Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)

from $8.99

Botanical name: Melissa officinalis • Bloom season: Summer • Bloom color: White to pale yellow • Pollinator value: Constant bee traffic; some hummingbirds

A soft green mound of crinkled leaves that release a clean lemon scent at a touch, with small pale flowers through the summer. The flowers are modest, and the bee traffic is not: the genus name comes from the Greek for honeybee, and beekeepers have rubbed the leaves inside hives for centuries to settle a swarm.

Photo credit: Ashley @Sage.and.Summit

Botanical name: Melissa officinalis • Bloom season: Summer • Bloom color: White to pale yellow • Pollinator value: Constant bee traffic; some hummingbirds

A soft green mound of crinkled leaves that release a clean lemon scent at a touch, with small pale flowers through the summer. The flowers are modest, and the bee traffic is not: the genus name comes from the Greek for honeybee, and beekeepers have rubbed the leaves inside hives for centuries to settle a swarm.

Photo credit: Ashley @Sage.and.Summit

Size:

Plant Characteristics

Botanical Name: Melissa officinalis

Common Name: Lemon Balm

Sun: Full Sun to Part Sun

Water: Moderate

Bloom Time: Summer

Bloom Color: White to pale yellow

Pollinators: Bees; some hummingbirds

Deer Resistant: Yes

Mature Size: W 1'-2' x H 1'-2'

Soil: Well-drained; average garden soil

Pollinator Value: Constant bee traffic; some hummingbirds

Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial

USDA Zones: 3 to 9

Spread Habit: Clumping; self-sows freely

Available As: Live plant

Growing Notes

Full sun to part sun in ordinary garden soil with moderate water. Part shade keeps the foliage greener and less scorched through a Reno July. Space about 18 inches apart. It is genuinely easy and asks for nothing.

  • Water: Moderate

  • Sun: Full Sun to Part Sun

  • Soil: Well-drained; average garden soil

  • Mature size: W 1'-2' x H 1'-2'

Maintenance

Cut it back hard, to a few inches, after flowering, and it will produce a fresh mound of clean foliage. That cut also serves the more important purpose of removing seed, because lemon balm self-sows enthusiastically and volunteers turn up across a garden within a couple of seasons. If you want to be certain it stays contained, grow it in a pot.