They look like Lettuce Leaf Basil. What was the source of the seeds?

Good observation about the resemblance to lettuce leaf basil!

The seeds came from a local nursery.

The nursery people say they've grown hundreds of basil plants recently using these seeds, both themselves as well as their customers, and all the plants come out looking like normal, Genovese sweet basil. So at least according to their answer, it can't be lettuce leaf basil.

Curious. That’s what it looks like to me. What is the nursery’s seed source? If it tastes ok I don’t see any reason to worry. I’ve grown LLB before and used it in anything I’d use Genovese for. Just being nosey, but what are you going to do with 100 basil plants?

I agree that LLB is as wonderful as Genovese. :-)

Unfortunately, I don't think this basil is lettuce leaf. I had thought (hoped!) at first that maybe some lettuce leaf basil seeds got mixed up with Genovese sweet basil in my package, but it's becoming more clear that it's not that. The plants seem odd in a bad way - puckered, bloated, some curled up, warped - rather than in the 'puffy' way of lettuce leaf basil. I worry that there's something unpleasant happening to these basil plants - a disease, pathogen, pest-borne illness, something...

"Just being nosey, but what are you going to do with 100 basil plants?" Haha, not nosey at all, only just now did I realize how funny it must look to write that I'm growing a hundred basil plants at a pop lol! It's for pesto, pesto, pesto. My family loves it. So we make tons of it during summer and autumn, freeze it, then will continue enjoying it throughout the winter and early spring :-)

We love pesto too. But I’ve never made quite that much!

I have two basil plants, and one looks exactly like yours and the other like normal. The one like yours has a very strong and delicious flavor compared to the other. It is also small/short and has stayed that way for months. It hasn't tried to go to seed yet, but I just might let it do that to get seed.

Very interesting! Great to hear from you - you're the first person I've come across who's confirmed to have the same situation. I'd love to hear more details about your odd basil which looks exactly like mine!

How is the leaf production of the odd plant compared to the normal basil?

In my case, I'm starting to think that the deformed basil will not produce many leaves ever. Now that this set of basil plants are at around 6-10 true leaves, I'm noticing that the deformed basil leaves have trouble growing in. You can see signs of this in the pictures I posted above. The new leaves that form are so puffy and deformed that they take long to grow out of the center. They're much slower growing than the normal basil plants I have.

Does your deformed basil plant seem diseased to you? Do you think it's possibly a lettuce-leaf basil which got thrown into the Genovese seed mix, as @floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK commented earlier in this thread? What do you think caused the deformities in your case?

I took this photo just now. This Basil is called Presto Pesto. It has just recently gotten out of the bubble-look and the leaves are finally growing a bit larger and flatter. As you can see, the leaves are very dense. I've had my plant since May and it is just now starting to grow more normal. Sorry I don't have an earlier photo when the leaves were very bubbled and small.

Oh.... and, this plant is just about the same size as when I bought it.... 8". I have taken off a number of leaves to use in cooking, but the leaves just seem to fill-in from where I picked.

Thanks for the comment and the picture, @CA Kate z9. Your plant is quite ok! I'm very surprised that your plant ever looked like mine. It looks quite decent now compared to mine. Most of the lamina on yours are smooth, so it's amazing to think that your plant earlier had the same puckered, tightly packed bubbles as my plant.

I waited a week after your message to post again because I wanted to see if my plants would grow and turn into the plant in your photo! I was hoping so much. I had already composed in my head a note of victory, chiding myself for my anxiety, drawing the lesson that it always pays to be patient as ugly little seedlings grow up to become nice plants.

But unfortunately, no such luck. My ugly little seedlings are now ugly, slightly-less little, seedlings.

Maybe some day...

Still no idea what's going on. I'll post an update when there's a change! :-)

Happy Times, it took 3 months for my plant to be as it is.... 7" tall and still tightly formed. The other, after one month is 14" tall and loosely leaved. This is a new photo of the top of the plant.... very densely leaved. Best Basil I'v ever grown.

Also, have you tried givng it a wee bit of fertilizer?

Oh she healthy, looks like shes taking alot of water, try slightly increasing nutrients, she could be low and taking more runoff water than normal to compensate

And if theres alot of nutrients already, it could be nutrient burn or lockout, i would fiddle with those nutrients first

Just reporting in:

I am still thrilled with this Basil plant.... Presto Pesto. It got a case of 'the worms' that I didn't catch fast enough and they just about decimated the poor thing. It has been in a bright window all winter and is, once again, growing great with that wonderful flavor. And, is still all puckery. 🤗

(The Begonia from Christmas 2019 is doing really well too.) 😄

Best wishes... and be safe!

CA Kate 😷

Hi CA Kate, wondering if anyone responded to your delima of basil plant size when you go to harvest are you just cutting which ever Individual leaf looks good? If so it could answer why its just growing back if you trim the top 1 - 2 nodes (think its called that) then your plant will grow faster. If you look at a main/larger stem you see a new tiny leaf coming out on 2 sides, that new growth is where it will spread if there is nothing above it. My outdoor plant is in a large grow bag with more room and new stems are coming out without me doing anything. And did you know harvesting the biggest leaves and leaving the new growth on the plant they may not grow healthy and harder Those large leaves are like the solar panels of the new guys…

My plant is still alive, still short, still dense, still puckery and tasting wonderful. Unfortunately the two sprouts I got from the seeds died, so I'm still trying for more.

I keep looking for the same plant at the nurseries but haven't found this same kind of Basil. But then, I bought several new plants this year that were suppose to be the same as the named ones I had last year, and they aren't the same at all. I'm very disappointed in those.... both peppers.

I hadn't ever heard about not cutting the biggest leaves.

Not sure if this thread is still active, I'm growing Napoletano basil which I believe is a variety of sweet basil. Almost all seedlings have a simmillar look (to the first picture only) except one which has smoother better looking sides.

Happy Thyme, what ended up happening to your basil?

Hi! I believe there are 2 issues with the original poster's basil. The bubbling is most likely overwatering which will also cause slower growth. If you look at the LAST picture attached on his thread, the leaf in focus is not the typical basil leaf shape (forgetting the bubbling for a moment) and is likely a calcium deficiency. Try giving a some calcium and remember it will alter your ph so you may end up needing a little sulphur, and less watering overall. Mine go thru stages of overwatering so my bubbliness comes and goes....lol

Good Luck!!

Your basil situation sounds puzzling! Maybe it's a genetic mutation or environmental stress. Have you tried adjusting watering or soil nutrients? Sometimes that helps with leaf abnormalities. Good luck! 🌱