Lemon balm is a perennial herb grown for lemon-scented leaves. Use fresh young tips in tea, fruit desserts, salads and drinks. It grows vigorously, so a container is useful when you want to keep it in one place.
50 Seeds+
🌿 Lemon Balm Seeds
Melissa officinalis
Lemon balm is a perennial herb grown for lemon-scented leaves. Use fresh young tips in tea, fruit desserts, salads and drinks. It grows vigorously, so a container is useful when you want to keep it in one place.
👅 Flavor Profile:
Fresh lemon 🍋, herbal mint 🌱, with subtle sweetness 🍯.
🍴 Culinary Uses:
- 🍵 Brew leaves into fresh herbal teas
- 🍹 Infuse into cocktails, syrups, or lemonade for citrus-herbal lift
- 🧁 Chop into baked goods, custards & fruit desserts
- 🥗 Add fresh leaves to salads or grain bowls
- 🥘 Use in marinades, sauces & poultry dishes for brightness
In the kitchen:
Pick a few young leaves just before use. Their lemony scent suits both a fruit dessert and a savoury salad.
🌱 Growing Notes:
- 🪴 Hardy perennial, 18–24” tall, bushy habit
- 🌿 Lemon-scented leaves, fast grower, cut-and-come-again
- 🌞 Thrives in full sun → part shade
- ⏱ Pick young leaves once plants are established; harvest during active growth rather than by a fixed day count
- 🐝 Attracts pollinators & beneficial insects
✨ Quick Facts:
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Latin Name: Melissa officinalis
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Habit: Perennial, 18–24” tall, bushy
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Flavor: Lemon, minty, sweet
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Culinary Uses: Teas, cocktails, desserts, marinades, salads
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Special use: Fresh culinary leaves and flowers that attract bees
Cook your harvest
Use your harvest in these recipes. Check the variety notes and substitutions in each recipe.
Follow the growing notes in the description and on your seed packet. Sowing time, temperature and harvest stage depend on the variety.
See the description for this variety’s kitchen uses and the harvest stage that suits your recipe.
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