Has anyone ever heard of or grown...

Has anyone ever heard of or grown... (post #12794)

Biscuit on Fri, 07/21/2006 - 18:03

Herbs

seedless Lemon Balm????

I ask because - I planted lemon balm a few years ago, it took over my yard, took me years to finally get rid of it. Much as I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the scent and look of it, it's aggressiveness drove me insane and I vowed never to plant it again.

So - was at my favorite herb farm a month ago and she introduced me to this - supposedly - non-invasive form of Lemon Balm, a seedless variety (she said). Now, generally I trust this woman, but truly - after my experience with the last batch of mutant-spawn-lemon balm, I'm a little gun-shy about planting it in the garden. Right now I have it in a pot.

Has anyone else seen it, heard of it, planted it, know anything about this? Is it safe for me to plant in my garden, or is a non-invasive lemon balm nothing but an urban legend?

Life is tough; but it's tougher when you're stupid - Col. J. Richardson, USMC

"When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty." - George Bernard Shaw

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by wonka in reply to Biscuit [original] on Sat, 07/22/2006 - 15:32

I haven't heard about that one but I hope it is true. I'm planning on heaving my lemon balm this fall and spending many years heaving out it's offspring.

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by Biscuit in reply to Anonymous [original] on Mon, 07/24/2006 - 23:07

Well, I guess I'll report back on it next year. I'll let you all know if it's safe to grow or not (G). I went ahead and planted it in a corner of my herb garden, near our patio, so IF it spreads like a lunatic it shouldn't get too bad before I can destroy it.

Life is tough; but it's tougher when you're stupid - Col. J. Richardson, USMC

"When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty." - George Bernard Shaw

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by ganesha in reply to Anonymous [original] on Mon, 03/19/2007 - 23:30

Did your previous Lemon Balm spread by reseeding or by runners or??

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by risottogirl in reply to Anonymous [original] on Fri, 05/02/2008 - 23:05

If Lemon Balm is related to mint, can it take some shade? I really want to put in some herbs that can take shade. The mints will be in window boxes so they don't take over :)

Water is a great ingredient to cook with, it has such a neutral flavor - Bobby Flay

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by the country gardener in reply to Anonymous [original] on Sat, 05/03/2008 - 02:39

Around here it grows very well in all exposures except deep shade.

Marty

"The plants have been good to us." Lester Hawkins

Marty

"The plants have been good to us." Lester Hawkins

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by gardeninintx in reply to Biscuit [original] on Tue, 07/25/2006 - 13:12

I too have a love/hate relationship with lemon balm and just this year, after a four year battle, have finally managed to eradicate it from my yard. So go figure, I joined the Herb Society of America and have thoroughly enjoyed exploring the world of herbal teas and concoctions. My favorite herbal tea includes, you guessed it, lemon balm, along with many different mints, lemon verbena, rose petals, lemon grass and a small amount of stevia. I am trying it in a large pot, and growing it on my patio, along with those all to invasive mints. Hopefully the seeds won't spread too far. By the way, the 'herb of the year' for 2007 is Lemon Balm, so I'm sure we will all be hearing much more about it's uses and it's vices. I'd love to know that variety that proportedly is steril and try it also.

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by Biscuit in reply to Anonymous [original] on Tue, 07/25/2006 - 17:48

Here's a link to the description of the plant, and the farm where I bought it. It's Mulberry Creek Herb Farm in Huron, OH (Zone 5). They are wonderful, all organic, and have everything imaginable.

http://mulberrycreek.com/Detailed/576.html

Life is tough; but it's tougher when you're stupid - Col. J. Richardson, USMC

"When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty." - George Bernard Shaw

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by MsChris in reply to Anonymous [original] on Sat, 08/05/2006 - 20:53

Great website - thanks. I'm always on the look out for good herb sources as I have a courtyard with 2 large beds that I am still trying to fill up primarily with herbs.

Thanks again.

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by Alexandra in reply to Anonymous [original] on Sun, 08/06/2006 - 15:06

I've read lemon balm posts over the years and always am puzzled by how everyone hates its invasivness. Huh? My lovely LB never seeds or tries to run the garden. We cut it down to the ground in the fall and it comes up to a nice round bush every year. I can't remember how we started this plant, I think probably garden centre cause we have only the one and have had it for years and years. Maybe you all want cuttings?! *G* So I guess a well-behaved Lemon Balm does exist.

