---
title: "Does anybody know what this brown stem means? I started growing this…"
description: "Does anybody know what this brown stem means? I started growing this basil plant a couple months ago. The leaves look fine."
url: "https://getplanta.com/community/x8_aVt91R1-MU6xd79uMKQ/6514922cf4d0b4e9b1e8f354"
community: "Edible Gardening"
author: "Hailey"
published: "2023-09-27T20:35:56.143Z"
language: "en"
image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/cxl-_6O0KgqswRinARmxhbZmWthWeWzkt8fCs3ivFfQ/b8c030f9e411496ca01873023b66faa9.webp?size=large"
---

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# Does anybody know what this brown stem means? I started growing this…

_Posted by Hailey on 2023-09-27_

Does anybody know what this brown stem means? I started growing this basil plant a couple months ago. The leaves look fine.

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/cxl-_6O0KgqswRinARmxhbZmWthWeWzkt8fCs3ivFfQ/b8c030f9e411496ca01873023b66faa9.webp?size=large)

## 1 comment

### MeasomerPi commented on 2023-09-28

In my experience, woody stems are not uncommon in older plants. It happens to my plants and they haven’t been adversely affected by it.

I have read that regularly harvesting or pinching the plants can help slow the process.

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