Description of the lemon balm plant, advice on planting and growing bee mint in gardens, breeding rules, combating emerging diseases and pests, interesting notes and applications, types and varieties.
Melissa (Melissa) is attributed by botanists to the rather extensive family Lamiaceae or, as it is also called, Labiatae. The family includes about 250 genera, which in turn contain about 7, 9 thousand varieties of representatives of the flora. However, the genus of lemon balm has united only five species. The native area of natural distribution of these plants falls on the northern territories of the African continent, European lands (in particular on the Crimean coast) and regions of Central and Lower Asia. The most famous type of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis).
| Family name | Lamb or Lipo |
| Growing period | Perennial |
| Vegetation form | Herbaceous |
| Breeding method | Seed and vegetative |
| Landing period | Immediately, as soon as the return frosts pass |
| Landing rules | The distance between the seedlings is 20-40 cm |
| Priming | Loose and well fertilized, nutritious, best sandy loam or loamy |
| Soil acidity values, pH | 6, 5-7 - neutral or 5-6 - slightly acidic |
| Lighting degree | Open and well lit area |
| Humidity parameters | Drought tolerant |
| Special care rules | Afraid of the proximity of groundwater |
| Height values | Up to 1.2 m |
| Inflorescences or type of flowers | False umbellate or whorled |
| Flower color | Bluish or white, but there are specimens with light purple, lilac, pinkish or yellow |
| Flowering period | All summer |
| Decorative time | Spring Summer |
| Application in landscape design | Decoration of borders and garden paths, growing in garden containers, on medicinal beds |
| USDA zone | 4–8 |
The name of the genus is rooted in the analogous Greek word "melissa", which means "honey bee". This is because this plant is very fond of bees for the large amount of nectar formed and is one of the unsurpassed honey plants. From here came another name for the plant - bee mint. In the Greek language there is a term "Melissophyllon", consisting of words such as "melissa" and "phyllon", which literally translates as "bee leaf". Among the people you can hear how lemon balm is called honey and queen bee, swarm and bee. This plant is well recognizable in the garden for its special aroma, which resembles lemon, which is why it was called lemon mint.
All varieties of lemon balm are represented by perennials with a herbaceous form of growth. All of them have a highly branched rhizome. The stems are also characterized by strong branching and tetrahedral outlines. The height of the stems does not exceed 120 cm. The leaves of bee mint are large in size, they grow on the stems in the opposite order. A crenate serration is present along the edge of the leaf plate; the entire surface has pubescence. It is the foliage that is the source of the lemon scent.
When flowering, on the stems of lemon balm, buds bloom, from which inflorescences are collected, in the form of false umbrellas, or whorls. Inflorescences are mainly formed in the upper part of the shoots and originate from the leaf axils of the owl. The color of the petals in flowers is bluish or white, but there are specimens with a light purple, lilac, pinkish or yellow color scheme. Inside the corolla there are two pairs of stamens and a single pistil with an upper ovary with four divisions and an elongated column.
After the bees pollinate the flowers in the autumn, rather large fruits ripen on the queen cell, consisting of two pairs of nuts. The shape of the nuts is ovoid, the color is black, the surface is glossy. If we talk about mass, then a thousand seeds will weigh on average 0.62 grams. Seed germination is not lost for 2-3 years.
The plant is quite unpretentious, and if there is a desire to grow a fragrant and spicy herb with a unique aroma on a personal plot, it is recommended not to violate the rules presented below.
Tips for planting and growing lemon balm in the garden
- Landing place bee mint should be well lit. However, if the growing region is hot, then partial shade will be the best choice. In the area where the mother plant will be grown, moisture from rain and thaw should not stagnate, it is also desirable that groundwater passes farther. In strong shade, under the crowns of trees, the bushes will develop, but the aroma of the foliage will significantly decrease. And the splendor of the lemon mint bushes will suffer.
