Cutting back the plant will not affect flavour of the leaves. I've never noticed any changes in flavour when the plant is in flower, either. If it wants to flower, it will! Remember, your basil is an annual, and will die when the colder weather arrives.

OK thanks.

Harvesting basil leaves doesn't affect the flavor of subsequent harvests from the plant. I try to keep my basil from flowering because flowering gives the plant the signal that it's done its duty and can set seeds and go on vacation. I keep those cute little pointy things nipped off until late in the season, when I let a plant or two flower and go to seed for next year's crop. Basil is such a wonderful herb!

I find that the older leaves on the flowering stalks get more leathery -- for lack of a better description. When this happens I cut the plant back to where there's new growth and let it grow back.

Westelle, that's why I was asking. The remaining leaves look so "tough." But I chopped them up in spagetti sauce, and I don't notice any bad flavor.

Marlingardener--how do you harvest the seeds? Just let them bloom and seeds hit the ground and resprout?

Susan

To my experience and taste, there is some bitter taste to almost all basil varieties. This could be partially due to very hot weather. Maybe in cooler climats they will be less bitter. Also, more frequent watering may reduce bitterness and less sun will make them more tender.

Socks,
I do as you said, let the seed pods develop and self-sow, but I also harvest some of the seeds, make sure they are completely dry (not all that easy in our humidity!) and store them in a sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator and plant when the soil is warm--May here in 8b Texas but probably earlier in your zone 9. About every three or four years I buy seed and plant it. Genetic diversity, my silly idea, who knows? Anyway, I like to get a fresh start every few years.

The best place to dry basil seeds, is in refrigerator.
just put them in a brown bag, keep it in frig for a week or so. then crush the pods and get the seed. They should be dry enough. Store them as usual, in a sealed container.

The tiny brown birds are all over my basil plants, eating the seeds :(

It's warm enough here that basil can survive the winter, so it's going into the third year, and HUMONGOUS. I hack it back periodically to give away huge clumps of it.

The "bitter" can be controlled by growing conditions. Basil grown on the thin edge of drought or in a poor soil is more pungent than basil grown in posh surroundings.

Hi, Lazygardens. I'm in Phoenix as well. I'd like to get some basil started now and have not seen anything about a late fall planting of basil. I saw that yours is a 3 year old plant. Wondering what variety you have and if you've ever planted basil this late?
Also, do you know of any good garden stores with herb selections locally? I'm in Mesa.