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Tulsi (Holy Basil) in a Balcony Pot: The Flowering Trade-off Nobody Warns You About

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Tulsi (Holy Basil) in a Balcony Pot: The Flowering Trade-off Nobody Warns You About

My tulsi plant used to throw up flower spikes every few weeks, and for the first year I left them alone because they looked pretty. Then I read why basil growers pinch them off, and realised I'd been quietly ending my own leaf harvest every single time. Here's the actual trade-off: pinching keeps the plant leafy and productive for longer, but tulsi is grown in most Indian homes specifically for the flowering top too (for daily puja), so the 'correct' basil-growing advice and the reason you probably planted this in the first place can genuinely pull in opposite directions.

Asha Iyer

6 min read

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