If you’re looking to add lemon balm to your garden (which you should!) there are a couple of tried and true methods of doing so.
Lemon balm grows well from seeds that have been stratified for at least one week. You can start the seeds indoors and transplant in the late spring.
You can also grow it from cuttings. To do that, you simply clip the top few inches from the soft tips of an established plant. In the spring, you’ll take from the very top of the plant and in the fall you’ll want to take from lower portion, down where it hasn’t yet flowered. Once you have the cutting, place it in a planter with a potting mix and keep it moist. It should root in 3-4 weeks. Once it’s ready, you can let it spend a some time outside each day in bright or windy conditions to get it accustomed to the great outdoors.
Another easy option is to ask a friend who has some growing in their garden (they’ve got plenty, trust me). Digging up the roots when dormant in early spring or late fall and replanting directly into the ground has also been very successful. Honestly, you could probably dig up part of a plant in the middle of summer and replant in your garden and it would take. These guys are very resilient!
Lemon Balm can grow in many different soil conditions and levels of sun exposure, but some say too much sun can fade the color and flavor, so some shade is encouraged. The optimum conditions are moist soil with good drainage and, of course, some compost. Lemon balm is a vigorous and lively plant that won’t need much coddling at all once it’s established. It spreads through seeds and rhizomes, so make sure you plant it somewhere it has space to expand. Beware: It will try to take over your garden! ??
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