This recent heat wave has done a number on a lot of my plants. It is very hard to keep my container tomatoes happy. They are in 20-24 gallon pots and I am watering at least every other day and misting at least once a day. With a smaller pot like your herbs are in, it's hard to give them enough water when its 100 degrees with an accompanying dry wind (even I feel like I'm standing in a blow dryer). If they were doing well where they were before, well, you know the old chestnut about things that aren't broken...

I have moved my herbs to the shade in this heat--and I always find that they're more tender when not in the sun. My basil is in one of my tomato planters, so can't be moved to the shade, and it is the woodiest of all of my herbs at the moment! Move them back to where they were and see if they perk up, and also pinch off the top growing ends of any tips to encourage some new growth. Have you fertilized lately? Be sure that you're not overdoing it on the fertilizer!

I did fertilize... I only did it, because they looked hungry, but what do I know lmao. I may have, perhaps added a bit too much... I just put about an 1/8th of a cup per large coffee can size. The fertilizer is 7-4-5 I believe.

I'm going to be moving them tonight to a shadier spot. I may just fix them back to the front rail. The stevia in particular has taken quite a beating!

I've had bad luck with basil this year... I have 4 sweet basil, started late so still kind of small, and the 2 coffee cans of purple basil which has done the best actually. I also have a thai basil, cinnamon basil, and citruc basil hanging on for dear life. I did manage to kill 4 sweet basils that were planted with my Park's whopper tom. They were in a self watering container and they did not do well at all.. Too much water maybe?

The tomato on the other hand is doing lovely. Just about the only thing I don't kill are tomatoes lol. Sad, because I don't even like the fruit that much lol. It's been an up and down year for me with the gardening. One minute things are thriving and the next I'm messing it up. That's how it goes I guess. I killed off my marigolds by not cleaning my shears, lesson learned.

My success rate has been around 50% this year I'm sad to say. I chalk it off to being a CO gardening newb. Hopefully, with the trials and errors of this year, I shall come back stronger the next!

Has your basils rebounded by now? Part of the issue earlier this summer is that basils need hot weather--and not just daytime. They will not thrive when the nighttime temps are below 60, which was most of June this year. They do need sun, but need to be kept moist, which is difficult in that size pot.

Please don't give up--container herbs can be touchy. And, unless you have long planted perennials, don't overdo the fertilizer. Most herbs don't need it, and it can result in a bushier plant, but with less flavor. Also, watch the middle number, as you don't want most herbs to flower. If your herbs were not used to direct sun, you may have sun burnt them by the sudden move.

Also, I had my first case of basil downy mildew this year on a purchased plant. Yikes! But at least it didn't get into the rest of mine.

Yes, they did recover. They have done better than most of my other container herbs, at this point. The purple basil that had suffered previously from overwatering, and then underwatering, is doing great actually lol. I did lose a few branches from the weaker plant due to wilting and lack of water, but the rest of it and the other plant and doing awesome. They keep trying to flower, but I believe that's totally normal, right?

As for my Oregano.... it's crispy-dead. Can it grow back at all? Like if I trim it down and keep watering it? Of it is deader than a doornail? I'm terrible with not watering, shame on me. But one of my classmates in the horticulture program I just started said under-watering can actually make plants stronger and more drought resistant... I have no idea how true that is, but it sounds like a nice rabbit hole to hop down for some research.

Yup, the flowering on the basil is normal. Just keep pinching the tips. The more you use, the more will grow. With the oregano, it depends on what happened. Crispy may mean dried out dead. But oreg is one of the arid herbs that are prone to root rot too. If you catch that and dry it out, sometimes it will come back. Trim back the dead, keep just moist, then see what happens.

What your classmate said is more applicable to in-ground plants. Potted ones can truly dry out.