- Soil for lemon balm it is recommended fertile and with high rates of drainage, so that moisture and air can easily flow to the root system. The acidic reaction of the substrate is preferable to be neutral (pH 6, 5–7) or slightly acidic (pH 5–6). Before planting, the soil is flavored with a small amount of humus and wood ash. It is better to carry out pre-planting preparation in the autumn. The soil is dug 20 cm deep, the roots of plants and their remains are selected, and you can also add some complete mineral fertilizers to the substrate (for example, Kemiru). If the soil is heavy and clayey, or if the planting is carried out in a lowland, river sand is added to the soil to make it lighter. The best choice would be sandy loam or loamy soil.
- Planting lemon balm. In the spring, when the soil warms up enough, the area selected for lemon mint is subject to loosening the substrate and weeding it from weeds. If several plants are planted, then the distances between them are maintained in the range of 20–40 cm. Sometimes growers bring this parameter to half a meter for a more aesthetic appearance of the plantings. When planting in rows, the row spacing is 45 cm.
- Watering for lemon mint they perform, despite its drought resistance, in the spring-summer period, abundant. If the deciduous mass is used as a spicy-aromatic seasoning, then soil moisture is reduced, as this will affect the increase in aroma. Watering is best done once a week. If there is close groundwater on the site, then lemon balm is recommended to be planted in high beds or to provide drainage during planting.
- Fertilizers for a bee, it is recommended to apply from the beginning of vegetative activity once a month. So at the initial stage, you can use nitrogen fertilizing, but in the future, in order to avoid an excess of nitrogen and the possibility of diseases, phosphorus-potassium is used. You can use organic matter - manure or humus, but very carefully.
- Lemon balm pruning carried out twice during the growing season. At the same time, the stems are cut in such a way that no more than 10 cm remains. You can not be afraid of losing the plant, since the bee mint will begin a rapid regrowth of lateral shoots. Also, pruning will be a deterrent from the growth of the bush.
- Transfer lemon mint will be required after only 5-10 years from the moment of rooting in the garden, while you can combine this procedure with dividing an overgrown bush.
- General advice on care. For lemon balm, it is regularly recommended to mulch the soil after rains and watering. Weeding from weeds is also necessary, but in this case mulching the soil next to the bushes of the mother plant with peat or compost can help. Also, this layer will protect the soil from rapid drying out.
- Lemon balm wintering. If bee mint is grown in areas of the Non-Black Earth Region, it is recommended to provide shelter for the winter period, sprinkling the bushes with dry fallen leaves, cover with spruce branches or non-woven material, like a spunbond. Some gardeners transplant lemon mint bushes into pots for the winter, but due to the fact that the plant loves space, it grows very poorly in a container.
- Harvesting of lemon balm raw materials performed before the buds begin to bloom, however, some gourmets prefer to stock up on the deciduous mass of the mother plant during the flowering period. The best time to harvest is early summer (June), since the foliage will have a delicate aroma and the same taste. When the flowering process begins, the green mass of bee mint will become even more fragrant, but the stiffness of the leaves will increase. Cutting is carried out so that no more than 10 cm of the stem remains from the soil surface. The day for the operation is dry and sunny, and the cutting is done in the afternoon. Drying of foliage is performed in shade and so that the temperature does not exceed 35 degrees. The stems are tied in bunches and hung from the ceiling or laid out on clean cloth on the floor. When properly dried, lemon balm leaves will remain a rich green color. After the green mass dries up, it is folded into sealed containers and used for its intended purpose. Do not freeze lemon balm leaves, as their beneficial properties will be lost.
- The use of lemon balm in landscape design. The plant, especially with colorful leaves, will look great in a Mediterranean-style flower garden. Lemon mint can be grown in garden containers and spicy plant beds. The best neighbors of the mother liquor are oregano and mint, basil and hyssop, marjoram and thyme. Ground cover crops will also look good next to them.
See also tips for planting and caring for a monard outdoors.
