A Detailed Guide to the Cultivation Techniques and Uses of Lemon Balm

Lemon balm, also known as @#@255@#@ balm, melissa, and lemon mint, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Melissa in the family Lamiaceae, native to both shores of the Mediterranean in Europe. In pots, the plant grows about 30 cm tall; in the ground, 50-80 cm, with upright, much-branched stems; the leaves are yellow-green, sparsely covered on both sides with soft hairs and transparent glandular dots; the inflorescence is a verticillaster, terminal or axillary, and the corolla is two-lipped, mostly white or pale yellow.

Lemon balm likes light but dislikes direct sunlight; it tolerates both heat and cold, and in the north it can overwinter safely in the open ground with a little mounding and covering of soil. It is fairly drought-tolerant and dislikes waterlogging, and has no strict requirements for soil; it is best planted in fertile, loose, well-drained sandy loam.

1. Value in use

(1) A rising star among garden plants. In landscaping, lemon balm can be used to beautify the environment. Planting an appropriate amount of lemon balm in the flower beds of courtyards and parks, where it continuously gives off fragrance, can make the air fresher and more pleasant. Lemon balm can be grown in pots or trained into a hanging-plant form; it stays evergreen all year round, and its fragrance carries a cool and sweet note, giving it good prospects as a garden plant.

(2) Food use. Lemon balm not only has a fresh fragrance, but its fresh leaves and tender shoots are rich in protein and contain various vitamins such as vitamin and carotene; its selenium content is especially rich, and eating it as a vegetable has health benefits for the human body. It grows quickly and has few pests and diseases, so pesticides are basically not applied, making it a truly green health vegetable; it can be eaten raw as a cold dressed dish, or used as a salad ingredient or a seasoning for meat soup.

(3) Medicinal use. Lemon balm is often eaten mixed with honey, which helps promote digestion and relieve sore throat; fresh leaves can be applied directly to insect bites or wounds as a "green wound medicine"; drinking tea brewed from fresh lemon balm can treat chronic bronchitis, colds, and headaches, and has effects such as calming, treating insomnia, and lowering blood pressure.

(4) Comprehensive processing and utilization. Lemon balm can also be processed into health herbal tea, sachets, and fragrant pillows, and essential oil and various other fragrance products can be extracted from it. Lemon balm contains a unique citral-type aromatic oil, which after processing and refining is used to make perfume, cosmetics, detergents, and sweet wine, cooling candy, chewing gum, and so on.

2. Main cultivation techniques

(1) Propagation methods

1) Seed propagation: sow after the Beginning of Spring. Because the seeds are tiny and light-loving, no soil cover is needed after sowing; just keep the soil moist, and transplant when the seedlings are about 5 cm tall (with 4-6 true leaves).

2) Cutting propagation: carried out in early spring. Select thick, disease-free stems and branches and cut them into stem sections about 5 cm long, insert them into sterilized sand or perlite, and water thoroughly right away. After cutting, water frequently and provide 50% shade to promote rooting and survival. They can be transplanted after about 2-3 weeks.

3) Division propagation: the plant readily grows roots where the stems touch the ground; cut off the rooted stem sections and plant them separately.

(2) Planting out. It is best to plant out in loose, fertile sandy loam in a sunny, well-ventilated spot. In rainy southern regions, raised beds are preferable. For pot cultivation, a relatively large shallow pot is best. Apply plenty of base fertilizer before planting, preferably rotted barnyard manure or compost. For field planting, the row and plant spacing is 45 cm x 25 cm. Plant 1 plant per hole, spread out the roots, cover with soil, firm it down, and water thoroughly in good time.

(3) Field management. Two weeks after planting out, new roots have already grown; begin pinching at this point, and pinch 2-3 times in succession to encourage more branching and increase the harvest. In spring the soil temperature is low, so cultivator loosening of the soil must be done frequently to raise the soil temperature, help preserve soil moisture, promote root regeneration, and keep the plants growing well. From June to August, growth is vigorous, and a top dressing should be applied every 20-30 days, mainly with quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer. Lemon balm has strong stress resistance and pests and diseases rarely occur.

3. Harvesting

As a vegetable, the tender shoots of lemon balm can be harvested for eating once the main stem is 20-30 cm tall; after one planting, it can be harvested continuously for 2-3 years before renewal. When the temperature is suitable, it can be harvested all year round, with higher yields and good quality from June to August, generally harvesting once every 20-40 days.