Crimson King Basil Seeds
Richer color, better leaf form, and greater vigor
- Genus: Ocimum
- Species: basilicum
- Variety: 'Crimson King'
- Item Form: (P) Pkt of 100 seeds
- Days To Maturity: 80
- Seeds Per Pack: 100
- Plant Height: 18 in
- Plant Width: 12 in
- Additional Characteristics: Easy Care Plants, Edible, Fragrance, Herbs, Pest Fighter
- Foliage Color: Purple
- Harvest Season: Early Fall, Late Fall, Late Summer, Mid Fall, Mid Summer
- Light Requirements: Full Sun
- Moisture Requirements: Dry, Moist, well-drained
- Resistance: Heat Tolerant, Humidity Tolerant, Pest Resistant
- Soil Tolerance: Clay, Normal, loamy
- Uses: Beds, Containers, Cuisine, Foliage Interest, Ornamental
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- About this Product
- Know Before You Grow
- Reviews
- How To...
- Plants that Repel Pests
- Superior Seed Germination
- FAQ
- Katie's Krops
Days to Maturity: 80 from direct sow
Crimson King is destined for a long and glorious reign in American gardens. This Genovese-type basil, bred in England as an improvement over the popular Red Rubin (which we still love for its own merits as well), is as ornamental as it is delicious.
You will smell Crimson King before you see it, the huge, lightly cupped violet leaves releasing a spicy clove aroma. Fabulous for cooking or in fresh dishes, Crimson King is a generous producer, with good branching on plants that reach 18 inches high and about a foot wide. Compact enough for containers, they stand out nicely wherever they are planted.
And Crimson King is not a fussy grower. You won't find those depressing green off-shoots that so many red-leafed varieties have—Crimson King is 100% purple, no matter what the weather does. The growth is vigorous, too, so that you can expect to begin harvesting big, delectable leaves in less than 3 months from sowing the seed.
Basil is content to begin life indoors or out. If sowing indoors, start the seeds 6 to 8 weeks before last scheduled frost; they germinate in about 5 to 10 days, and can be transplanted when they have at least 2 sets of true leaves and the soil has warmed up.
To direct-sow them, wait for the soil temperature to reach 70 degrees or so. If you are direct-sowing, wait until the soil has thoroughly warmed up in spring. Then cover the seeds with about ¼-inch of soil, and thin the young plants to 12 to 15 inches apart when they are about 2 inches tall.
As your basil plants grow, pinch off the central stem when they are about 6 weeks old, and prune back each stem when it has more than 8 sets of leaves. (Cut it back to the first or second set of leaves, harvesting the rest.) If you keep your plants well pinched and pruned, you should be able to harvest half a cup of fresh leaves every week during the growing season.
Basil loves hot weather and plenty of sunshine, but it needs consistently moist, rich soil. Mulch the plants to retain moisture, and water heavily during dry spells.
Harvest the plant before the cold weather sets in, as this will affect the leaves' texture and flavor. Freeze entire stems, with the leaves still attached, for best flavor retention, or dry the leaves for seasoning.
Basil is a sun-loving annual herb that is among the most popular in the world for flavoring food. Native to Asia, it was carried from India to Egypt to Greece in the ancient world, and remains a mainstay of cuisine in many cultures. In the garden, it is often grown alongside tomatoes, and is considered a guard plant protecting veggies and flowering plants from some predators.
Choosing a Basil Variety
Selecting which basil to grow is the most difficult part of gardening with this scrumptious herb! Most have green leaves and either pink or purple blooms, though some sport purple-toned foliage. We recommend that for growing indoors, you select dwarf varieties. There are many delectable choices:
Sweet Basil - Used in French, Italian, Greek, and other Mediterranean cuisines, these varieties are mildly flavored yet strongly aromatic, an irresistible combination! Nufar Hybrid is a Genovese type that resists fusarium wilt, making it one of the easiest to grow. Large Leaf Italian is among the most popular for fresh or dried use. And Pistou is a very compact French variety with a sweet, mild bite.
Spicy Basil - A mainstay of Oriental cuisine, these varieties pack a stronger, spicier bite than their sweet cousins. AAS winner Thai Siam Queen delivers zingy flavor on extra-large plants that produce very heavily, while unusual Cinnamon uniquely combines the sweet with the spicy!
Citrus Basil - Combining lemon or lime flavors with traditional basil flavor makes a superb addition to drinks and desserts! One of our favorites is Mrs. Burns' Lemon, an heirloom variety from New Mexico with lip-puckering intensity. Lime is indispensable for Thai cuisine, and its dwarf habit makes it a must-have in the indoor kitchen garden.