Breeding rules for lemon balm
To get new bushes of bee mint, it is recommended to use both seed and vegetative propagation methods. Vegetative in itself includes the rooting of cuttings, cuttings and division of an overgrown plant.
- Lemon balm propagation by layering. At the beginning of summer days, you can choose a healthy and strong shoot on a bush and bend it to the ground surface. At this point, the stem is pinned and sprinkled with a small amount of soil. Care for the layering will be more thorough than for the mother's mother liquor. This is due to the fact that more frequent watering will be required for rooting. Root shoots will appear rather quickly at the cutter, but only next spring can it be carefully separated from the parent bush and transplanted into a new prepared place.
- Lemon balm propagation by dividing the bush. When the plant is three years old, its size becomes large and then you can begin to divide. For this operation, the best time will be early spring or, in extreme cases, its middle, when young stems are just beginning to grow in the mother plant. You can postpone the division to the last week of summer. The mother lemon balm bush is cut into approximately equal divisions with a sharp knife. However, each of them must have at least four stems with a root system. After that, the delenki are planted in a previously prepared place and watered.
- Lemon balm propagation by cuttings. In springtime, you need to cut blanks from lemon mint shoots with a length of at least 10 cm. They are placed in a vessel with water. After a short period of time, small root shoots form on the cuttings, and then the seedlings are planted in a container with a sandy-peat substrate. On top of them, you can put a glass jar or a plastic bottle with a cut off bottom. The next spring, when the threat of frost has passed, transplantation is carried out into the soil prepared in the flower bed.
- Lemon balm propagation by seeds. In order to obtain normal seedlings, it is recommended to grow bee mint seedlings. To do this, loose and nutritious soil (for example, sandy-peat or purchased seedling) is poured into seedling boxes and seeds can be sown at the end of February or at the beginning of March. The depth of their touchdown should not exceed 0.5 cm. The container is placed in a room with a temperature of about 20 degrees. Since germination requires high humidity levels, but frequent watering can provoke fungal diseases, the seedling boxes can be covered with transparent plastic wrap. Only after a two-week period can you see the first shoots, but friendly entrances will be after 20 days. Then the shelter is removed and the seedlings are thinned out. Seedlings are placed in a place with good lighting. In order for lemon balm seedlings to germinate faster, a good level of light is needed, therefore it is recommended to carry out additional lighting while the duration of daylight hours is still short. When the seedlings grow up, they can be dived into separate containers with the same composition of the soil for growing. For this, it is recommended to provide greenhouse conditions.
After the return frosts have passed (late May or early June), seedlings can be planted in a permanent place in the garden. The distance between bee mint plants is maintained within 20–40 cm. The soil should be mixed with a small amount of humus and wood ash.
You can sow seeds directly into open ground at the end of spring, but the germination rate of such crops will be low. When the seedlings appear, they also undergo thinning in order to leave only the strongest specimens at a distance of about 35 cm. However, such bees will bloom only next year.
Read also tips for breeding mint
Fight against emerging diseases and pests of lemon balm
Due to the fact that the foliage contains a high amount of essential oils, bee mint is often not susceptible to pest infestation, and diseases are rare in it. But if the rules of agricultural technology are regularly violated, then lemon balm is not immune from problems.
With a constant flood of soil, the mother liquor can be affected by the following fungal diseases:
- Fusarium, when, due to the constant flooded soil, rhizome decay occurs. Treatment of plants with fungicides is recommended.
- Rust, manifested at low temperatures and high humidity parameters, an overabundance of nitrogen in the substrate, long-term cultivation in one place. The reverse side of the leaves is covered with thickenings of brown color, which later take on a dark brown hue. All damaged parts are removed, and the bushes are sprayed with Fundazole.
- Powdery mildew, which is also called linen … In this disease, the plaque on the foliage resembles a solution of lime or a whitish cobweb. Symptoms usually appear in the second half of the growing season. If no control measures are taken, then the plaque is replaced by fruit bodies with spores of black color. For treatment, spraying with a solution of colloidal sulfur at a concentration of 1% is carried out, and in the fall, it is necessary to dig the site to a depth of at least 20 cm. It is recommended to limit nitrogen fertilization and introduce phosphorus-potassium, which enhance resistance.
