The most likely reason your basil plant is wilting is that the soil is dry and the plant is underwatered.
Basil plants need soil that is moist and porous. In the summer months, they need to be watered more frequently in order to keep them from drooping or wilting.
Planting the basil in a pot that is too small is also not advisable, because it will dry up too quickly. It is also important not to overwater your basil plant, because this could also cause your plant to wilt.
If you want to learn more about why your basil plant is wilting, how to remedy it, and how to prevent it from happening again, keep reading.
Causes of a wilting basil plant
High temperature
Even though the basil plant is native to Southeast Asia and Central Africa, where the climate is tropical, it can still be affected by high temperatures. Basil plants can do well in warm weather, but that only applies if the plant is being watered well and the soil is moist. If the soil of the basil plant dries out, the plant will start to wilt. If you notice the drooping immediately, you can correct this by soaking the soil with water and making sure it has the appropriate moisture levels.
Transplant stress
The wilting of the basil plant in this case is observed when the plant has adapted to the living conditions in, say, the green house of a nursery where it grew. When the plant is sold, the new owner will take the plant away from the environment it has grown accustomed to. Going from a controlled temperature environment and into a homeowners garden can cause transplant shock or stress.
You can remedy this by assisting the plant in its transition to its new environment. Place the plant under the sun and make sure the soil has well-draining compost to help hold on to moisture. The soil should be moist but not boggy. Make sure you protect your plant from rain, high winds, and any other extreme weather conditions by taking it inside the house when these conditions occur.
If you are able to provide ideal living conditions for the plant, it should recover from transplant stress in about two weeks.
Wilting after flowering
When the leaves of a basil plant are not pruned regularly, it will flower. This is not exactly a bad thing because the flowers will attract bees, but once a basil plant has flowered, it will go to seed and stop producing new leaves. When the plant goes to seed, the leaves are no longer suitable for cooking.
You can always keep the seeds to plant when spring comes around, but if you want to keep your basil plant for longer, you will need to prune the top leaves to encourage it to become a bushier plant.
The pot is too small
Another common reason for a wilting basil plant is a small pot. When you buy a basil plant from a nursery it often comes in a small pot, but that does not mean it should stay in that pot forever. You will need to replant it in a bigger pot after some time.
Basil is not typically choosy when it comes to the kind of container it is planted in, as long as it has drainage holes, but if planted in a container that is too small, it can dry out too quickly, especially when placed under the sun.
The best way to prevent basil from wilting due to a small pot is simply to transfer it into a bigger pot, at least 12 inches across. Clay and terracotta pots work best because they do not heat up as fast as plastic or metal containers. Just make sure the container has drainage holes at the bottom.
The basil plant is overwatered
Basil plants want to be planted in moist soil, but that should be coupled with a container that has good drainage so that the soil never becomes boggy and causes the basil to droop and wilt.
A basil plant wilts due to boggy soil when the soil is slow to drain or if the container has no drainage holes at the bottom.
Remedy this by making sure you are using well-draining soil and a container that has drainage holes at the bottom. If you are growing the basil indoors and using a drip tray under the pot, make sure you keep an eye on the drip tray, because it can cause the soil to become boggy too. Better yet, take the pot outdoors and water it so that the excess water can flow out freely. Take the plant back indoors after the soil has been soaked and the excess water has emptied.
The basil plant is underwatered
Perhaps the most likely cause of a wilting basil plant is underwatering. The ideal setup for a basil plant is for its well-draining soil to be consistently moist. This is achieved by using soil that has porous compost and frequently watering the plant.
The basil’s soil should never dry out; it is quick to wilt because its large leaves transpire a lot of water.
If you touch the soil and it feels dry, you should immediately give it a good soak. Keep watering until you see the excess water flowing out of the drainage holes at the bottom.
During the summer, bring the plant into the shade during the hottest hours of the day so that it is not exposed to extreme heat.
An underwatered plant will usually recover after two days of moist soil and ideal conditions.
Conclusion
Wilting in basil plants is usually caused by the plant being underwatered, overwatered, the pot being too small, the plant has just flowered, shock or stress from being transplanted, and high temperatures.
Most of these problems are very easy to remedy and before you know it, your basil plant’s leaves will have bounced back and you will be harvesting fresh herbs again.
Image: istockphoto.com / nevarpp