My balcony basil took 6 weeks to go from sad to bushy

I keep seeing posts saying you need full south sun for basil, but my north-facing balcony proved that wrong. After 3 weeks of leggy, pale leaves in spring, I moved the pot to the railing edge where it catches just 4 hours of morning sun. That simple shift made the leaves get dark green and doubled in size by week 6. I think people overhype direct light and forget that reflected light from walls helps a ton. Has anyone else had better luck with partial shade than they expected?

2 comments

2 Comments

sarahsullivan28d agoMost Upvoted

West facing gets afternoon sun, not morning. That's an important difference. Morning sun is gentler, less intense. Afternoon sun on a west facing spot will cook your basil if you're not careful. Your west facing spot would get the hot afternoon rays, not the soft morning ones. Might still work if you rig up some shade cloth or tuck it behind something taller. Just don't expect the same result as a north facing spot with morning light.

scott.mia29d ago

Whoa wait, "4 hours of morning sun" and it doubled in size? That kinda shocks me, not gonna lie. I always figured basil was one of those plants that'd freak out without a solid 6+ hours of direct light. The reflected light off the wall thing makes a lot of sense though, I bet that's cooking the leaves from below in a way people don't think about. I've got a west-facing spot that only gets that kind of morning light, might have to give my basil a shot there now. You might have just saved me from buying another sad supermarket plant.