| |  | | When are Basil Seeds Viable for Planting
Answered by: Inge Poot
Question from: Lori Leugers
Posted on: September 30, 2006
Can seeds from existing basil plants be used to start a new generation of plants? I bought the original plant seeds from a local garden shop. They were the standard packaged variety, if that makes a difference. I am not sure if they are hybrids, as I don’t have the original package. As a follow-up to my first question, is there a point at which a seed is viable for re-planting? I have let my plants flower, and some stalks have small green leaf clumps with what appear to be seeds beneath them.
When the seed clumps turn brown, the seeds are ripe and may be replanted. It may be a good idea to dry store the seeds at least a week before planting, just in case they need this to break dormancy. The resulting plants may be very different in appearance from the parent plants -if they were hybrids, or very similar if they were a line bred strain. In any case, I think the taste will be just fine for basil, no matter what the plants look like.
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