Globe Basil
Purple Ball Basil is a stunning heirloom cultivar of Ocimum basilicum that proves herbs don't have to choose between beauty and flavor. Its plum-purple foliage is both visually striking and genuinely delicious, making it equally at home in a gourmet kitchen or a decorative garden display. Reaching just under a foot tall with a naturally tidy, rounded form, this basil matures in 60 days and thrives in full sun with temperatures between 70-85°F. It's the kind of plant that draws compliments from visitors while delivering aromatic leaves perfect for cooking.
Full Sun
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10-11
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Annual
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What sets Purple Ball apart is its ornamental appeal combined with serious culinary credentials. The plant's compact, spherical growth habit and deep plum-purple coloring make it a conversation piece in containers, raised beds, or borders, yet the foliage is beautifully fragrant and genuinely tasty. Unlike many ornamental herbs that sacrifice flavor for looks, this heirloom delivers on both fronts, rewarding gardeners with an edible plant that's as lovely to look at as it is to harvest.
Purple Ball serves as both an ornamental feature plant and a culinary herb. Its fragrant purple leaves work beautifully in dishes where you want visual drama alongside basil's familiar warm, slightly peppery flavor, and the plant's compact form makes it ideal for windowsill harvesting or container gardening where space is limited.
Start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost date. Maintain soil temperature around 70-85°F for germination, which typically occurs within 6 to 10 days. Use a seed-starting mix, keep it consistently moist, and provide bright light as soon as seedlings emerge.
Harden off seedlings by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over 7 to 10 days, then transplant outdoors once soil has warmed to at least 60°F and all frost risk has passed. Space plants 6 inches apart. Basil is sensitive to cold, so wait until nighttime temperatures are reliably above 50°F.
Direct sow seeds outdoors after the last frost date when soil is warm. Scatter seeds and press gently into soil, keeping the seedbed moist until germination, which occurs in 6 to 10 days.
Begin harvesting leaves once the plant has established several sets of true leaves, typically around 60 days from planting. Pinch off leaves from the top of the stem just above a leaf node to encourage branching. Harvest regularly throughout the growing season, basil actually produces more vigorously with frequent harvesting, and pick leaves in the morning after dew dries but before afternoon heat. You can harvest individual leaves or cut entire stems depending on your needs.
Pinch off the growing tips regularly to encourage the naturally compact, rounded form to fill in bushier. Remove flower buds as they appear to keep energy flowing into leaf production rather than flowering. This pinching not only extends your harvest but also maintains the tidy, ornamental shape that makes Purple Ball visually appealing.
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“Purple Ball represents a long tradition of heirloom basil cultivation, preserved and passed down through generations of gardeners who valued both aesthetics and culinary merit. As a recognized heirloom variety, it carries the genetics and characteristics that made it worthy of saving, the kind of plant that families kept returning to year after year because it simply performed well and brought joy to the garden.”