A question for the green fingers out there

[SPKmes]

I have a basil plant that grew into a huge bushy thing over the summer...it was great plenty of fresh basil...it flowered and has not come back.....it is just turning brown and dying...what has happened??   my thyme plant did the exact same thing but has continued to grow and get really healthy...the basil...I don't know what has happened...all my other herbs are sweet also...I am just comparing the thyme and basil as they flowered at the same time and actually looked similar...

Should I just get another seedling or will it come back?

[NatCigg]

basil is an annual plant. it grows, flowers, and dies. Start and new plant.

thyme is a perennial. it should regrow year after year like a shrub or tree.

edit: from wikipedia, basil can be a perennial.  it is very sensitive to frost and will die back. the article stated the plant can grow back if it goes to seed before frost damage. im a little suspicious of that commet but its worth a try.  also, this plant seems to like its tips to be pruned or pinched off to promote new growth. (pinch the tip leaf of a stem and the previous two leaves on the stem will tun to new stems themselves. this should result it a bushy plant with more leaves if repeated. Also, trimming the buds before they mature will allow further leaf growth. once the buds mature the stem will no longer make leaves.) sounds like a fun plant grow but watch out for frost.

[curry1]

My basil has grown back for two years in a row but this year it hasn't shown and I ha to plant a new one.  So it depends.

[B3YT]

it's called a half hard perennial.   just bring it inside  for the winter into a cold frame or shed and wrap bubble wrap loosely around it to  keep of any frost .   plant it back out in a big pot buried into the ground . That way you can lift it nice and easy  when ever you want.

[Babalonian]

I have a basil plant that grew into a huge bushy thing over the summer...it was great plenty of fresh basil...it flowered and has not come back.....it is just turning brown and dying...what has happened??   my thyme plant did the exact same thing but has continued to grow and get really healthy...the basil...I don't know what has happened...all my other herbs are sweet also...I am just comparing the thyme and basil as they flowered at the same time and actually looked similar...

Should I just get another seedling or will it come back?

Already stretching it into the later-part of the planting season for basil, but it won't be critical.  To answer your questions, go buy a few more basil plants of you chooising (too late for seedlings IMO) and get them into your garden ASAP.

Basil is not a perennial plant, they last a year per life cycle.  Nothing you do will really get it to live longer than one whole year, treat it well though and if it's a robust plant and it will last for a long time though (through the winter if you have mild winters).  In the future, it would actually do you best to trim or nip the flowers it blooms, especialy earlier in life, as this forces it to invest energy it was going to invest into flowering into more foliage and mass growth (which are the parts we harvest for our cooking).

I was just helping my mom plant her basil for this year, tomatoes too and dividing up some thyme we planted last year in her gardens this weekend.

[Babalonian]

My basil has grown back for two years in a row but this year it hasn't shown and I ha to plant a new one.  So it depends.

Ah, but you should look up the botanical definition, most annuals live only one year but by definition can live up to two (but not exceed).  If it was a robust plant and you have mild winters then it very well may of continued for another summer but likely not as strong, fresh or vigerous as one that would of freshly sprouted that spring, and is still considered an annual plant as it has not and is incapapable of living longer than two years (24 months).

[Dragon]

it's called a half hard perennial.   

There is medication for that.

[100Coogn]

There is medication for that.

  There went my coffee! 

Coogan

[B3YT]

it's often a fallacy that annual plants will only live for one year (2 max)  for example Poa Annua ( annual meadow grass) is an annual but can live for any length of time . Basil can be kept for many years but will need to be kept inside over winter and the old shoots  are pinched out . Also remove  the flower heads as this prolongs life .   

[Babalonian]

Mild winters or if you take it inside as you suggest and a basil plant will easily live to see another summer, but it looses it's real usefulness and isn't worth the trouble IMO if you have easy access to a nursurey and fresh plants to replant your garden with.  I really don't see a purpose to doing it unless finding fresh basil plants/seeds to replant next spring will be a problem.

Basil we grow to harvest its leaves/foliage, they only grow vigerouly and bear a stronger flavor in their first year in my experience.  After that as they age they just aren't as vigerous IMO so you get less yield and less flavor.  I however though haven't tried to do this after consistently de-budding it throughout the entire first year (sometime around late fall I stop and just let the garden go wild before getting back to it full-time in the early-spring).  I like to have at least 6 fresh basil plants a year in my garden as I love to use small amounts in a lot of cooking and fequently use it when it's in prime season to make fresh pesto so I look for a good amount of yield and flavor for when doing some larger harvests.  We have mild winters, so if I tried I could get 4-5 of them to pull through the winter without much effort, but the reward for the effort is ho-hum to me because thay always seem less vigerous and full of life.

[SPKmes]

Cheers for all the replies...I wil just go and get another and grow it in doors...We get living pots from the Fruit and vege stores here and you either grow it on your sill or do as I did and plant...turned into a huge plant and quickly...

Cheers

[Babalonian]

One of my favorite times of the year, the time to dust-off the gardening tools and plant new basil and tomatoes (and cucumbers, and parsley, and still deciding if I want to plant some eggplants this year (every year I try them and I get better results, but nothing worth making me want to plant them again the next year)).  Have fun!