Lemon Balm Seeds Melissa Officinalis Item #H-3553 | 500 Seeds | Price: $2.25 Qty: Lemon balm is a highly prized herb for its strong lemon-scented foliage. Leaves can be used fresh in a wonderful ice tea; dried leaves will give lemon perfume to sachets and potpourris. Package 500 seeds.

How to Grow Lemon Balm From Seeds

DIRECT SOW or TRANSPLANT

• 7-14 days to germinate with temp of 70º.
• Sow 2 seeds per inch and plant uncovered, as they need light to germinate. Just press into the soil.
• Thin plants to 6" apart.
• Plant early in the spring as soon as you can work the garden soil.
• After all danger of frost has past, set lemon balm in rich soil where it will receive full sun to partial shade.
• Gardeners in zone 8 will find that lemon balm enjoys a little afternoon break from the hot summer sun.
• In zones 9 and 10, even more shade is helpful. In addition, lemon balm will remain green during mild winters.
• Lemon balm likes rich, moist, but well-drained soil with a pH of 6 to 7.

Lemon balm 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.

Because it is harvested continually for lots of leaves, it needs a little fertilizer. When planting, add a coated, slow-release fertilizer such as 19-19-19 at the rate recommended on the label, or work plenty of organic nutrients from compost, blood meal, or cottonseed meal into the soil.

Lemon balm does not spread by underground runners like mint. It will increase in size, 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. Mulch will help prevent the fallen seeds from germinating, and it will slowly decay, feeding the soil with the rich organic matter that this plant needs.

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. The fragrance remains sufficiently to warrant its use in potpourri.

Like many other herbs, lemon balm can lose its flavor in cooking, so add it near the end of the cooking process to both chicken and fish dishes. The fresh lemon fragrance is also nice with fruit and fruit juice drinks. Create your own herbal tea by cutting a few stems of lemon balm and 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.