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Tulsi, Temperate — Holy Basil (Ocimum africanum) potted plant, organic

(6 customer reviews)

$8.50

Family:  Mint (Lamiaceae)

Annual, harvest at 40 days and ongoing to frost

(Temperate Tulsi)  The plant is a bushy annual tea basil with small leaves, purple flowers and a tutti-frutti fragrance. Among all basils in my experience, this one is (surprisingly) the shortest season, most frost-hardy cultivar. I’ve also seen these self-seed the following year, which is unusual among basils. We tested this cultivar and confirmed the presence of essential oils linalool, nerol, geraniol, citral, icocaryophyllene, humulene, etc.  Also ran it for genetic analysis to confirm identity as Ocimum africanum.  This is the holy basil my wife and I grow for ourselves to make into tea.  We find it very satisfying, with aroma most appealing.   Traditional usage (Ayurveda): stress, anxiety, heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, and dementia.  Drinking tulsi tea in the morning is a fantastic way to get started.

Potted plant Certified Organically Grown

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5 out of 5 stars

6 reviews

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What others are saying

  1. missindy83

    missindy83 (verified owner)

    How far apart do you recommend planting the potted plants? Thanks!

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    • Richo Cech

      Richo Cech

      hi missindy, thanks for writing. we space these 1 to 2 feet apart, they do grow fairly wide but don’t mind shouldering in on eachother. richo

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  2. One person found this helpful
    Melanie E Glover

    Temperate Tulsi

    Melanie E Glover

    This tulsi is easy to grow from seed and grows well. I live in Colorado and have it on my back deck in the full sun in pretty harsh weather. It is strong and resilient. It self seeds and seems to come back stronger every year. It has a rich aroma and wonderful taste. I have found this tulsi variety to be very hardy, easy to grow, and gives a great harvest. Great product.

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  3. Question

    Martha James

    when will you have Tulsi, Temperate — Holy Basil back in stock?

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    • Richo Cech

      Admin Richo Cech

      Our plants all bolted, we need to replant the seed. At this season it really does work well to direct-seed this in the garden, I encourage you to go for the seeds. r

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    • rohitupadhyay

      is this Basil Indian or African in Origin ?

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    • Richo Cech

      Admin Richo Cech

      This basil is African in origin.

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    • Kristopher Schmidt

      Ricco
      Is this the variety that you had labeled/sold as “African Tea Basil” about a decade ago. I remember getting them along with the Kivumbasi Lime and Mtule varieties……
      I thought I had a plant of them, started the seeds and now it seems like ye ole Vana Tulsi from around the same time….
      Basil confusion, aroma delusion, do you have a solution?

      (Old friend) Kristopher in Medford

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    • Richo Cech

      Richo Cech

      Hi Kristopher, Good guess but not really. There are many different Ocimum in the wild and also a lot of cultivars. OK, so “Mtule” is wild african bush basil and resembles vana tulsi closely. They are different ecotypes. Kivumbasi lime may be distinguished from what we called “African Basil” by means of the lime aroma. Otherwise the plants are very close–small statured, small-leaved annuals. Mtule and Vana are much larger leaved, much larger plants, and perennial unless frosted. Basically your confusion was caused by my delusion, basils in profusion. Richo

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    • Kristopher Schmidt

      Richo
      Your hilarity is a charity to humanity.
      …..though my question still lingers in the space between my ears.
      What came of that African Tea Basil from 2008/9ish?
      Was it reNamed or freed from the herd?

      And oh yeah, will these basil’s ever cross-pollinate?

      Kristopher

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    • Richo Cech

      Richo Cech

      Hi Kristopher,
      Thanks for upping my day! Basils of the same species will hybridize and you have to watch out for that. Don’t grow Thai next to Genovese, you’ll get Thainovese, which is like a Thai speaking with an Italian accent. There are many different African Tea Basils–in Swahili these are known as Kivumbasi, being the tropical annual wild version. We still propagate “Kivumbasi Lime” which was the nicest we ever found, so that’s why we’ve let other accessions go and just kept what seems to work well for us. Richo

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    • Erica Reyes

      A thai speaking with an Italian accent! Oh richo! You make shopping for botanicals-an already joyous occasion for me!-all the more enjoyable! Anywayyy..Will the temperate and Rama be in stock this season?

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    • Mayche Cech

      Mayche Cech

      Hi Erica, My pleasure, all the tulsis will be back in stock very soon, they are sizing up nicely. richo

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    • Scot Nyman

      Is this the Kappur (sp) cultivar?

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    • Richo Cech

      Richo Cech

      no, actually Kapoor is a widely-used misnomer for this plant. If you stick to the Latin in this case, it is a bit more revealing of its truye origin–Ocimum africanum. Richo

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  4. Question

    Lois Case

    What is the best holy basil for migraines? Is it sold as a potted plant?

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    • Richo Cech

      Admin Richo Cech

      Probably the best all-around tulsi is AMRITA.

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    • Pat Collins

      How tall does the plant get?

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    • Richo Cech

      Admin Richo Cech

      about 2 feet at the max

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