Question
My basil plant has been wonderful for a long time, now it seems like a lot of the plant has really woody stems. It is really hard to clip them. I did try to butcher it down low. Was that wrong? Before I would have long branches and it was so easy to trim. Now it is really woody ad has only a few leaves on each branch. Any suggestions? I live in Arizona. It has plenty of sun and an automatic drip system.

Answer
Diane:
Basil do like the sun & warm conditions, however it grows with the season best. Since it is now late fall season, it is growing like the season has ended. It will keep producing woody stems until death. A new plant may be best now or re-seeding it. Save the seeds from this plant & re-seed after drying them completely.

Leroy