In case it matters to anyone, I'm on Vancouver Island.

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       -:¦:- Alexandra-:¦:-

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by Biscuit in reply to Anonymous [original] on Mon, 08/07/2006 - 19:35

I'll bet yours is well behaved because of where you are! (G) Your weather patterns probably keep it in check. In that case, I'm really jealous because I adore the plant - the smell is incredible.

I'll be very interested to see how this seedless variety behaves. I should have a good indication by late next year.

Life is tough; but it's tougher when you're stupid - Col. J. Richardson, USMC

"When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty." - George Bernard Shaw

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by Alexandra in reply to Anonymous [original] on Wed, 08/09/2006 - 16:15

OOPS, sorry, I made a mistake. After checking with DH, he said ours does seed, he trims it before it scatters. He's done such a good job of keeping it in check I didn't even know this! Now our Shasta Daisys on the other hand, plant themselves everywhere.

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    -:¦:- ((¨* -:¦:- * ¨)) -:¦:-
       -:¦:- Alexandra-:¦:-

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by Catskill Deb in reply to Anonymous [original] on Thu, 08/10/2006 - 02:59

I have just one lemon balm plant also, which I cut back to about 4 or 5 inches when it is blooming. I just did this last weekend in fact. I have been doing this for about 4 years, and I haven't had any stray seedlings in those years. Previously I had many. Now if I could just bring myself to do the same with the lamb's ear. The bees love it so much that I generally wait too long to cut it back, since it has the habit of still blooming on part of the stalk while the rest is busy going to seed. We have lamb's ear coming up in the vegetable garden (1/2 acre away), in the lawn, and in the fields. (Apparently this will be my contribution to upstate New York.)

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by sweetsav in reply to Biscuit [original] on Mon, 07/31/2006 - 16:44

7-31-06

Dear Gardening Friend,
Referencing ALL invasive mints including lemon balm which I, like you, love. I have been enjoying various fragrant herbs as pot plants for several years. Keeping them in pots (and dead headed so no seed set) has the dual advantage of creating interesting pots in this era of wild, wilder and wildest pots (that's another subject) and of keeping deer from eating everything that isn't nailed down. Deer generally do not care for any of the fragrant mints and herbs (they particularly dislike Bee Balm (monarda) and, since you will be dead heading and trimming to keep the thyme from going to seed or overwhelming the pot the herb will stay in place. If you, like I, have a place where the soil and lack of water are so difficult that even things like spear mint and lemon thyme or any thyme really struggle to grow you can put all of your perennial herbs there in the fall and when, next year they try to set seed take your weed whip to them. I do believe that there is an article in the most recent "Fine Gardening" where a gardener found that her worse garden thugs actually did have limits. Lemon thyme???? I'm not so sure! Keep it in a large pot, don't trust anything a garden center tells you, they need to sell plants (thank heaven) and besides, even if it is seedless to begin with, how will it behave "in the wild"? For all we know, it is a spread by underground root stolens.......

Enjoy that thyme and all other herbs...in pots.

best gardening, Sweet Sav in Michigan

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by roxanna in reply to Biscuit [original] on Fri, 05/02/2008 - 23:49

found this at mulberrycreek.com, so seems it does exist. whether what you bought is the same, tho, that is the question, isn't it!

Lemon Balm, Seed-free
Melissa officinalis `Sterile'
Cold Tolerance: Zone 4a 5a 5b 6a 6b 7a 7b 8a 8b 9a 9b
Light: P.Shade-P.Sun to P.Shade-Shade
Height: Normal
Water: Organic-Loamy
Soil: Organic-Loamy
Common Uses: 1 X 1 Foot Culinary, , Medicinal
Check off another plant from Mark's wish list. When he saw it featured in Herb Companion magazine, last spring, he went on the hunt. Not only will this not make seeds that spread flamboyantly, but it is also a compact, mounding variety. Victory, at last!
BUY NOW - 4.49

editied to say, this'll teach me to reply to a post without first checking the rest of responses. ah, well. =)

Edited 5/2/2008 7:52 pm ET by roxanna

Has anyone ever heard of or grown...