Herb / Warm season
Common Lemon Balm
Contained herb beds and pollinator-friendly patio pots.
Bright lemon-scented leaves for tea and garnish.
Seed spacing and maturity
- Days to maturity
- 70
- Germination temperature
- 60-75F
- Seed depth
- 0.125 inches
- Spacing
- 18 inches
- Row spacing
- 24 inches
- Start method
- Either
Frost-date timing
- Indoor start
- 6 weeks before last frost
- Direct sow
- 7 days after last frost
- Transplant
- 7 days after last frost
Action plan
- Can I plant this now?
- Use your local last-frost, first-frost, and soil-temperature checks before treating this crop as plantable today.
- Start indoors or direct sow?
- Direct sow or transplant depending on your soil warmth, bed readiness, and frost-risk plan.
- How much space?
- 18 inches in-row spacing, 24 inches between rows, and 0.125 inch seed depth.
- Best companions?
- Use this as part of a diverse flowering or herb planting, and treat companion claims as site-specific rather than guaranteed pest control.
- Common failure modes?
- Can self-sow and spread; deadhead or containerize in small gardens. Moderate water keeps leaves lush for harvest. Average, well-drained soil.
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full sun to part shade
- Water
- Moderate water keeps leaves lush for harvest.
- Soil
- Average, well-drained soil.
- Watch
- Can self-sow and spread; deadhead or containerize in small gardens.
- herb
- perennial
- pollinators
- containers
Browse context
- Herb Catalog Category collection
- Mint Family Rotation and family context
- Warm Season Seeds Season collection
- Either Seeds Start-method collection
- Container-Friendly Seeds Practical trait collection
- Beginner-Friendly Seeds Practical trait collection
- High Pollinator Value Seeds Practical trait collection
- Part-Shade-Tolerant Seeds Practical trait collection
Related varieties
- Red Stem Malabar Spinach Basella family · Warm season · 70 days
- Sorghum-Sudangrass Cover Crop Grass family · Warm season · 70 days
- Toma Verde Tomatillo Nightshade family · Warm season · 70 days
- California Wonder Pepper Nightshade family · Warm season · 72 days
- Genovese Basil Mint family · Warm season · 68 days
- Broadleaf Sage Mint family · Warm season · 75 days
Source: Seed Savers seed saving guide