Ocimum citriodorum 'Pesto Perpetuo' PP16260 CPBR3791
Common Name: Greek Columnar Basil
Basil is not just for herb gardeners anymore! This ornamental and edible form, the first variegated Basil ever, works just as well as a decorative annual as it does in herb gardens. In fact until you smell it, you might not even recognize that it is basil!
'Pesto Perpetuo' is a sport of the non-flowering, columnar basil ‘Lesbos’, discovered by Pierre Bennerup of Sunny Border Nurseries. Small, light green leaves edged in creamy white form a dense, upright pillar.
There are plenty of leaves to use in salads, as a garnish, or for other culinary uses all summer long. When crushed, the leaves have the distinct smell of basil with a hint of lemon, and they hold their color when cooked. Since it is non-flowering, you won’t have to worry about this plant going to seed before you are finished using up all of its delicious foliage.
This plant is best grown as an annual, but it is perennial in the warmest zones. Selected as the Plant of the Month by Jimmy Turner in the Dallas Arboretum Trials in February 2010.