- Wilt or verticillary wilting, in which 4–6 upper leaf plates turn black and wither, while the plant dies. In order to prevent disease, it is recommended to adhere to crop rotation and after the harvest is harvested, all damaged bushes are destroyed. At this place, you can plant lemon balm only after 9 years.
Similar fungal diseases that can affect not only lemon balm, but also mint are: anthracnose, called a white shirt; leaf spot (septoria) and rhizome overgrowth (mycoplasma).
Important
If lemon balm is planned to be used as a spicy herb, then in case of damage by diseases or pests, only folk and non-chemical methods should be used to combat. Otherwise, lemon mint becomes poisonous.
For example, against powdery mildew, you can use solutions based on soda ash and soap, potassium permanganate and horsetail decoction. A mixture of baking soda, a mild dishwashing detergent, vegetable oil and aspirin, dissolved in 3-4 liters of water in proportions of 1 tbsp, helps against rust. l.: 1 tbsp. l.: 1 tbsp. l.: 1 t.
The pests of lemon balm, despite the large amount of essential oil, can be mint flea, mint leaf beetle, aphids and leafhoppers, weevils and mint mites, as well as slobbering pennits. It is clear that if the use of the mother liquor is purely decorative, then insecticidal agents such as Aktara, Fitoverm or Karbofos can also help. But if foliage and stems are to be used for food, then harmful insect folk methods should be fought. Among them, spraying with a decoction of celandine (200 g of dry foliage is insisted in 10 liters of water for 24 hours), bird cherry twigs or an infusion on pine needles, which is taken in an equal amount with water.
Interesting notes about lemon balm and its uses
Another famous alchemist, physician and natural scientist from Switzerland Paracelsus (1493-1541) referred to this fragrant herb as "joy of life" or "elixir of life". This scientist believed that bee mint was able to give vitality to the human body and protect it from disease. And on the territory of Greece, the mother plant was considered a plant personifying the goddess of the hunt, Diana, and its medicinal properties have long been known to doctors.
According to another version, it is curious that such a plant as mint was named in honor of Menta, the beloved of God from the pantheon of Ancient Greece, but grass began to be called lemon balm thanks to the ancient Greek nymph Melissa, the patroness of beekeeping.
It is not for nothing that bee mint is in the arsenal of gourmets, because its aroma combines aromas of citrus fruits (in particular, lemon) and spicy mint. At the same time, there is a certain hue of honey notes, which is barely perceptible through both of these rather strong aromas. That is why lemon balm is used for a large number of culinary masterpieces, when it is necessary to achieve a citrus note without the presence of acidity, which always accompanies many members of the family. Bee foliage is used by introducing it into soups and salads, alcoholic beverages (for example, liqueurs) and teas.
It happens that lemon balm is called "lemon mint", but here the main thing is not to confuse it with such a species as "peppermint". The plant is useful because of its effects on the heart system, it is prescribed for cardiovascular diseases, as well as for disorders of the nervous system and stomach atony. At the same time, lemon balm juice is able to stimulate appetite and improve the activity of the digestive system.
Essential lemon balm oil has low toxicity, it is also recommended to use it for manifestations of rheumatism, increased heart rate and pain in the heart region. Such a remedy will help regulate the menstrual cycle and soothe shattered nerves. It has an antispasmodic and wound healing effect, helps to strengthen the heart muscle. It is prescribed for patients suffering from dizziness, loss of energy and pain in the gastrointestinal tract. If you add oil to baths, then such procedures will help to normalize metabolism, contribute to the treatment of furunculosis and various forms of dermatitis and skin rashes.
