Growing Lemon Balm

The green leaves of lemon balm have the scent of lemon with a hint of mint, with leaves that look like oversized mint — no surprise, since lemon balm is part of the mint family. Lemon balm can grow 24 to 36 inches tall and makes a nice green clump of medium-textured leaves among the other herbs and flowers in your garden. The plant looks best when it is cut back periodically, so plan to use lots of fresh, flavourful leaves to brew tea, flavour fruit or green salad, and season fish. Be sure to include stems in bouquets of summer flowers.

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Quick Guide to Growing Lemon Balm

Plant lemon balm during the warm weather of late spring, once all chances of frost have passed.
Space lemon balm 20 to 24 inches apart in an area with partial shade and fertile, well-drained soil with a pH of 6.5 to 7.0.
Start the growing season off right by mixing several inches of aged compost or other rich organic matter into your native soil.
Check soil moisture every few days and water when the top inch becomes dry.
Maximize leaf production by regularly feeding with water-soluble plant food.
Harvest lemon balm leaves anytime once your plant reaches 6 to 8 inches tall; avoid harvesting more than one-third of the plant at a time.

Soil, Planting, and Care

Growing lemon balm is a warm weather activity. Be sure to start with young lemon balm plants from Bonnie Plants®, which has been helping home gardeners succeed for over 100 years. After all danger of frost has past, set lemon balm plants 20 to 24 inches apart in rich, well-draining soil where it will receive some shade during the day. Improve your existing soil’s nutrition content and drainage by mixing in a few inches of Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics®All Purpose In-Ground Soil with the top layer. Or, fill containers with Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® All Purpose Container Mix. Both are enriched with aged compost and provide a strong nutritional start for your plants.

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Lemon balm will remain green during mild winters, such as those in zones 9 and 10. This plant responds well to cutting, growing back twice as thick. Whenever your plant is looking tired due to drought, hail, insects, or other stress, just cut it back and let it rejuvenate itself with fresh, new growth.

While rich, fertile soil is a great foundation for growing lots of lemon balm, you’ll have even more success if you feed regularly with a water soluble fertilizer like Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® All Purpose Plant Nutrition at the rate recommended on the label, or work plenty of organic nutrients from compost, blood meal, or cottonseed meal into the soil.

Troubleshooting

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Lemon balm does not spread by underground runners like mint. It will increase in size, though, making a bigger clump in the garden each season and sprouting from seeds that develop from inconspicuous flowers. To keep it from taking up too much of your garden, cut the plant back to a few inches tall several times during the growing season. This will keep the plant bushy and healthy-looking while preventing seeds from ripening. The flowers of lemon balm are not necessarily showy, but they will produce viable seeds that will germinate in your garden. Adding mulch will not only help prevent the fallen seeds from germinating, but the mulch will also slowly decay, feeding the soil with the rich organic matter that this plant needs.

Harvest and Storage

Lemon balm loses much of its flavor when dried, so it is a seasonal delight to be enjoyed while the weather is mild and the plant is green. However, enough of the fragrance remains when this herb is dried to make it a delightful addition to potpourri.

Uses

Like many other herbs, lemon balm can lose its flavour in cooking, so add it near the end of the cooking process. The fresh lemon fragrance and flavour go nicely with both chicken and fish dishes, as well as fruit and fruit juice drinks. Create your own herbal tea by cutting a few stems of lemon balm (plus any other appealing herbs), putting them in a pitcher, pour boiling water over them, and allow them to steep for about 15 minutes. Enjoy your tea hot or over ice.