As the weather warms, I'm starting to think about basil. It's a bit early to plant basil, but it is a good time to shop for plants and seeds of some of the more unusual basil varieties.

While we all know and love 'Genovese' basil, there are many other flavors to basil. One of our favorites is 'Thai' basil. The thicker leaves hold up well at high heat in Asian recipes and it has a sweet, anise-like flavor. The plant has attractive purple leaf veins and flowers, too. A cross between 'Genovese' and 'Thai' basil is 'Christmas' basil. This plant has the ornamental qualities of 'Thai' basil with a holiday scent of pine and fruity spices. 'Lemon' basil and 'Lime' basil have smaller leaves with a strong citrus smell. 'Holy' basil is also know as Tulsi. It's used in Indian cooking and medicines. It has a strong, spicy taste.

For color in the basil patch, 'Cardinal' basil hales from Israel and has showy, large, red flowers. 'Dark Opal' and 'Purple' basil have deeper colored leaves with a strong, clove-like flavor.

All basils grow best in full sun on well-drained, compost amended soil or in containers. Wait until the soil really warms, maybe until Memorial Day, to plant these exotic basils. There's no rush because basil loves hot weather. Keep the plants well watered. Unless you're growing basil for the ornamental flowers, snip off the blooms when they form to send more energy into leaf production. To harvest, strip off branches of basil leaves back to the main trunk or stem. This encourages more new branch growth with bigger leaves.

As the weather warms, I'm starting to think about basil. It's a bit early to plant basil, but it is a good time to shop for plants and seeds of some of the more unusual basil varieties.
While we all know and love 'Genovese' basil, there are many other flavors to basil. One of our favorites is 'Thai' basil. The thicker leaves hold up well at high heat in Asian recipes and it has a sweet, anise-like flavor. The plant has attractive purple leaf veins and flowers, too. A cross between 'Genovese' and 'Thai' basil is 'Christmas' basil. This plant has the ornamental qualities of 'Thai' basil with a holiday scent of pine and fruity spices. 'Lemon' basil and 'Lime' basil have smaller leaves with a strong citrus smell. 'Holy' basil is also know as Tulsi. It's used in Indian cooking and medicines. It has a strong, spicy taste.
For color in the basil patch, 'Cardinal' basil hales from Israel and has showy, large, red flowers. 'Dark Opal' and 'Purple' basil have deeper colored leaves with a strong, clove-like flavor.
All basils grow best in full sun on well-drained, compost amended soil or in containers. Wait until the soil really warms, maybe until Memorial Day, to plant these exotic basils. There's no rush because basil loves hot weather. Keep the plants well watered. Unless you're growing basil for the ornamental flowers, snip off the blooms when they form to send more energy into leaf production. To harvest, strip off branches of basil leaves back to the main trunk or stem. This encourages more new branch growth with bigger leaves.

Connecticut Garden Journal is a weekly program hosted by horticulturalist Charlie Nardozzi. Each week, Charlie focuses on a topic relevant to both new and experienced gardeners, including pruning lilac bushes, growing blight-free tomatoes, groundcovers, sunflowers, bulbs, pests, and more. Learn more about Charlie at gardeningwithcharlie.com.

Connecticut Garden Journal&nbsp;is a weekly program hosted by&nbsp;<a href="https://wnpr.org/people/charlie-nardozzi">horticulturalist Charlie Nardozzi</a>. Each week, Charlie&nbsp;focuses on a topic relevant to both new and experienced gardeners, including pruning lilac bushes, growing blight-free tomatoes, groundcovers, sunflowers, bulbs, pests, and more. Learn more about Charlie at&nbsp;<a href="http://gardeningwithcharlie.com/">gardeningwithcharlie.com</a>.

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