Ooh! I haven't done that yet (I have the white flower kind) because they're so cute! I'll certainly do it now, though. No fair for my plants to be getting more action than me.
Can you include the flowers when making pesto? It's tempting...

@bodicegoddess I've never tried it, but I've read others who have. I just love using the flowers in mini arrangements - so summery!

You can also pull the individual flowers/petals off the flower bud and toss them into a salad, or into rice. They're completely edible, and so fragrant and lovely.

My basil is much smaller than last year. This year I picked up lime basil. I've been pinching off flowers just about every day lately. And my cilantro plant is budding as well. That's a chore.

Ooh thanks for the tip! I, too, didn't really know if I needed to do anything about them. Will go pinch tonight!

Are you supposed to cut off the entire purple portion? I thought if you remove the tip of the branch, the plant won't grow anymore, so I've been removing individual flowers as they bloom instead.

I bought a sickly little basil plant from the neighborhood hardware store and it's growing! I know that I need a larger pot - but I'm not clear on when I'm supposed to be cutting it back to encourage bushy, lush growth as opposed to tall, spindly plants. No flowers yet, but the plant is about to go into the third tier of leaves - what do I do? Also - keep it moist or let it dry out? Everyone has an opinion. Thanks!

I keep the white flowers pinched off, but my basil plant just doesn't seem to be thriving this year. Maybe I should whack off the top half and that'll stimulate it to grow....

JungMann,

You really can't take off too much. Basil grows like a weed in the summer most places. I usually snip off the top set of leaves with each flower growing. If you leave them scattered in the soil odds are your annual basil will come back next year( mine always has)

Yes, to second jmorri26, the best crop of basil I ever had came after I whacked a plant nearly to the ground to make an early-season pesto. I thought I killed it, but then it rebounded super lush.

it seems the more you cut off, the more and faster it grows.

I'm growing basil for the first time this year. I read somewhere that the leaves go bitter if you let the plant flower. Is this true? I'm terrified that if I don't watch it like a hawk, my dreams of pesto with basil from my own garden will scatter like the seeds.

My regular basil has not flowered, but I did get some Thai basil this year, and it came with purple flowers or buds on top of the stems. Is Thai basil the same? Am I supposed to take those purple things on top off?

I read that when you see flower buds forming on your basil you pinch it back at least four sets of leaves down from the bud (Organic Gardening mag issue 4 or 5 yrs ago). This encourages increased leaf growth and slows down flower production. Pinching back just the flower or one set down just means a bunch more flower buds in a day or two. Since then I've been brutal with how far I pinch down and am always surprised at the difference.

my cockatiel loved to eat the flowers, and seed formations on my white-flowering basil.

My husband didn't know this (city boy), but you never want to just pluck the leaves. To promote growth and get an nice bushy plant that lasts all Summer you need to clip the stalk according to how many leaves you want.

Is this true for other herbs as well? I've got some sage with little flowers on it.

Yes, as a few have pointed out, letting your basil flower can make the leaves taste bitter (since the plant's energy goes toward flower production instead). The best thing to do is regularly prune off the tops. It will not harm the plant and will grow back full and bushy.

My basil plant died but this is good to know. thanks for the tip!

ahhh now i'm tempted to run home and hack my plant in half.

Actually, you can cut the plant all the way to above the bottom leaves. I did this to mine around the 3rd week in June (I planted them Mother's Day weekend, and they were already starting to flower), and within 2 weeks, they had grown twofold, even bushier and more beautiful than before. I will probably cut them again next week. I have read it is best to do this 3-4 times during the summer, and you will have hearty, beautiful plants all summer long, and into the early autumn.

Also, one of our very favorite summer side dishes is to halve roma tomatoes (ours are coming in quicker than we can eat them right now), scoop out the seeds and the innards, and fill with pesto. Top with shredded parm cheese, and stick under the broiler for a couple of minutes. When they come out, top with a quick chiffonade of basil. So unbelievably delicious.

what most people said; don't be afraid to hack back the basil quite a bit. i trimmed my basil at least 3 times last summer and without fail it rebounded beautifully each time. made at least three huge batches of pesto (about 4 cups in each batch) from the several plants i had (i think i had 5-6 plants total). also made an herb rub for salmon with some of that basil (also adding fresh oregano and parsley, held together with EVOO) and froze that too. such a treat to eat them months later! wouldn't have been able to do so if i hadn't pruned the plants back as i did.

My rabbits LOVE the basil leaves and flowers. And, if you have a few stalks left over after snipping, place them in a small glass with a little water. They will stay fresh for days and smell great. They will even grow roots while they wait to be consumed.

Is it okay to cut the basil back even when the stems appear to be going woody?