Lemon basil is a stabilized hybrid between common sweet basil and African basil, creating a plant that looks and tastes like nothing else in your herb garden. The leaves are smaller and more finely textured than traditional basil, with a distinctive lemony scent that hits you the moment you brush against the foliage. Growing 12 to 24 inches tall depending on conditions, it reaches harvest-ready maturity in 60 to 75 days and thrives in zones 4 through 11. This is an annual herb with serious culinary credentials, especially in Southeast Asian and fusion cooking, where its tangy citrus notes elevate everything from soups to desserts.
Full Sun
High
4-11
20in H x 12in W
Perennial
High
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The silvery-green foliage of lemon basil creates a visual shimmer in the garden while releasing one of the most intoxicating lemony aromas in the herb world. Its smaller, more pinnate leaves deliver a bright tangy-citrus flavor that's completely different from sweet basil, making it an essential ingredient across global cuisines rather than just a familiar substitution. The plant produces abundantly throughout the season when pinched regularly, stays compact enough for containers, and reaches full flavor in roughly two months from seed.
Lemon basil shines in the kitchen as a citrus replacement for traditional basil, bringing a tangy brightness to dishes where you'd normally use sweet basil but want something brighter. It excels in Asian cuisine, particularly Thai and Indonesian cooking, where it flavors soups, stews, and curry-adjacent dishes. The leaves are exceptional steeped into teas, scattered over grilled fish and chicken, and tossed through fresh vegetables. Home cooks use it to add zip and zest to dressings, marinades, and anywhere you want herbal flavor without the sweetness of common basil.
Start seeds indoors 4 to 6 weeks before your transplant date, which should be 1 month before your average last frost date. Keep soil warm at 60 degrees Fahrenheit minimum, ideally 65 to 85 degrees, to encourage germination. Once seedlings emerge and develop their first true leaves, provide bright light and keep them in that 70 to 85 degree range to prevent leggy growth.
Transplant outdoors only after nighttime temperatures consistently stay above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. If you started indoors, harden off seedlings by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over 7 to 10 days before planting. Space plants 12 inches apart in full sun with soil temperature at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit, ideally warmer.
Direct sow outdoors 1 to 2 weeks after your average last frost date, when soil temperature reaches at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit and preferably 65 to 85 degrees. Sow at the depth and spacing specified below. For continuous harvests, make successive sowings every 3 to 4 weeks.
Begin harvesting once plants are established and growing vigorously, around 60 to 75 days from seed. Pinch or cut leaves from the top of stems, working downward, which also encourages bushier growth. Harvest in the morning after dew dries for the strongest flavor and aroma. You can harvest individual leaves as needed or cut entire stems, but always leave enough foliage on the plant to sustain growth.
Pinch off the tallest growth regularly and frequently to keep the plant bushy and prevent premature flowering; flavor becomes too strong once the plant bolts. Regular pinching encourages branching and keeps lemon basil productive and tender rather than tall and leggy. Removing flower buds as they appear ensures the leaves stay flavorful and tender throughout the season.
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“Lemon basil is a modern stabilized interspecific hybrid, deliberately crossed between Ocimum basilicum (common sweet basil) and Ocimum americanum to combine the best qualities of both parents. Its origin traces back to northwest India, where basil has been cultivated for centuries in both culinary and medicinal traditions. The hybrid was developed to create a variety that could deliver bright citrus notes while maintaining the vigor and ease of cultivation that home gardeners expect from basil. Today it holds heirloom status, meaning seed savers and small growers have preserved and shared it across generations, ensuring that gardeners worldwide have access to this distinctive flavor.”