Lemon balm is an ancient herb native to southern Europe that’s closely associated with mint. It features similar wrinkled, oval-shaped leaves and boasts a fresh citrusy smell and scent that a lot of home cooks like to increase salads, soups, and more. Lemon balm also features a unique medicinal history—its use as a curative are often traced back to ancient Greece and Rome, where its leaves were utilized in a spread of tonics and teas, and its essential oils were extracted to assist with digestive issues.

The versatile herb may be a rapid grower outdoors—after planting in early spring, it’s commonplace to ascertain a lemon balm plant grow to over a foot tall (sometimes, even two!) in only one season. For that reason, many gardeners prefer to plant lemon balm in containers, whether grown indoors or out, in an effort to regulate its invasive nature. Like many other herbs, lemon balm prospers best outdoors but are often grown successfully inside also , as long as proper attention is paid to its unique needs.

Lemon Balm Care

A hardy perennial shrub that’s tolerant to USDA zones 3 through 7, lemon balm is often grown year-round indoors, also as outdoors in warmer climates. albeit you’re seasoned at growing lemon balm outdoors, there are several things you’ll get to modify slightly so as to successfully grow it in your home. Lemon balm will need significantly more sunlight when planted indoors and may be more vulnerable to afflictions like mildew and plant disease, to not mention browning leaves, which may indicate issues like cold air or excessive sunlight.

Lemon balm also has the tendency to bolt if exposed to an excessive amount of water or not maintained properly. If you notice small flower buds starting to form on your lemon balm plant, lookout to pinch them off quickly. Once the plant blooms, the flavour of its leaves will change, causing them to taste bitter. To cook together with your lemon balm, harvest the leaves as soon because the plant is established and putting out regular new growth. lookout to never remove quite about 25 percent of the plant’s mass at anybody time.

Light

In both indoor and outdoor environments, lemon balm loves a sunny spot. However, unlike an outside lemon balm plant—which can tolerate a touch of shade—those planted indoors need ample sunlight, a minimum of five to 6 hours each day. Place your herb containers near a windowsill that gets ample light throughout the day. If you notice your plant getting tons of harsh direct rays or turning brown on its leaves, rotate it periodically to avoid burning.

Soil

Lemon balm plants prefer a rather sandy, well-drained soil. most elementary potting soils will work just fine, but if you discover your mixture may be a bit dense or stays too moist between watering, combine it with sand or a drier soil varietal sort of a cactus mix. Additionally, the pH of your soil should be neutral to acidic, with a selected level between 6.7 to 7.3 providing the simplest environment. When selecting a container to deal with your lemon balm plant in, choose a pot with ample drainage holes to attenuate the danger of the herb becoming waterlogged or the roots rotting. One made from clay or terracotta also can be helpful, because the porous material will help to wick any added moisture from the soil.

Water

When it involves watering your lemon balm plant, always err on the side of under-watering, instead of over-watering. The reason: Like many herbs, lemon balm plants can recover easily from wilt (created by thirst) but will quickly die or bolt if watered an excessive amount. Your exact watering schedule will depend upon the environment in your home and therefore the plant’s sun exposure levels, but an honest general rule of thumb is to water in small quantities (do not saturate) as soon because the first inch approximately of soil within the pot has dried up.

Temperature and Humidity

When it involves its indoor environment, the lemon balm plant isn’t particularly picky. generally, it’s best to stay your herb far away from any drafty air that’s too cold or too hot, like ahead of an air conditioning or next to a radiator. Additionally, the lemon balm doesn’t need a damp environment to thrive, so you won’t need to worry about increasing the moisture levels within the air with a humidifier.

Fertilizer

While lemon balm doesn’t require additional feeding beyond what nutrition its soil provides, you’ll treat it with a lightweight liquid fertilizer every few weeks to encourage growth. confine mind, fertilizing some herbs has been known to decrease the potency of their scent and/or flavor—if you’re growing lemon balm specifically for cooking, you’ll likely skip fertilizing it and still be just fine.

Propagating Lemon Balm

Lemon balm is what’s referred to as a self-seeding plant, meaning outdoors it spreads its seeds to further its growth (hence why some gardeners consider it invasive). However, most indoor growers won’t see their plants set seeds. Instead, it’s advised to discard your lemon balm plant if it bolts (goes to flower), partially because the taste and potency of the leaves are going to be diminished. It’s easy to start out new plants from packaged seeds (they will germinate for a little over a week) or just buy new seedlings at your local garden center.

How to Grow Lemon Balm From Seed

Lemon balm seeds need ample light so as to germinate and grow. to start out your plant from seed, begin them during a shallow pot or dish, barely covering the seeds with quite a sprinkle of soil (this should be done about six to eight weeks before the last frost if you would like to transplant the herb outdoors). Expose the dish to ample light and only enough water to stay them from drying out (it’s helpful to use a sprig bottle rather than a watering pot for this stage) and germination should happen in 10–14 days. Once the seedlings are large enough to handle easily, you’ll transplant them into a standard pot with soil.

Common Diseases

Lemon balm has no serious pest issues but is often vulnerable to mildew. to stop it from developing, plant your lemon balm with ample room separating it from other plants to permit permanently air circulation. If mildew does develop, remove the infected leaves, and treat them with a light fungicide.

