Transform Store-Bought Basil Plants With This One Simple Trick

Whether you don't have enough outdoor garden space, or you're just too busy grinding away at work to tend to fresh herbs, a store-bought basil plant is an excellent way to upgrade your patio, balcony, or porch. These fragrant herbs are a natural pest control and, of course, perfect for adding a few picked leaves to dinner. At least until they begin to wilt a few days after you bring them home from the store. Luckily, you don't need to keep replacing your store-bought basil plant every week or two, as long as you employ some smart watering and upkeep techniques. 

As you likely already know, store-bought potted basil can be surprisingly delicate. Even with the most attentive care routine, they've been known to droop, yellow, or experience fungal growth. When it comes to keeping your basil alive and healthy, one of the best things you can do is water it from the bottom. Rather than pouring water directly over the top of the plant, splashing the leaves and soaking the soil from above, bottom watering allows basil to absorb moisture through the roots. Doing so reduces the risk of fungus gnats and other basil killers. With any luck, this method can lead to a stronger, more resilient plant. 

While some social media users have taken to the web to highlight their success with this method, there's no 100 percent guarantee your plant will thrive. Still, bottom watering is a great way to give your store-bought basil a fighting chance, and keep it looking nice, green, and delicious for as long as possible.

For the most part, bottom watering is as simple as it sounds. Simply pick up the plant, pot and all, and place it in a shallow bowl of water. The moisture will be supplied from below, which should stimulate root growth and provide a more stable plant. There are several reasons why this method is preferable to the traditional top watering method. 

For starters, bottom watering keeps excess moisture away from the fragile leaves, which are prone to wilt when they stay wet too long. Also, when water comes up from the base of the basil plant, roots tend to grow downward towards the water. This strengthens the root system, and reduces stress that can lead to premature wilting. Perhaps more importantly, this method prevents the top layer of soil from becoming waterlogged, which can attract fungus gnats. It also helps you avoid a major watering mistake: Because you're not filling the pot with water, and the roots draw only what they need, you're also preventing root rot.

If you find that bottom watering isn't helping, it might be worth taking a look at the plants themselves. Store-bought basil is often too densely packed, with multiple plants pushed into the same pot. Thinning, untangling, and repotting these individual basil stems can go a long way toward extending the life of your herbs, especially when paired with the superior bottom watering method. Some basil fans will repot their plant in a larger pot the minute they get home, then commence bottom watering. It may sound like a lot of extra work, but it's well worth it to squeeze the most out of your store-bought plant.