Filled with taste and splendidly fragrant, basil, Ocimum spp., is likely one of the best herbs to develop. Its pungent, peppery style with a touch of licorice makes it fashionable in quite a lot of cuisines.
This member of the mint, or Lamiaceae household is an annual herb grown for its flavorful leaves.
Like most herbs, the leaves are finest loved contemporary. However the vibrant flavors can be dried or frozen for winter use.
There are over 160 cultivars to select from, and all are scrumptious, aromatic, and plenty of add decorative curiosity to the backyard.
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Flavors vary from daring and spicy to mildly candy – attempt rising the daring ones for savory dishes, the candy ones for baked items, desserts, and ice cream.
The bulk are handled as annuals, though in heat, tropical areas a couple of might be grown as perennials.
This herb is straightforward to develop and you’ll propagate basil from seed, by cuttings, or buy nursery begins.
Should you want a refresher, our information to rising basil has all you must domesticate this scrumptious herb at dwelling.
Listed below are 23 of our favourite cultivars:
23 Favourite Basil Varieties for Your Herb Backyard
1. Blue Spice
‘Blue Spice’ is prized for its candy, vanilla-like perfume with spicy undertones and showy purple flower spikes that appeal to pollinators.
This selection grows to about 18 to 24 inches tall and 12 inches large, and the leaves are wonderful for teas, garnishes, or including a touch of sweetness to summer season dishes.
‘Blue Spice’
Yow will discover ‘Blue Spice’ seeds accessible at Eden Brothers in quite a lot of packet sizes.
2. Boxwood
‘Boxwood’ options small leaves that maintain an ideal, shrub-like type even within the warmth of summer season – identical to a boxwood plant. This selection grows to a mature top of 12 inches, with a 12- to 16-inch unfold.
‘Boxwood’
Great for containers, edging, and knot gardens, the robust taste is great in pesto.
Yow will discover packets of 100 seeds or three dwell vegetation accessible at Burpee.
3. Cardinal
With deep pink flower clusters rising above inexperienced, fragrant foliage, ‘Cardinal’ is as decorative as it’s helpful within the kitchen.
‘Cardinal’ reaches 18 to 30 inches tall and about 12 inches large, and the blossoms are edible in addition to eye-catching, making this a dual-purpose basil for herb and flower gardens alike.
‘Cardinal’
Yow will discover seeds in quite a lot of packet sizes accessible at Eden Brothers.
4. Cinnamon
‘Cinnamon’ is a sweet-flavored cultivar with a particular cinnamon style that’s scrumptious in baked items, jellies, and vinegars.
‘Cinnamon’
Also called Mexican spice basil, this cultivar has slender leaves, darkish coloured stems, and fairly purple flowers that add nice visible attraction.
Rising to a mature top of 12-18 inches with an identical unfold, ‘Cinnamon’ makes a stunning addition to your container backyard or flower beds.
Discover packets of seeds in quite a lot of sizes accessible at Eden Brothers.
5. Darkish Opal
‘Darkish Opal’ has fantastic deep purple leaves and pinky-lilac flowers that give it nice decorative worth. The flavour is anise-based with a touch of ginger and it may be utilized in savory or candy dishes.
Dropped at market by Ferry-Morse within the Fifties, ‘Darkish Opal’ was a winner of the All-America Picks Award within the flower class in 1962.
‘Darkish Opal’
Pleasant in containers, combined beds, or anyplace you wish to appeal to pollinators, this selection grows to a mature top of 14 inches in a compact, bushy type.
Discover seeds in quite a lot of packet sizes accessible at Eden Brothers.
Be taught extra about rising ‘Darkish Opal’.
6. Dolce Fresca
An All-America Picks winner, ‘Dolce Fresca’ maintains a dense, bushy behavior that doesn’t sprawl, even after repeated harvests.
Vegetation attain 12 to 18 inches tall and large and produce shiny leaves with a traditional candy basil taste, excellent for container or small-space gardens.
‘Dolce Fresca’
If ‘Dolce Fresca’ sounds interesting, yow will discover seeds accessible at Eden Brothers.
7. Emerald Towers
‘Emerald Towers’ is a tall, multi-branched Genovese kind with a tidy columnar behavior that produces an impressive harvest. It has a full licorice style and a scent of spicy cloves.
