Holy Basil
Ocimum tenuiflorum
- Sun
- Full Sun, Part Shade
- Mature size
- 12–24 in tall, 12–18 in wide
Gallon — $10 — only 4 left
About this size
- Gallon
- Our standard size: a 1-gallon nursery pot, about 6–7 inches across.
Pay at the nursery, plus 6.75% sales tax. Send your request and we'll confirm availability and your pickup time within 24 hours, then hold your plants. How it works
Planting & care
- Growth habit
- Upright, bushy, multi-branched herbaceous plant
- Soil
- Adaptable; fertile, well-drained soil preferred
Where to plant
Full sun, in fertile, well-drained soil.
Watering
Moderate; keep soil consistently moist for the best growth.
Pruning
Pinch growing tips regularly to encourage bushiness and delay flowering, which can make the leaves taste bitter.
About Holy Basil
Holy Basil, known as Tulsi across much of Asia, is one of the most revered herbs in Ayurvedic tradition, and it earns a spot in any herb garden on flavor and fragrance alone. Its smaller, fuzzy leaves carry a spicier, clove-like aroma that sets it apart immediately from familiar sweet basil, and purple-tinged stems and flower spikes give it real ornamental appeal in a mixed herb bed.
It's an easy, fast-growing warm-season plant that thrives in full Texas summer heat, making it a natural companion to the rest of an herb garden. Steep the leaves for tea, use them in Thai and Indian cooking, or simply grow the plant for its striking look and fragrance.
For anyone building out an herb garden with a little more depth than the usual culinary basil, Holy Basil is a distinctive, easy-care addition with a genuine story behind it.