My basil went sideways after a heatwave last July

I live in a 6th floor apartment in Phoenix and last July we had 5 days straight over 110 degrees, my balcony basil just wilted into mush no matter how much I watered it. I finally put up a shade cloth and moved the pots against the wall, and now I only grow leafy stuff on the east side. Has anyone else had to rearrange their whole balcony setup after a brutal heat stretch, or am I just cursed with bad sun angles?

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mason_jackson1mo agoMost Upvoted

Phoenix in July is basically a convection oven, so your basil was actually cooked from the inside out, not dehydrated. I did the exact opposite thing last summer and left my herbs on the south side in full sun, they came out all tough and woody but they survived just fine. Sounds like you gave up on the fight too early, shade cloth is for pansies when you could've just switched to rosemary or thyme that actually laughs at 110 degrees.