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What's up with my basil plant? (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
23 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Hi all! Can you help me diagnose my basil plant?

I just got one of those "grow your own" herb plants from the grocery so my expectations were pretty low, and it's already done way better than expected.

I originally thought it was pollen from it flowering but I only had the one flower left after trimming and this stuff is everywhere. I've always grown basil outside and this time thought I'd try putting it in a window box (with cilantro and rosemary in case that matters) but I've not seen this before.

Is this something to worry about? If so what's a good way to treat it?

More pics on Tumblr

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[-] [email protected] 36 points 2 months ago

Aphids, maybe? If so, a drop of dish soap in a spray bottle full of water should get rid of them

[-] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago

Or buy a box of ladybugs on the internet

[-] [email protected] 23 points 2 months ago

I don't think OP wants 5,000 ladybugs in their house.

[-] [email protected] 37 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Who wouldn't?

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[-] [email protected] 15 points 2 months ago

😭

Thank you for this. I needed a wall of bugs today.

[-] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago

There’s a lil aphid-free sprout in the middle

[-] [email protected] 19 points 2 months ago

Don't judge OP for making friends.

[-] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago

I also think aphids. OP get rid of that plant before they spread, it's gonna be a bad time otherwise.

[-] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago

Yeah, kinda looks like the exoskeletons they shed.

Here are some before they've shed.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

probably better to just rinse leaves daily (top & bottom sides) with just water

[-] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

A small amount of dish soap (drop or two) in a spray bottle of water will break their hydrophobic shell and they'll dry out in a day. Only drawback is if you apply too much (like a lot) it can cause the leaves to get sunburns.

Water alone and mechanical removal can take several weeks to work. It's fine on one plant but you risk spread to other plants in the house.

Just my experience growing peppers.

The dish soap rinses off easily so just wash before eating as normal.

[-] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago

Thanks all! I'll try (slightly) soapy water and see if that helps. I guess it's good it's indoors, not so many plants for it to hurt this way.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

You might also try basically any essential oil mildly diluted. I've had a lot of luck with lavender oil.

(I think aphids are just tiny so they get engulfed in whatever you spray on them, essential oils are actually relatively nasty chemicals that just smell nice)

[-] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

try just using water first, spraying both the topside & the underside of the leaves daily

[-] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Could well be that that was the effective treatment.

[-] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

It's hard to tell from this photo but to me it just looks like your basil is flowering and a bunch of flower bits made a mess on the leaves. I usually try to pinch off the flowers as soon as I see them to keep the basil leaves going. I don't see any holes in the leaves or yellow/brown spots so I don't think it's a pest. But again it's hard to tell from this photo.

Edit: Just saw the tumbler photos and the first one makes it look more like a pest is present. But again, I don't see any indication that they're eating the leaves. Doesn't hurt to try the dish soap spray in case it's aphids.

[-] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago

Maybe Mealybugs? I once had those on my houseplant and my advice would be to move your basil away from any other plants asap carefully and search all nearby plants (esp. under leaf stems). Those fuckers are hard to get rid of once they spread.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

I’m 99% sure they’re aphids

[-] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

lice?

[-] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

White Fly and aphids, trash that plant now, it won't recover, you'll get weird shaped tiny leaves and it won't taste good

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

remove flowers, give it some water

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

plus spray tops & bottoms of leaves daily with plain water

this post was submitted on 10 Apr 2025
68 points (98.6% liked)

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