Can't decide where to begin? We recommend that you save money with our sampler platter -- the Culinary Collection! You'll get a packet each of 4 of our very best: one Genovese, one French, one lemon, and one purple-leaf!
When to Start Basil Seeds
To grow basil indoors, sow the seeds at any time of year. To grow in the garden, begin seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before anticipated transplant date. Transplant the seedlings or sow seeds directly into the soil only when daytime temperatures are in the 70's and nighttime temps remain above 50°F.
How to Start Basil Seeds
Drop one seed into each bio sponge of your Bio Dome, or sow on top of a seed flat and lightly cover with vermiculite. Germination occurs in 5 to 15 days at any temperature between 65 and 85°F. Transplant the seedlings anytime after they have 2 sets of true leaves.
Special Considerations
- Harvest basil as you need it, taking leaves from the top of the plant first. Try not to harvest more often than once a week.
- To dry the leaves for seasoning, cut the entire plant at soil level, turn it upsidedown, and hang it in a warm, dry room for about a week. Then strip the leaves from the stems and store them in an airtight container for up to a year. Do not crumble them until ready to use.
- When adding basil to cooked dishes, wait until just before serving for the strongest flavor and best texture.
Growing Tips for Basil Plants
- Basil loves hot weather and needs consistently moist, rich soil for best growth. Give it 6 to 8 hours of sunlight a day outdoors, and a good dose of fluorescents or plant lights every day indoors.
- As flower buds arise, pinch them off. Flowering will stop the foliage growth and dilute the flavor of the leaves.
Pests and Problems to Watch For
Outdoors, slugs and beetles can nibble the leaves. Using a sharp mulch will discourage their approach.
Indoors, aphids can become a problem. Check the undersides of new leaves very carefully for signs of these tiny white creatures, and spray leaves on both sides to keep them clean.
Basil Germination Information
How to Sow Basil: - Best sown indoors, 6-8 weeks before last frost, at a temperature of 68-70°
- Sow at a depth of 4 times the size of the seeds and expect germination in 7-10 days
- Seeds can also be sown outdoors after all danger of frost is past and when the ground is warm
- When sowing seed outdoors, we recommend a maximum planting depth of 4X the width of the seed
How to Grow Basil:
Transplanting: If sown indoors, transplant outdoors when there are at least two sets of true leaves
Spacing: Plant seedlings 10-12 inches apart
Lighting: Site in full sun
Soil: Site in a dry, light, medium to rich, well-drained soil
Additional Care: Pinch out the growing tips to promote compactness and to delay flowering; pinch off the flower spikes when they appear. Basil can also be grown indoors on a sunny windowsill, however, do not let the soil temperature fall below 50°
Appearance and Use:
This culinary herb is grown in ground in the garden, but also transitions well to container culture. The purple-leaved types are highly ornamental. Plants grow 15-24 inches tall and wide and produce ornamentally unimportant, white or purplish flowers in the summer. It is grown for the broad, dark green or dark purple, aromatic foliage. Depending on the variety, the foliage will be redolent of clove, anise, cinnamon, lemon, rose, or orange. Harvest the leaves at any time for fresh use. To dry them for storage, harvest the leaves as the flowers begin to open
About Basil:
Botanical name: Ocimum basilicum
Pronunciation: os-i’mum ba-sil-i’cum
Lifecycle: Annual
Origination: Lamiaceae; native to Africa, southeast Asia, and the Mediterranean
Planting garlic, onions, chives, lavender, rosemary, and sage around rabbit-susceptible plants will repel rabbits. Deer repellent plants include: lavender, onion, catnip, sage, chives, garlic, spearmint, and thyme. Be sure to strategically place these repellent plants around and in between rabbit and deer-susceptible plants. Also, place some along the property line and especially at key points the rabbits and deer are using as entryways, which can even deter them from coming onto your property.
Superior Germination Through Superior Science
Park Seed offers some of the highest-quality vegetable and flower seeds available in the industry, and there are a number of reasons for this.First of all, we have humidity- and temperature-controlled storage, and we never treat any of our seeds with chemicals or pesticides. Nor do we ever sell GMO's (genetically modified seeds), so you always know the products you're buying from us are natural as well as safe for you and the environment.
Superior Standards - University Inspected
To make sure we are providing the best seed product possible and that our customers will get the highest number of seedlings from every packet, we conduct our own germination testing and have quality-control measures in every stage of our seed-handling operation. We hold ourselves to standards that are at or above federal and state standards, including testing specific crops more frequently than recommended by federal guidelines. And in order to maintain our organic certification, we welcome Clemson University to inspect us annually to make sure our organic seeds, which are stored and processed separately, are being handled properly.
Hand Packed By Experienced Technicians
Park Seed has been handling and packing vegetable and flower seeds for 145 years, a history that has given us a great understanding of how each variety should be cared for and maintained throughout every step of theprocess, from collection to shipping.
When packing our seeds, the majority are actually done by hand (with extreme care!), and we often over-pack them, so you're receiving more than the stated quantity.
The Park Seed Gold Standard
And many of our seeds are packed in our exclusive Fresh-Pak gold foil packets, which are lined to keep moisture out, so the seeds stay fresher for longer. We carefully pack very tiny or fragile seeds in crush-proof vials to ensure safe delivery to your home. Some of the small seeds are also offered as "pellets" (have a clay coating) to make sowing and growing easier.
When it comes to the kinds of seeds we offer, we are constantly seeking something new and provide many unique and hard-to-find varieties from all around the world. Our on-staff horticulturists are ready and available to share their expertise to help you with the success of these seeds, so you can grow a beautiful and productive garden!
It is important for our customers to know that Park Seed does not sell GMO or treated seed.
Heirloom Seeds are open-pollinated -- they are not hybrids. You can gather and save heirloom seed from year to year and they will grow true to type every year, so they can be passed down through generations. To be considered an heirloom, a variety would have to be at least from the 1940's and 3 generations old (many varieties are much older -- some 100 years or more!).
Hybrid seed are the product of cross-pollination between 2 different parent plants, resulting in a new plant/seed that is different from the parents. Unlike Heirloom seed, hybrid seed need to be re-purchased new every year (and not saved). They usually will not grow true to type if you save them, but will revert to one of the parents they were crossed with and most likely look/taste different in some way.
Extremely small seed such as Petunias and Pentas are shipped as pelleted seed to make them easier to handle and sow. Pelleted seed are coated, usually with clay, to make them larger in size. After sowing, the coating will dissolve when wet and the seed will germinate. Pelleted seeds are shipped in vials placed inside seed packets, which protects them from being crushed. When sowing, be certain to use thoroughly moistened soil, to be sure that the clay coating absorbs enough moisture to dissolve. For sowing pelleted Petunia seeds, place the seeds directly on the soil surface and do not cover with soil, as light aids in the germination.
That's the motto of Katie's Krops, a charity founded by a 10-year-old girl to fight hunger in America. Katie's grass-roots vegetable gardens grow produce that is donated to local soup kitchens and food banks. Now, at 16 years old, Katie's goal is to start 500 gardens in all 50 states, and we want to help! So we are donating a portion of the proceeds from select vegetable varieties directly to Katie's Krops. Park Seed has donated over $10,000 since 2015!
What a difference a garden makes! When she was in third grade, Katie grew a 40-lb cabbage, donated it to a local soup kitchen, and was surprised to learn that it had helped feed 275 people. Katie's passion for feeding the hungry from her garden was born.
Now Katie is 16, and has started many vegetable gardens in communities far beyond her own. Her charity, Katie's Krops, has a goal of starting 500 gardens in all 50 states. We at Park Seed are partnering with Katie's Krops to help those in need. Below you will find vegetable varieties marked with this symbol. We will donate a percentage of the price of each packet of these seeds directly to Katie's Krops. That way, you can be part of the Katie's Krops movement too!
Days to Maturity: 80 from direct sow
Crimson King is destined for a long and glorious reign in American gardens. This Genovese-type basil, bred in England as an improvement over the popular Red Rubin (which we still love for its own merits as well), is as ornamental as it is delicious.
You will smell Crimson King before you see it, the huge, lightly cupped violet leaves releasing a spicy clove aroma. Fabulous for cooking or in fresh dishes, Crimson King is a generous producer, with good branching on plants that reach 18 inches high and about a foot wide. Compact enough for containers, they stand out nicely wherever they are planted.
And Crimson King is not a fussy grower. You won't find those depressing green off-shoots that so many red-leafed varieties have—Crimson King is 100% purple, no matter what the weather does. The growth is vigorous, too, so that you can expect to begin harvesting big, delectable leaves in less than 3 months from sowing the seed.
Basil is content to begin life indoors or out. If sowing indoors, start the seeds 6 to 8 weeks before last scheduled frost; they germinate in about 5 to 10 days, and can be transplanted when they have at least 2 sets of true leaves and the soil has warmed up.
To direct-sow them, wait for the soil temperature to reach 70 degrees or so. If you are direct-sowing, wait until the soil has thoroughly warmed up in spring. Then cover the seeds with about ¼-inch of soil, and thin the young plants to 12 to 15 inches apart when they are about 2 inches tall.
