Herb Basil 'Purple Ruffles'

Basil

This is a great plant to spice up your life, kitchen, and landscape! Purple Ruffles grows best in full sun and moist soil. Purple Ruffles is a beautiful form of basil that grows about 1½’ high and has ruffled jagged leaves. The scent and flavor are slightly different from sweet basil with more licorice and cinnamon flavor. It has beautiful lavender pink flowers which are also edible. This basil is annual like sweet basil so the flowers must be pinched off to keep leaf production going. Always cut basil by taking off the tops of the stems, about a third of the way down, to an intersection of new leaves. This will indicate to the plant to start growing the tiny new leaves into branches of more leaves. If you just pull off the leaf you want, you will get no new growth at all and your plant will start to stunt and begin making flowers. It can be used in any culinary dish that calls for basil and makes a pretty addition to fresh salads. Purple Ruffles was an All-America Selections Winner in 1987. Enjoy this unusual form as part of your basil collection this spring.