Melissa is actively used in cosmetology and not only for smoothing the skin surface, but also for the treatment of baldness, since it can actively affect the hair follicles. It is possible to introduce stems with foliage into bath brooms from such tree species as linden and oak, mountain ash and birch. If you knit brooms from nettle and lemon balm and hang in the bath, you will have a pleasant tonic aroma.
The mother plant is often grown as an excellent honey plant.
Types and varieties of lemon balm
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)
- the plant is a widespread variety that occurs naturally in the Mediterranean countries, in the north of the African continent and in the east of Asia. The foliage is light greenish in color, and its shape resembles a heart. When blooming, whitish, yellow or pinkish flowers are revealed, which originate in the leaf axils. The duration of flowering stretches from the first summer days to early September. Since the flowers are full of nectar, they attract a large number of bees.
The rhizome of such a bush with strong branching, and the stem can vary in the range of 45-100 cm, but occasionally this figure approaches 125 cm. Due to the large amount of essential oil, the foliage emits a strong pleasant aroma in which lemon notes are heard, which was the reason specific name. At the same time, most of the oils are carried by the tops of the stems and the leaves in this part. The taste of the herb is bitter-spicy.
There are the following garden varieties, which differ from each other not only in the color of the leaves, but also in winter hardiness, the strength of the aroma and the height of the stems, as well as the timing of the opening of the buds:
- Variegated (Variegata) or Aureate, in which the foliage is not only characterized by the same amount of phytoncides, but due to its bright color it can become a real decoration of a flower garden. On the foliage of a dark green color scheme, there is a pattern of a golden hue.
- Lemon Flavor it is recommended to use dried stems with foliage. A perennial plant that can grow in one place without changing location for up to five years. The foliage has a dark green tint with a bloom (due to pubescence), is raised. The outlines of the leaf plate are ovoid. The foliage surface is smooth, pubescent with fine fine hairs. The height of the shoots does not exceed 0.6 m. The mass of the green bush is about 120 grams during the first growing season. From the second year, the period from germination to cutting for the first time will be approximately 40 days. The aroma is very intense.
- Dozy or Sleepy … The variety is characterized by medium early ripening. A perennial that does not need to change its location for five years. The height of the bush does not exceed 90 cm. The leaf plates grow half-raised. Their surface is characterized not only by pubescence, but also by the presence of "wrinkles". The color of the leaves is dark green, jagged along the edge. When blooming, buds with whitish petals open. There is a pronounced lemon aroma, but it does not have the harshness that is inherent in the Lemon Flavor strain. In the second year of the growing season, no more than 1.5 months pass from the appearance of shoots to the first cut.
- Solid gold differs in golden yellow color of leaves and dense outlines of a bush. The buds bloom, the petals of which are whitish at first, but by the middle of flowering acquire a pale purple color.
- Pearl. It is characterized by the formation of a semi-raised rosette from the foliage. Plant height is within 80-110 cm. The bush can have up to 25-70 stems. The foliage on them is medium in size, with short petioles, the edge is serrated. The surface of the leaves with slight wrinkles, smooth.
- Quadrille. The shape of the leaf outlet is raised, the leaf plates are located half closed. The size of the leaves is medium, the color is green. When blooming, small flowers with delicate lilac petals open.
- Tsaritsynskaya is a late variety. It is characterized by erect stems, which can reach a height of 50–80 cm. The leaves are small in size, their outlines are ovoid. The foliage color ranges from rich green to pale green. There is a strong lemon scent of the leaves. Inflorescences are white.
Melissa yellow (Melissa flava)
native lands are in Bhutan, India and Nepal. The stems can be up to two meters in height. In the upper part there is pubescence, at the base they are glabrous. Leaf plates are ovoid in outline. The size is 5–7 cm long and 1–3.5 cm wide. They have pubescence, the base is rounded to obtuse, and there is a pointed tip at the apex. Calyx blue-violet color, broadly bell-shaped. Corolla yellow, 1.1 cm long, fleecy on the outside. Flowering occurs in the period July-August.
Read also how to grow and propagate scutellaria at home
Video about growing lemon balm in the garden:
