Scottish growing tool
Basil Variety Selector: Which One For Your Garden
Every recommendation below traces back to our full Basil varieties comparison — this page is the fast route to one answer for your specific situation, no clicking through required.
If: Safest all-round pick for a small windowsill pot or Not sure, just give me the safest all-round choice
PlutoAGM
The only one of the five AGM varieties with both a genuinely compact, container-shaped dome habit and the AGM badge. The badge is a bonus, it's the compact dome habit doing the real work for a small windowsill pot.
If: A different flavour, not the standard sweet taste
Mrs Burns' LemonAGM
Carries the AGM, with a genuinely distinct lemon-scented leaf rather than a variation on the usual basil flavour, good in salads, fish dishes, and drinks as well as cooking.
If: Growing under glass for as long a season as possible
Aroma 2
Its slow-to-bolt trait and Fusarium disease resistance are real, genuine advantages for a plant already fighting a short Scottish under-glass season, worth choosing even though its AGM status isn't individually confirmed.
If: Something more weather-resistant
Salvo
Noted for its disease and weather resistance, a genuine, if vaguer, claim worth factoring in, with the same AGM caveat as Aroma 2: named as AGM on RHS's general page, but not shown on its own individual plant page.
If: Patio pot where looks matter alongside the crop
Red-leaved (Basilico Rosso)AGM
Carries the AGM, and the only one of the five grown as much for its deep purple stems, leaves and flowers as for cooking, suited to patio and container plants.
If: Purple leaves with more vigour specifically
Crimson King
A British-bred, purple-leaved variety with uniform, cupped leaves and greater vigour than other purple varieties. Not RHS-confirmed and not on the AGM list, but a genuine second purple-leaved option if the red-leaved AGM form's flavour or growth rate doesn't suit.
Try another crop
- Angelica
- Apples
- Asparagus
- Aubergines
- Basil
- Bay
- Blackberries
- Blackcurrants
- Blueberries
- Borage
- Broad Beans
- Broccoli
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cabbage
- Calabrese
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Celeriac
- Celery
- Chard
- Cherries
- Chillies
- Chives
- Comfrey
- Coriander
- Courgettes
- Cucumbers
- Damsons
- Dill
- Endive
- Florence Fennel
- French Beans
- Garlic
- Gooseberries
- Grapes
- Honeyberries
- Jerusalem Artichoke
- Kale
- Kohlrabi
- Lavender
- Leeks
- Lemon Balm
- Lettuce
- Loganberries
- Mint
- Onions
- Oregano
- Pak Choi
- Parsley
- Parsnips
- Pears
- Peas
- Peppers
- Plums
- Potatoes
- Pumpkins
- Quince
- Radish
- Raspberries
- Redcurrants and Whitecurrants
- Rhubarb
- Rocket
- Rosemary
- Runner Beans
- Sage
- Shallots
- Sorrel
- Spinach
- Spring Onions
- Squash
- Strawberries
- Summer Savory
- Swede
- Sweetcorn
- Tarragon
- Tayberries
- Thyme
- Tomatoes
- Turnip
- Winter Savory