As your basil plants grow, pinch off the central stem when they are about 6 weeks old, and prune back each stem when it has more than 8 sets of leaves. (Cut it back to the first or second set of leaves, harvesting the rest.) If you keep your plants well pinched and pruned, you should be able to harvest half a cup of fresh leaves every week during the growing season.
Basil loves hot weather and plenty of sunshine, but it needs consistently moist, rich soil. Mulch the plants to retain moisture, and water heavily during dry spells.
Harvest the plant before the cold weather sets in, as this will affect the leaves' texture and flavor. Freeze entire stems, with the leaves still attached, for best flavor retention, or dry the leaves for seasoning.
Basil is a sun-loving annual herb that is among the most popular in the world for flavoring food. Native to Asia, it was carried from India to Egypt to Greece in the ancient world, and remains a mainstay of cuisine in many cultures. In the garden, it is often grown alongside tomatoes, and is considered a guard plant protecting veggies and flowering plants from some predators.
Choosing a Basil Variety
Selecting which basil to grow is the most difficult part of gardening with this scrumptious herb! Most have green leaves and either pink or purple blooms, though some sport purple-toned foliage. We recommend that for growing indoors, you select dwarf varieties. There are many delectable choices:
Sweet Basil - Used in French, Italian, Greek, and other Mediterranean cuisines, these varieties are mildly flavored yet strongly aromatic, an irresistible combination! Nufar Hybrid is a Genovese type that resists fusarium wilt, making it one of the easiest to grow. Large Leaf Italian is among the most popular for fresh or dried use. And Pistou is a very compact French variety with a sweet, mild bite.
Spicy Basil - A mainstay of Oriental cuisine, these varieties pack a stronger, spicier bite than their sweet cousins. AAS winner Thai Siam Queen delivers zingy flavor on extra-large plants that produce very heavily, while unusual Cinnamon uniquely combines the sweet with the spicy!
Citrus Basil - Combining lemon or lime flavors with traditional basil flavor makes a superb addition to drinks and desserts! One of our favorites is Mrs. Burns' Lemon, an heirloom variety from New Mexico with lip-puckering intensity. Lime is indispensable for Thai cuisine, and its dwarf habit makes it a must-have in the indoor kitchen garden.
Can't decide where to begin? We recommend that you save money with our sampler platter -- the Culinary Collection! You'll get a packet each of 4 of our very best: one Genovese, one French, one lemon, and one purple-leaf!
When to Start Basil Seeds
To grow basil indoors, sow the seeds at any time of year. To grow in the garden, begin seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before anticipated transplant date. Transplant the seedlings or sow seeds directly into the soil only when daytime temperatures are in the 70's and nighttime temps remain above 50°F.
How to Start Basil Seeds
Drop one seed into each bio sponge of your Bio Dome, or sow on top of a seed flat and lightly cover with vermiculite. Germination occurs in 5 to 15 days at any temperature between 65 and 85°F. Transplant the seedlings anytime after they have 2 sets of true leaves.
Special Considerations
- Harvest basil as you need it, taking leaves from the top of the plant first. Try not to harvest more often than once a week.
- To dry the leaves for seasoning, cut the entire plant at soil level, turn it upsidedown, and hang it in a warm, dry room for about a week. Then strip the leaves from the stems and store them in an airtight container for up to a year. Do not crumble them until ready to use.
- When adding basil to cooked dishes, wait until just before serving for the strongest flavor and best texture.
Growing Tips for Basil Plants
- Basil loves hot weather and needs consistently moist, rich soil for best growth. Give it 6 to 8 hours of sunlight a day outdoors, and a good dose of fluorescents or plant lights every day indoors.
- As flower buds arise, pinch them off. Flowering will stop the foliage growth and dilute the flavor of the leaves.
Pests and Problems to Watch For
Outdoors, slugs and beetles can nibble the leaves. Using a sharp mulch will discourage their approach.
Indoors, aphids can become a problem. Check the undersides of new leaves very carefully for signs of these tiny white creatures, and spray leaves on both sides to keep them clean.
