Oregon · Washington · Idaho
When to plant lemon balm
Plant in the garden: Portland and Seattle Mar 15 – May 10; Spokane Apr 15 – Jun 10; Boise Apr 1 – May 27; Bend May 12 – Jul 7.
Your dates in
Lemon balm is a leafy, lemon-scented herb in the mint family, used fresh or dried for tea and in salads, desserts and drinks. Its flavor is best before the plant flowers, and dried leaves lose much of their scent. Bees love the small white flowers, which is why its botanical name, Melissa, comes from the Greek word for honeybee.
Puts lemon balm on your free plan, with dates for your town and a spot in your beds.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Sun
- Full sun to part shade
- Spacing
- 18 to 24 inches apart
- Planting depth
- Plant at the depth it grew in the nursery pot
- Frost
- Hardy perennial; dies back and regrows each spring
- First harvest
- Pick from the first summer
A lemon-scented mint relative for tea that grows almost anywhere, including part shade. It doesn't run like mint, but it seeds itself everywhere unless you cut it back before it flowers.
Lemon balm planting dates
| Towns | Plant in the garden |
|---|---|
| Portland, OR, Seattle and Tacoma, WA | Mar 15 – May 10 |
| Spokane, WA | Apr 15 – Jun 10 |
| Boise and Meridian, ID, Astoria, OR | Apr 1 – May 27 |
| Bend and Redmond, OR | May 12 – Jul 7 |
Dates for six main cities. For any of the other 80 towns, type it in the box at the top of the page or browse all towns.
| Gresham, OR, Oregon City and West Linn, OR, Portland, OR, St. Helens and Scappoose, OR, Wilsonville and Canby, OR | Mar 15 – May 10 |
|---|---|
| Hillsboro and Beaverton, OR | Mar 19 – May 14 |
| Corvallis and Albany, OR, Eugene, OR, Salem, OR | Mar 15 – May 10 |
|---|---|
| Cottage Grove, OR | Mar 27 – May 22 |
| McMinnville and Newberg, OR | Mar 18 – May 13 |
| Ashland and Talent, OR | Apr 8 – Jun 3 |
|---|---|
| Grants Pass, OR, Medford, OR, Roseburg, OR | Mar 15 – May 10 |
| Astoria, OR, Brookings and Gold Beach, OR, Coos Bay and North Bend, OR, Newport and Lincoln City, OR, Tillamook, OR | Apr 1 – May 27 |
|---|
| Bend and Redmond, OR, Klamath Falls, OR | May 12 – Jul 7 |
|---|---|
| Burns, OR | May 14 – Jul 9 |
| Lakeview, OR | May 7 – Jul 2 |
| Madras, OR | Apr 21 – Jun 16 |
| Prineville, OR | May 4 – Jun 29 |
| Baker City, OR | Apr 27 – Jun 22 |
|---|---|
| Enterprise and Joseph, OR | Apr 26 – Jun 21 |
| Hermiston, OR, Hood River, OR, Ontario, OR, Pendleton, OR, The Dalles, OR | Apr 1 – May 27 |
| John Day, OR | Apr 30 – Jun 25 |
| La Grande, OR | Apr 15 – Jun 10 |
| Bremerton and Port Orchard, WA, Everett, WA, Kent, Renton and Auburn, WA, Seattle and Tacoma, WA | Mar 15 – May 10 |
|---|---|
| Olympia, WA | Apr 1 – May 27 |
| Shelton, WA | Mar 30 – May 25 |
| Anacortes, WA, Bellingham, WA, Friday Harbor and the San Juans, WA, Mount Vernon and Burlington, WA, Oak Harbor and Whidbey Island, WA | Mar 15 – May 10 |
|---|
| Aberdeen and Hoquiam, WA, Forks, WA, Long Beach and Ilwaco, WA | Apr 1 – May 27 |
|---|---|
| Port Angeles, WA, Port Townsend, WA | Mar 15 – May 10 |
| Sequim, WA | Mar 24 – May 19 |
| Centralia and Chehalis, WA | Mar 25 – May 20 |
|---|---|
| Longview and Kelso, WA, Vancouver, WA | Mar 15 – May 10 |
| Chelan, WA, Wenatchee, WA | Apr 1 – May 27 |
|---|---|
| Leavenworth, WA, Omak and Okanogan, WA | Apr 15 – Jun 10 |
| Winthrop and Twisp, WA | Apr 17 – Jun 12 |
| Ellensburg, WA | Apr 15 – Jun 10 |
|---|---|
| Ephrata and Quincy, WA, Moses Lake, WA, Tri-Cities (Pasco, Kennewick, Richland), WA, Walla Walla, WA | Apr 1 – May 27 |
| Goldendale, WA | Apr 21 – Jun 16 |
| Sunnyside, Grandview and Prosser, WA | Apr 3 – May 29 |
| Yakima, WA | Apr 10 – Jun 5 |
| Colville, WA, Pullman, WA, Spokane, WA | Apr 15 – Jun 10 |
|---|
| Bonners Ferry, ID, Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls, ID, Sandpoint, ID | Apr 15 – Jun 10 |
|---|
| Lewiston, ID | Apr 1 – May 27 |
|---|---|
| Moscow, ID | Apr 15 – Jun 10 |
| Boise and Meridian, ID, Nampa and Caldwell, ID | Apr 1 – May 27 |
|---|---|
| Emmett, ID | Apr 2 – May 28 |
| McCall, ID | May 25 – Jul 20 |
| Burley and Rupert, ID, Idaho Falls, ID, Pocatello, ID, Rexburg, ID, Twin Falls, ID | Apr 15 – Jun 10 |
|---|---|
| Salmon, ID | Apr 19 – Jun 14 |
Lemon balm year at a glance
| Task | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant | Mar | Apr | May | |||||||||
| Harvest | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | |||||||
| In bloom | Jun | Jul | Aug |
Around Portland. Colder towns, especially east of the Cascades, run a few weeks later; the table above has your town's planting dates.
How to grow lemon balm
- Pick a sunny spot with soil that drains well, and mix in an inch or two of compost.
- Plant young lemon balm plants on your city's dates, 18 to 24 inches apart. Plant at the depth it grew in the nursery pot.
- It tolerates most soils and some shade. Cut the whole plant back by half in midsummer to keep it bushy and stop it seeding.
- Harvest: Cut stems before flowering for the strongest lemon scent. Use leaves fresh in tea, or dry them quickly in the shade, since they lose scent slowly in damp air.
Growing lemon balm in your part of the Northwest
The same plant behaves differently on the wet west side, the foggy coast and the dry, colder east side.
West-side valleys
Willamette Valley, Puget Sound, southern Oregon
Lemon balm grows easily and self-seeds freely. Cut off flowers to stop it spreading.
East of the Cascades
Columbia Basin, Yakima, Boise, Spokane, north Idaho
Lemon balm likes afternoon shade and steady water in hot summers.
More lemon balm varieties
More widely sold picks that do well somewhere in the Northwest. The tag says which part of the Northwest suits each one best.
Common lemon balm
Bright green, strongly lemon-scented leaves. The standard plant for tea and the easiest to find.
Both sides
Aurea
Green leaves splashed with gold, brightest in spring. Best in part shade, where the leaves don't scorch.
Both sides
Lime balm
A selection with a lime rather than lemon scent. Grows and spreads just like common lemon balm.
Both sides
How much to grow
How many to plant
One plant is plenty for tea.
What to expect
Plenty of leaves from one plant, from spring to fall.
Storing the harvest
Best fresh. Dry quickly in shade, or freeze in ice cubes.
Key numbers
- PerennialLifespan
- Full sun to part shadeSun
- By seedSpread
- Self-seedingBiggest risk
Top care tip: Shear plants back by half before they flower to stop self-seeding and get fresh leaves.
Growing notes
What makes the difference in Northwest gardens, in plain language.
An easy herb for tea
Lemon balm is a hardy perennial in the mint family, grown for its lemon-scented leaves. It grows in almost any soil and takes part shade better than most herbs, which makes it useful in shady Northwest yards.
It dies back in winter and regrows from the crown each spring. Unlike mint, it doesn't spread by long runners, but it seeds itself freely.
Keeping it tidy
Cut plants back by about half before the small white flowers set seed. That stops seedlings and brings a fresh crop of tender leaves. A second cut in late summer keeps plants neat.
In full sun it needs some summer water; in part shade it gets by with less. Divide crowded clumps every few years in spring.
Harvest and use
Pick stems before flowering, when the scent is strongest. Use the leaves fresh in tea, salads and desserts.
Dried lemon balm loses scent fast. Dry it quickly in a warm, dark, airy place and store it airtight, or freeze leaves in ice cubes. Bees love the flowers if you let a few bloom.
Good neighbors
Good neighbors
- Fruit trees and berries. Its small flowers draw bees.
Keep apart
- Tidy beds. It seeds itself freely; keep it where a few strays won't matter.
Pests and problems
What most often goes wrong with lemon balm in Northwest gardens, how to spot it and what to do.
Self-seeding
Signs: Seedlings all over the garden.
What to do: Shear plants back before the flowers set seed.
Powdery mildew
Signs: White coating on leaves in late summer.
What to do: Cut back hard for a flush of clean leaves.
Common questions about growing lemon balm
When should I plant lemon balm in Oregon, Washington and Idaho?
Plant in the garden: Mar 15 – May 10 in Portland and Seattle, Apr 15 – Jun 10 in Spokane, Apr 1 – May 27 in Boise and May 12 – Jul 7 in Bend. Pick your town at the top of the page for your own dates.
Is lemon balm invasive?
It doesn't run like mint, but it seeds itself widely. Cutting it back before it flowers keeps it under control.
Does lemon balm grow in shade?
Yes. It grows well in part shade, and the leaves are often more tender there. In deep shade it gets leggy.
Why doesn't my dried lemon balm smell like lemon?
The scent fades during slow drying and storage. Dry it quickly, or use it fresh or frozen.
See what else to plant in March, April or May.
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