Basil - brown stems towards the bottom (question only here , looking for an answer)

Not sure why it’s turning brown towards the bottom.

Watering twice everyday and the pot is full of potting mix .

Not adding any fertilizers

[CSD_Jobo]

I been trying to find out what exactly this is exactly, i’ve only come up with either fusarium wilt (highly unlikely because the whole plant would be suffering, like leaves browning with weak stems). Another one was maybe root rot, however, with most problems on plants, it would often show in the leaves or overall health in the plant. The only thing i’ve come up with is that that the plant is maturing and getting ready to flower. Whether the source i got it from is credible or not, i dont know, but my basil has the same exact problem. i thought i was due to the roots being exposed after watering compacted the soil a bit, and there not being enough. But i just pulled one out of the dirt to inspect the roots, and all is perfectly fine with the plant.

Tldr: The browning on the basil stem may be due to maturation and getting ready to flower. It’s a natural process and unless the plant shows signs of wilting or degrading health, it more than likely isnt a concern. A prevention method could be to trim the tops off just above a node. As basil grows more bushier and full when its pruned properly, as well as it keeps it from flowering sooner.

[dontcare]

i from Egypt and i have the same problem.. but i guess it's because too much water and too much sun ...I see some green algae in the soil, and I think it is the problem because of the large amount of water and direct sun

[vickiglam]

I have the same problem only mine become much more thick it feels like it’s becoming a little tree much higher than yours

[clarkorion]

Was looking into this recently, as my bunch was starting to have the same issue in greenhouse... as some of the leaves were dropping and the stem didn't appear to turn woody, fusarium is most notoriously the affecting fungal culprit... had to ditch the lot as it's fusarium on basil means end of the road and it's contagious... and starting over. Previous lot of basil I was growing weeks before that died due to pests feasting on them. They're annuals too so live up to a year, they don't cope well with temperatures much below 50°F, bearing all this mind by far not been one of the easier herbs to grow... Wetter and northern climates can be somewhat more challenging to (semi-desert) Mediterranean plants I suppose... Similarly, things like rosemary, lavender, oregano, thyme etc. often protest when prolongedly flooded with rain/over-watering... It's a learning curve and you try again (perhaps in a slightly different way.)

[animalamigos]

Did you take a cutting? This happened to my basil after i took cuttings from said stem.

[kathrynmccain]

@kirsty26589 I'm not sure still. I ended up throwing mine out and am going to start over from seeds instead of a starter plant. The one I had I'm not sure which variety it was, but from the research I did I'm going to get the nufar variety-organic of course too! Most likely to not have the fusarium wilt. If that's even what it is. I actually was at a nursery the other day looking at their starter basil plants and all of them had black stems right at the base. I didn't buy those of course bc I'm trying to get away from the yucky black stems! lol It was strange but something to take note of I guess. Hope this helps :-)

[lailafatehali]

Hello
Every time I take some leaves from my basil plant the entire stem dries up and turns brown. Any suggestions or advice, please

[Kaylee-xk]

I think it’s fusarium wilt. Basil is actually very hard to grow

[Alexa-pyjf]

I'm having the same issue. Maybe watering too much?