrients, water and light. Basils need light and space. You can only force growth so long with fertilizer before it finally gives up. It's like depriving a human of food and exercise and keeping them alive with vitamins and IV liquids...their health will deteriorate.

In the garden, basils are treated as annuals, which means they sprout, grow, flower, set seed and die in less than a year. They are short-lived perennials in tropical climates. Indoors they don't stay happy for long. I'm so sorry, I can't suggest anything else for your plant.

Oh Haha well it actually is one plant. I got it at the grocery store last summer and have never added anything to the pot. At one point the leaves just started drooping even when I watered it, then they yellowed. It was in the sun most of the time in the beginning. But the leaves never stopped drooping. Still I will get it a bigger pot either way

Electricpapaya580 said:I have tried posting this everywhere. Not really getting feedback. ...
Now its leaves are yellowing again.. I have no earthly idea why!!

Not to prolong this conversation unnecessarily, but the above was your original question. You are getting feedback, and you have been given an explanation. Apparently you want to hear something else.

Electricpapaya580 said: Oh Haha well it actually is one plant. I got it at the grocery store last summer and have never added anything to the pot.

You are mistaken. Each one of those spindly stalks grew from a separate seed and is a separate plant. Those grocery store basil pots are sold for short-term culinary purposes, not as houseplants. Good luck with your endeavors.

NMoasis said:

Not to prolong this conversation unnecessarily, but the above was your original question. You are getting feedback, and you have been given an explanation. Apparently you want to hear something else.



You are mistaken. Each one of those spindly stalks grew from a separate seed and is a separate plant. Those grocery store basil pots are sold for short-term culinary purposes, not as houseplants. Good luck with your endeavors.

This is the first time I've had anyone respond to my plant threads, online. I've tried different communities so far. I haven't disputed any of the information from this thread though, if you think I have you're misunderstanding me.

Also I had no idea they grew clusters of basil's from seeds. I thought it was all one plant! But yes I am going to get a bigger pot and put it back outside. I guess the plant was strangled in the tiny pot after all. Whether it dies from "old age" or not can't be helped.

Potted plants should be fertilized regularly.

Yeah, Texas has a bunch of climates...basils like deep root room, and fertilizer, and needs pruned more than flowers to keep it going. At least you don't have the powdery/downy mildew that messes with me down here in Houston. Looks like it needs a bit more sunlight, chuckl, depends on the way the leaves yellow as to whether it is a watering issue or a nutrient issue. ( nitrogen deficiency shows up as a general yellowing/lightening of leaves, potassium deficiency shows up when the leaf turns green but the edges turn a bright yellow, iron chlorosis is when the leaf turns yellow, but the veins stay green, etc)
Basil will root easily from a 5" stem placed in water...