How to Grow Basil from Cuttings

Look over your basil plant and find a stem that's strong and green, about four to six inches long. Pass on anything flowering or woody. A young, leafy tip roots the fastest.

Cut the stem just below a leaf node, that little bump where a pair of leaves meets the stem. Roots grow out of those nodes, so you want at least one of them on the piece you take. A clean cut with sharp snips beats tearing the stem by hand.

Pinch off all the leaves on the bottom half of the stem. Any leaf sitting under the water line will rot and turn the water cloudy, so clear that lower section down to bare stem.

Leave a few leaves at the top so the cutting can keep feeding itself. If the top leaves are huge, tear each one in half. Smaller leaves lose less water while the stem has no roots yet, which keeps the cutting from wilting.

Drop the bare end of the stem into a clean glass jar or drinking glass filled with room-temperature water. A clear jar lets you watch the roots form, and it stands up fine on its own on a windowsill.

You can stand several cuttings in one jar. They lean on each other and stay upright, and one jar of cuttings can restock your kitchen for months. Just keep those top leaves above the water.

Put the jar on a bright windowsill that gets plenty of light but not scorching midday sun through the glass. An east or south window is a good bet. Warmth and light are what nudge the stem to root.

Change the water every two or three days. Fresh water carries oxygen and keeps rot away, and stale, murky water is the main reason cuttings fail. Rinse the jar when you refill it.

Now you wait. Little white roots usually start showing at the nodes within one to two weeks, and they thicken into a full mass over the next couple of weeks. Warm rooms root faster than cold ones.

Keep changing the water while you wait. Once you see a bushy tangle of roots an inch or two long, like the cutting here, the plant is ready for soil. Roots this size transplant without much of a setback.

Fill a small pot that has drainage holes with moist potting soil. Poke a hole in the center, lower the roots in, and gently firm the soil around the stem so the cutting stands on its own.

Water it in right away to settle the soil against the roots. The plant may sulk for a few days as it switches from water to soil, so keep it out of harsh sun at first and keep the soil evenly damp.

That's it. Your cuttings are now potted basil plants, ready to grow on a sunny sill or back out in the garden. Give them at least six hours of light a day and water when the top of the soil feels dry.

Pinch the growing tips as the plants fill out. That keeps them bushy and, better yet, every tip you pinch is another cutting you can root. One grocery-store stem can turn into an endless supply of free basil.