Plant · P-595

Lemon Balm

Melissa officinalis

Lemon Balm is a bushy, lemon-scented perennial in the mint family, its leaves brewed as a calming tea or used fresh in salads, and long valued medicinally - modern research even backs its traditional use against cold sores. It handles part shade as well as sun and tolerates most soils, but heat rather than cold is its real limit: in a hot summer it is treated as a cool-season herb, given high shade, and simply cut back to the ground when it gets stressed rather than watered through it. It spreads both by self-sown seed and by running rhizome, vigorously enough to be invasive in warm regions, so it works best planted where a spreading mat is welcome or held back with a container or sunken bed. It should be avoided in pregnancy and can irritate sensitive skin to handle.