‘Emerald Towers’
A beneficiant herb in containers or within the floor, give these vegetation loads of house to develop into as they will attain a mature top of 24 to 36 inches with a selection of eight to 12 inches.
Yow will discover 100 seeds or a set of three vegetation accessible at Burpee.
8. Genovese
Genovese is the normal heirloom Italian kind with a pronounced anise taste, candy clove perfume, and huge, lustrous leaves.
This selection grows to a mature top of 16 inches tall, with a selection of 12 inches.
Genovese
A must have for the kitchen backyard, it’s excellent for pesto, contemporary salads, and all issues savory.
Seeds can be found by the packet or in bulk at Eden Brothers.
Or get a leap on the rising season with a set of three vegetation accessible at Burpee.
Discover extra information on rising Genovese basil right here.
9. Greek
The Greek kind, O. basilicum var. minimal is a compact selection with small leaves, tiny white flowers, and a neat, globular progress behavior that makes it engaging in containers, edging, or rockeries.
O. basilicum var. minimal
It has a deeply spicy perfume and powerful taste that’s finest utilized in salad dressings, sauces, soups, and stews.
Excellent for container gardens, this dwarf selection grows to a mature top of simply eight inches, with an identical unfold.
Yow will discover packets of seeds in quite a lot of sizes at True Leaf Market.
Be taught extra about planting and rising Greek basil.
10. Italian Massive Leaf
This traditional cultivar has the biggest leaves of all basil vegetation. With a candy and delicate taste, this selection is flexible within the kitchen and makes a scrumptious pesto.
Italian Massive Leaf
Vegetation develop to a mature top of 24-30 inches, with a 12-inch unfold. Plant in containers, in a sunny spot in your herb backyard, or on a windowsill.
Discover seeds in quite a lot of packet sizes at True Leaf Market.
11. Lemon
A key ingredient in Indonesian delicacies, the lemon selection, O. basilicum var. citriodorum, is a hybrid with a contemporary lemon scent and sweet-tart taste. Vegetation develop to a mature top of 20-24 inches, with a 12-inch unfold.
Lemon
It’s fashionable eaten contemporary in salads and wraps or included into curries, soups, stews, and stir-fries.
Discover packets of seeds in quite a lot of sizes accessible at Eden Brothers.
12. Lettuce Leaf
This Italian heirloom (O. basilicum crispum) is straightforward to identify due to its outsized, crinkled leaves which are delicate and candy.
Rising 18 to 24 inches tall and large, it’s splendid for utilizing in wraps, layering in sandwiches, or including bulk to pestos with out overpowering different flavors.
Lettuce Leaf
Yow will discover lettuce leaf basil seeds accessible at Eden Brothers.
13. Lime
Lime vegetation have a lightweight, floral-citrusy taste and perfume – splendid for including a contact of zest to drinks, salad dressings, sauces, and desserts.
Lime
A stunning container plant wherever the tangy perfume might be loved, this cultivar grows to a mature top of 16 to 24 inches, with a 12-inch unfold.
Packets of seeds in quite a lot of sizes can be found at Eden Brothers.
14. Mammoth
O. basilicum crispum ‘Monstruoso,’ aka ‘Mammoth,’ is a lettuce leaf cultivar that options big savoyed leaves with ruffled edges and uniform progress.
‘Mammoth’
It has a spicy clove perfume and a sweetly pungent taste much like Genovese, however stronger.
Excellent to be used in Italian recipes or for pesto, ‘Mammoth’ grows to a mature top of 16 inches, with a 12- to 16-inch unfold.
Yow will discover packets of seeds in quite a lot of sizes at Eden Brothers.
15. Minette
Minette is a compact, small-leaved Greek cultivar, O. basilicum var minimal, with a mounding behavior that’s cute as an edging plant, in containers, or in knot gardens.
Minette
With a candy anise taste and scent of cloves, this selection grows to a mature top of simply 10 inches with a comparable unfold, and it varieties a stupendous spherical form.
You should buy seeds at Eden Brothers.
16. Nufar
‘Nufar’ was the primary fusarium-resistant basil launched, and it stays a dependable selection for gardeners in humid climates.
