Lemon Balm2019-10-222020-05-29/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/logo2.pngGarden Style San Antoniohttps://www.gardenstylesanantonio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/1488556431Lemon-Balm-Melissa-odorata-detail-1.jpg200px200px
Lemon Balm
–
Melissa officinalis
Lemon Balm, Bee Balm, Melissa
1
–
1.5 feet
1
–
1.5 feet
Mediterranean
Full Sun
Part Sun/Shade
Low
Flowering
Previous
Next
About This Plant
Partial sun or shade; a herbaceous perennial with sagelike serrated leaves. Lemon balm spreads freely by rhizomes but not as aggressively as other mints. Its name, Melissa, is Greek for honeybee, since Mediterranean bees closely attended its tiny sweet flowers.
“Lemon balm contains within it the virtues of a dozen other plants,” wrote Hildegard of Bingen, one of this plant’s many admirers. Considered to uplift the spirits, lemon balm is prepared in teas, tinctures, infusions, jams, jellies, and seasonings of all kinds. Crushed leaves rubbed on bare skin may repel mosquitoes as well.
Maintenance
Expect some effort to contain it during the warm season; lemon balm can crowd out smaller plants, especially in an irrigated landscape bed.