NOT FUSSY: Lemon Balm – a valuable addition to your garden
by Sandra Heinold/Victoria County Master Gardener
May 10, 2025
Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis), common balm, or balm mint, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae.
Contributed from pixabay.
Lemon balm, Melissa officianalis, is a plant that has a lot to offer TexaS gardeners. It is useful both as an herb and in the landscape. It’s not fussy about light or soil, grows into a bushy perennial up to about two feet high and has a refreshing lemon fragrance when one brushes against it.
Its square stems are covered in crinkled, medium-green leaves and tipped with small white flowers in summer. These flowers attract bees and other pollinators.
Lemon balm can grow in shade or bright sunlight and should be lightly pruned often to maintain shape and promote fresh new growth. It does like its soil to be kept consistently moist. It can be propagated by seed, plant division, stem cuttings, or layering.
Lemon balm is a vigorous plant that self-sows readily and also spreads from the roots once it is established. Starter plants are readily available from nurseries, but can be grown from seeds as well.
To start them indoors, plant them six to eight weeks before your area’s last frost. Victoria’s last average frost date is February 15. In our area, seeds can be direct sown outdoors any time beginning in mid-February. In the garden, lemon balm partners well with the cabbage family, tomatoes, onions, and the squash family.
Mature lemon balm plants can be propagated by division, splitting a healthy plant into sections each with its own roots and stems. Each section can then be planted on its own.
Other methods of increasing your lemon balm stock are by stem cuttings and layering. Stem cuttings should be about two or three inches long and can be rooted in water or soil. Lemon balm will grow roots from the nodes on the stem which are the swollen area where the leaves emerge. When that area is in contact with the ground, simply cover that area with soil and watch for new growth. Then detach the new little plant from the original stem and plant it on its own.
Sometimes lemon balm can outgrow its space like other members of the mint family. For that reason, some gardeners choose to remove the flowers or grow lemon balm in pots. If you can find it, the variety Melissa compacta is more compact and sterile, so it is less likely to overspread its space.
However, that free-spreading attitude can be useful in other situations.
Because lemon balm is not fussy and grows well in the shade, it also works well as a landscape plant.
It can be used under trees and other taller plants as a groundcover to suppress weeds and provide pleasing texture and color contrast. I grew lemon balm under a rose bush for about three years and was completely happy with its performance. The variety Melissa aureata offers the option of white variegation on its leaves.
Originating in Southern Europe, lemon balm has been used domestically for over two thousand years as medicine and flavoring. Today, university studies are investigating its uses for modern medicine.
In the kitchen, lemon balm is used for tea and as a flavoring for other drinks. It is used in both savory and sweet dishes and in fresh and dried forms. It is best used in dishes that do not require prolonged cooking, though it is often used chopped in baked goods.
It is also used in marinades and rubs on meat and fish to provide a little lemony twist. A simple syrup of lemon balm, sugar and water can be used on pancakes, in or on baked goods, and in drinks.
Lemon balm is, indeed, a valuable addition to our gardens and enriches our lives.
Gardeners’ Dirt articles are published in The Victoria Advocate each weekend.