Basil Germination Information
How to Sow Basil: - Best sown indoors, 6-8 weeks before last frost, at a temperature of 68-70°
- Sow at a depth of 4 times the size of the seeds and expect germination in 7-10 days
- Seeds can also be sown outdoors after all danger of frost is past and when the ground is warm
- When sowing seed outdoors, we recommend a maximum planting depth of 4X the width of the seed
How to Grow Basil:
Transplanting: If sown indoors, transplant outdoors when there are at least two sets of true leaves
Spacing: Plant seedlings 10-12 inches apart
Lighting: Site in full sun
Soil: Site in a dry, light, medium to rich, well-drained soil
Additional Care: Pinch out the growing tips to promote compactness and to delay flowering; pinch off the flower spikes when they appear. Basil can also be grown indoors on a sunny windowsill, however, do not let the soil temperature fall below 50°
Appearance and Use:
This culinary herb is grown in ground in the garden, but also transitions well to container culture. The purple-leaved types are highly ornamental. Plants grow 15-24 inches tall and wide and produce ornamentally unimportant, white or purplish flowers in the summer. It is grown for the broad, dark green or dark purple, aromatic foliage. Depending on the variety, the foliage will be redolent of clove, anise, cinnamon, lemon, rose, or orange. Harvest the leaves at any time for fresh use. To dry them for storage, harvest the leaves as the flowers begin to open
About Basil:
Botanical name: Ocimum basilicum
Pronunciation: os-i’mum ba-sil-i’cum
Lifecycle: Annual
Origination: Lamiaceae; native to Africa, southeast Asia, and the Mediterranean
Planting garlic, onions, chives, lavender, rosemary, and sage around rabbit-susceptible plants will repel rabbits. Deer repellent plants include: lavender, onion, catnip, sage, chives, garlic, spearmint, and thyme. Be sure to strategically place these repellent plants around and in between rabbit and deer-susceptible plants. Also, place some along the property line and especially at key points the rabbits and deer are using as entryways, which can even deter them from coming onto your property.
Superior Germination Through Superior Science
Park Seed offers some of the highest-quality vegetable and flower seeds available in the industry, and there are a number of reasons for this.First of all, we have humidity- and temperature-controlled storage, and we never treat any of our seeds with chemicals or pesticides. Nor do we ever sell GMO's (genetically modified seeds), so you always know the products you're buying from us are natural as well as safe for you and the environment.
Superior Standards - University Inspected
To make sure we are providing the best seed product possible and that our customers will get the highest number of seedlings from every packet, we conduct our own germination testing and have quality-control measures in every stage of our seed-handling operation. We hold ourselves to standards that are at or above federal and state standards, including testing specific crops more frequently than recommended by federal guidelines. And in order to maintain our organic certification, we welcome Clemson University to inspect us annually to make sure our organic seeds, which are stored and processed separately, are being handled properly.
Hand Packed By Experienced Technicians
Park Seed has been handling and packing vegetable and flower seeds for 145 years, a history that has given us a great understanding of how each variety should be cared for and maintained throughout every step of theprocess, from collection to shipping.
When packing our seeds, the majority are actually done by hand (with extreme care!), and we often over-pack them, so you're receiving more than the stated quantity.
The Park Seed Gold Standard
And many of our seeds are packed in our exclusive Fresh-Pak gold foil packets, which are lined to keep moisture out, so the seeds stay fresher for longer. We carefully pack very tiny or fragile seeds in crush-proof vials to ensure safe delivery to your home. Some of the small seeds are also offered as "pellets" (have a clay coating) to make sowing and growing easier.
When it comes to the kinds of seeds we offer, we are constantly seeking something new and provide many unique and hard-to-find varieties from all around the world. Our on-staff horticulturists are ready and available to share their expertise to help you with the success of these seeds, so you can grow a beautiful and productive garden!
It is important for our customers to know that Park Seed does not sell GMO or treated seed.
Heirloom Seeds are open-pollinated -- they are not hybrids. You can gather and save heirloom seed from year to year and they will grow true to type every year, so they can be passed down through generations. To be considered an heirloom, a variety would have to be at least from the 1940's and 3 generations old (many varieties are much older -- some 100 years or more!).
Hybrid seed are the product of cross-pollination between 2 different parent plants, resulting in a new plant/seed that is different from the parents. Unlike Heirloom seed, hybrid seed need to be re-purchased new every year (and not saved). They usually will not grow true to type if you save them, but will revert to one of the parents they were crossed with and most likely look/taste different in some way.
Extremely small seed such as Petunias and Pentas are shipped as pelleted seed to make them easier to handle and sow. Pelleted seed are coated, usually with clay, to make them larger in size. After sowing, the coating will dissolve when wet and the seed will germinate. Pelleted seeds are shipped in vials placed inside seed packets, which protects them from being crushed. When sowing, be certain to use thoroughly moistened soil, to be sure that the clay coating absorbs enough moisture to dissolve. For sowing pelleted Petunia seeds, place the seeds directly on the soil surface and do not cover with soil, as light aids in the germination.