Lemon balm plants tend to be pass-along plants that a gardener ends up with from plant swaps or as gifts from other gardeners. This can leave a gardener wondering what to do with lemon balm and what is lemon balm used for exactly. While not as popular as other herbs, lemon balm is nevertheless a wonderful herb to have in your garden.
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, flavorful leaves to brew tea, flavor fruit or green salad, and season fish. Be sure to include stems in bouquets of summer flowers.
This plant is a very hardy perennial shrub that is tolerant to USDA Zone 4 and can be grown year-round in warmer climates. Due to its rapid growth (like its cousin mint), many outdoor gardeners consider lemon balm a pest and try to restrain it in containers.
HOW TO GROW LEMON BALM
Lemon balm is not particularly picky about its light outdoors, but indoors try to give it as much direct light as possible, even up to five hours a day of strong sunlight.
Lemon balm likes a steady supply of water, but good drainage is a must. The plant recovers quickly from wilt, so it’s best to err on the side of dry rather than too wet, which will encourage root rot.
Any good, fast-draining potting soil will likely do.
Feed with a weak liquid fertilizer throughout the growing season.
How to plant lemon balm?
Sow seeds indoors about 2 months before transplanting lemon balm into the garden after the last spring frost. Seeds require light to germinate so do not cover them or cover them only lightly with fine soil. Germination will come in about 14 days.
How to repot lemon balm?
Lemon balm is a perennial that can easily grow to more than 1 foot in height. They don’t need a winter rest period and survive colder weather by thorough mulching outdoors. Indoors, to preserve the plant’s potency, it’s best to limit yourself to a single growing season for any particular plant, so it’s unlikely you’ll need to repot your lemon balm.
Pests/Diseases
Lemon balm has no serious pest problems.
Lemon balm is susceptible to verticillium wilt, mint rust, and powdery mildew. To prevent these fungal diseases, keep plants sufficiently spaced to allow for good air circulation. Spray plants with compost tea during the season; compost tea is a natural fungicide.
How to harvest lemon balm?
Pinch off and use leaves and sprigs as needed during the growing season. Older, lower leaves have the strongest aroma. Leaves for drying are best harvested before the plant flowers in summer, usually about the time lower leaves begin to yellow. At midseason or in autumn, cut back the plant back by half; it will regrow new leaves in 4 weeks or so.
Snip leaves and sprigs with a garden pruner. The leaves bruise easily so handle them with care.