This Genovese kind grows 18 to 24 inches tall and 12 inches large, producing massive, shiny leaves with the traditional taste cooks count on for pestos and sauces.
‘Nufar’
Yow will discover ‘Nufar’ seeds accessible from Excessive Mowing Natural Seeds.
17. Prospera Pink
Prospera® Pink is a hybrid that pairs downy mildew resistance with hanging deep purple foliage.
Compact however productive, vegetation develop 20 to 24 inches tall and 12 to 18 inches large, providing each decorative attraction and reliable taste by means of the season.
Prospera® Pink
Yow will discover seeds for Prospera® Pink accessible at Excessive Mowing Natural Seeds.
18. Purple Petra
‘Purple Petra’ produces shiny, deep-purple leaves that carry dramatic colour to beds and containers.
Reaching 18 to 24 inches tall and 12 to 16 inches large, the vegetation supply a light, barely candy basil taste that shines in infused oils, vinegars, and garnishes.
‘Purple Petra’
Yow will discover ‘Purple Petra’ seeds accessible at Botanical Pursuits.
19. Pink Rubin
This purple-leafed selection has a stronger, spicier taste than many different coloured basils.
‘Pink Rubin’ grows 18 to 24 inches tall and 12 to 16 inches large, with darkish, flat leaves that stand out within the backyard and add daring style to herb butters, vinegars, and sauces.
‘Pink Rubin’
Seeds can be found from True Leaf Market in quite a lot of packet sizes.
Learn extra about rising ‘Pink Rubin’ basil right here.
20. Siam Queen
O. basilicum var. thyrsiflora, ‘Siam Queen’ is a Thai basil selection with a candy licorice taste that’s rewarding within the kitchen and as a decorative.
This heirloom kind has lush inexperienced leaves and purple stems, and it grows to a mature top of 10-24 inches, with an identical unfold.
‘Siam Queen’
‘Siam Queen’ was an All-America Picks Winner within the vegetable class in 1997.
Use it to taste curries, soups, and stir-fries however sow sufficient to permit some vegetation to bloom – the purple flower heads and pale pink blooms are beautiful!
Packets of seeds in quite a lot of sizes can be found at Eden Brothers.
21. Spicy Globe
This compact basil varieties a tidy, rounded mound lined in petite leaves that pack loads of taste.
Vegetation develop to about eight to 10 inches tall and large, making them a pure match for containers, borders, and even as an edible various to boxwood.
‘Spicy Globe’
Yow will discover ‘Spicy Globe’ seeds accessible at Eden Brothers.
Be taught extra about rising ‘Spicy Globe’ right here.
22. Candy
One of the vital fashionable varieties, candy basil has a full licorice taste and spicy clove perfume that’s simply as good when used contemporary in salads, sandwiches, and wraps or added to pesto, sauces, and savory dishes.
Candy Basil
Usually known as “widespread” basil, vegetation develop as much as 24 inches tall and large. Fragrant and flavorful, it goes quick, so make sure to plant a lot.
You should buy seeds by the packet or in bulk at Eden Brothers.
23. Candy Dani
An All-America Picks winner, ‘Candy Dani’ is a lemon kind that mixes vigorous progress with a vibrant lemon perfume.
Vegetation common 24 inches tall and 18 inches large, yielding beneficiant harvests for teas, marinades, and salads whereas additionally drawing pollinators to the backyard.
‘Candy Dani’
Yow will discover ‘Candy Dani’ seeds in quite a lot of packet sizes accessible from True Leaf Market.
And take a look at our information to rising ‘Candy Dani’ basil to be taught extra!
Pesto and Past
Scrumptious, aromatic, and delightfully straightforward to develop, basil lends its unmistakable taste to pesto and rather more!
If you’re new to rising herbs, try our information to beginning your personal herb backyard.
Are you prepared so as to add basil to your herb backyard? Tell us within the feedback what selection you might be planting!
To be taught extra about rising basil, put these guides in your studying checklist subsequent:
© Ask the Consultants, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for extra particulars. Initially printed Might 3, 2020. Final up to date August 23, 2025. Product photographs by way of Botanical Pursuits, Burpee, Eden Brothers, Excessive Mowing Natural Seeds, and True Leaf Market. Uncredited photographs: Shutterstock. With further writing and modifying by Clare Groom and Allison Sidhu.