GET to understand LEMON BALM

• Botanical name and family: lemon balm (Lamiaceae—mint family)
• Europe and Asia
• Type of plant: Lemon balm may be a herbaceous upright perennial.
• Growing season: Lemon balm grows best in cool weather. In freezing temperatures, it’ll die down to the bottom then regrow from the roots in spring.
• Growing zones: Zones 4 to 9; lemon balm doesn’t like hot, humid climates.
• Hardiness: Lemon balm is cold hardy to -20°F; it only moderately tolerates heat.
• Plant form and size: Lemon balm grows to 12 to 24 inches tall and wide; it grows in clumps of branched stems with loose terminal clusters of Pieris rapae to creamy yellow flowers at the highest. Lemon balm could also be mistaken for a mint initially glance.
• Flowers: Pieris rapae flowers are borne in tight clusters at the axles along the length of the stems.
• Bloom time: Lemon balm blooms throughout the summer and into fall.
• Leaves: Lemon balm has lemon-scented, oval, toothed leaves that are heavily veined or quilted from 2 to three inches long arranged opposite each other on four-sided stems. Leave are coarsely toothed with a bristly surface.

HOW TO PLANT LEMON BALM

• Best location: Plant lemon balm fully sun; it’ll tolerate shade.
• Soil preparation: Grow lemon balm in well-drained, sandy loam. However, lemon balm will grow in almost any soil but not very wet soil. It prefers a soil pH of 6.7 to 7.3.
• Seed starting indoors: Sow seeds indoors about 2 months before transplanting lemon balm into the garden after the last spring frost. Seeds require light to germinate so don’t cover them or cover them only lightly with fine soil. Germination will are available for about 14 days.
• Transplanting to the garden: Set transplants within the garden after the last spring frost.
• Outdoor planting time: Sow lemon balm in spring about the typical date of the last frost. Seeds are often slow to germinate. Also, sow seed in late summer or fall. Root divisions are often planted at any time during the season but will become established quicker in cool weather. Cuttings from new growth are often started in moist sand.
• Planting depth: Sow lemon balm seed ¼ inch deep; Very light cover is all lemon balm needs for germination. Keep the seedbed moist until the seed germinates.
• Spacing: Thin successful seedlings to eight inches apart and later thin plants to 18 inches apart. Space rows 18 to 24 inches apart.
• How much to plant: Grow 4 lemon balm plants for cooking; grow 6 to 12 plants for tea and preserving.
• Companion planting: Grow lemon balm with broccoli, cauliflower, and other cabbage family plants. The fragrance of lemon balm helps deter insects that attack cabbage family crops and also masks the smell of cabbage. Plant lemon balm with hollyhocks, angelica, and nasturtiums. Lemon balm attracts honeybees; plant it near fruit trees to assist pollination.

HOW TO GROW LEMON BALM

• Watering: Lemon balm requires regular, even watering. It grows best in slightly moist soil. Once established lemon balm tolerates drought.
• Feeding: Lemon balm doesn’t require extra feeding; side-dress plants with aged compost during the season.
• Care: Lemon balm spreads by underground roots. to stay lemon balm from becoming invasive, set it within the garden during a bottomless container which will keep the roots in situ. Remove unwanted plants before they become established. Cut plants back by half after flowering to encourage a second crop of leaves and a compact form. Deadhead plants to stop self-sowing.
• Container growing: Lemon balm is often container-grown as an annual. Choose a container 6 to eight inches deep and wide. Over-winter lemon balm during a protected area like an unheated garage or patio.
• Winter growing: crop lemon balm in fall leaving just 2 inches of stem. The plant may freeze back to the bottom in winter but will re-grow from underground roots and renew itself in spring.

TROUBLESHOOTING LEMON BALM

• Pests: Lemon balm has no serious pest problems.
• Diseases: Lemon balm is vulnerable to verticillium wilt, mint rust, and mildew. to stop these fungal diseases, keep plants sufficiently spaced to permit permanently air circulation. Spray plants with compost tea during the season; compost tea may be a natural fungicide.

HARVEST LEMON BALM

• When to harvest: Pinch off and use leaves and sprigs as required during the 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, crop the plant back by half; it’ll regrow new leaves in 4 weeks approximately.
• How to Harvest: Snip leaves and sprigs with a garden pruner. The leaves bruise easily so handle them with care.

LEMON BALM IN THE KITCHEN

• Flavor and aroma: Lemon balm has a strong scent of lemon with a touch of mint.
• Leaves: Use freshly chopped leaves sprinkled lightly on cooked vegetables, green salads, chicken salads, fruit salads for a lemony flavor. Serve with corn, broccoli, asparagus, lamb, shellfish, olives, and beans. Add chopped leaves to salad dressing, dips, and soft cheeses for spreads. Sprinkle chopped leaves over vanilla ice cream.
• Cooking: Use lemon balm leaves fresh in cooking. Add lemon balm at the end of cooking to impart the best flavor.
• Teas: Fresh or dry leaves make a refreshing, mildly lemony tea. Also, add leaves to lemonade. Infusion from fresh or dried leaves has a cool, citrus taste that calms upset stomachs.
• Culinary complements: Combine lemon balm with dill, parsley, or lovage to add a subtle citrus flavor to sauces

PRESERVING AND STORING LEMON BALM

• Drying: Leaves can be stripped from stems and dried on trays in a warm shady place. Harvest nearly mature leaves for drying. Leaves must be dried quickly within two days of harvest or they will turn black. Leaves must be dried at 90°F to retain their green color. Dried leaves will not be as flavorful as fresh leaves.
• Freezing: Fresh leaves can be frozen.
• Storing: Dried leaves can be stored in an airtight container for about 6 months.

PROPAGATING LEMON BALM

• Seed: Lemon balm can be grown from seed that has been stratified (chilled or frozen) for at least 7 days; once stratified germination will happen in about 14 days. Lemon balm will self-sow in place. You can also sow seeds in place in fall for spring plants.
• Cuttings: Root lemon balm cuttings in late spring or early summer; dip cut ends in a rooting hormone and plant stems in organic potting soil.
• Division: Root divisions can be planted at any time during the growing season.
• Layering: Lemon balm will root at nodes along stems when covered with soil; layer plants in spring or fall.