Melissa officinalis has a pleasant lemon flavor and a wide range of useful properties. The plant is used in cooking, traditional medicine and cosmetology.
Growing lemon balm can be done at home or on the garden. It is important to observe the basic rules of agricultural engineering.
In this article you will learn about the timing of sowing lemon balm and planting in open ground. Let's tell how it multiplies. Also consider how to care for the plant, grow it and when you can harvest.
Dates of sowing and planting in open ground
Melissa can be planted in open ground in spring, summer and even early autumn. Frosts can destroy young plants. The time of planting in open ground depends on the weather and the method of reproduction:
- In open ground, seeds are planted in the third week of May.
- Sowing seeds for seedlings carried out in the second half of March. Seedlings are moved to the beds in mid-late April, when the frost will go.
- Reproduction by dividing the bush is carried out in the middle of spring or at the end of summer.
Choosing a place
Melissa prefers areas in the penumbra without access to cold winds, away from water. It is better to plant the plant on the south side of the residential building in order to protect it from strong air currents. It is not recommended to choose lowlands for planting. The accumulation of moisture in the soil provokes rotting roots.
Melissa is growing widely, you need to give her enough space. You can arrange it on the garden, which is located between the fruit trees and vegetable crops. Flowering bushes attract bees, so you can plant lemon balm near the fruit and berry crops.
Soil composition
The plant feels good on a loose, light, nutritious soil that permits moisture and air. The average pH level is 5.5. Suitable sandy loam soil or loamy soil enriched with humus. At least a month before planting begin to prepare the site. Dig up the soil, remove the weeds. If the ground is heavy, add a few buckets of fine sand. Make a compost or mineral fertilizer - ammonium nitrate or superphosphate.
Step-by-Step Breeding Instructions
Seeds
It is recommended to purchase seeds in a specialty store.. It is better to choose domestic products. Before buying, you must check the expiration date and labeling. You can take the seeds of several manufacturers, to empirically decide on the most suitable option and is guaranteed to get a harvest.
Important! Planting lemon balm seeds in open ground does not bring good results.
Seeds are best planted in low plastic containers - pots or boxes:
Prepare the soil - mix a glass of biohumus and two glasses of coconut fiber. Add mineral fertilizers. You can take the garden soil, be sure to sanitize in a hot oven.- Fill the container with soil mixture.
- Water moderately.
- Make on the surface of several grooves with a depth of one centimeter with a distance of four to six centimeters from each other.
- Mix the seeds with a little sand.
- Spread the mixture along the furrows to a depth of 0.5-0.7 centimeters.
- Moisturize the earth.
- Cover container with plastic or glass.
- Put in a warm bright place - on the windowsill.
Prepare the soil - mix a glass of biohumus and two glasses of coconut fiber. Add mineral fertilizers. You can take the garden soil, be sure to sanitize in a hot oven.Melissa germinates about 20 days. During this period, should regularly air the greenhouse and remove condensate. Irrigate the soil from the sprayer as it dries. When sprouts will hatch, do not allow direct sunlight to hit them. When the first few leaves appear, carry out a pick, leaving the distance between the plants at least five centimeters.
Seedlings
In the second half of May, seedlings are transplanted into the open ground.
- Sprouts are moved to the beds at the age of about 40 days, when they have four leaflets each.
- Fertilizers must be applied to the soil: one glass of wood ash and 10 liters of humus per square meter, as well as a mineral complex according to the dosage indicated on the package.
- Plant young plants on the garden: the distance between the bushes is 40-50 centimeters, the row spacing is 55-65 centimeters.
Cuttings
- In spring, cut off the apical parts of young plants. They should not be traces of disease and pests.
- Put the cuttings in the water. You can add a growth stimulator.
- After a week or two, roots appear. Place the planting material in a container with loose nutrient soil.
- Land on the garden bed.
Layering
Choose a few young shoots with a length of 10-15 centimeters.- Bend to the ground, fix.
- Place contact in contact with earth.
- Liberally pour.
- After two or three weeks, when rooting takes place, separate the shears from the mother plant with a pruner or sharp knife.
- Plant in a permanent place.
Choose a few young shoots with a length of 10-15 centimeters.Dividing bush
In the middle of spring or in August, choose a bush whose age is three to five years.
- Dig a bush.
- Shake the roots off the ground.
- Divide the bush into several parts so that each new plant has at least 4-5 young shoots with buds and roots.
- Each plant is planted in a shallow hole.
- Well moisten the soil.
- To shade a plot.
How to care?
Temperature
Melissa likes warmth, but tolerates negative temperatures well.. The plant is recommended to protect from winter frost. At the end of the autumn, the bush is cut one to two centimeters from the ground, the soil is loosened and slightly irrigated, the lemon balm is highly spud and covered with fallen leaves from above.
Watering
In extreme heat, the plant is watered four times a week. On cloudy days with no rain - twice a week. Do not allow overmoistening of the soil.
Shine
Melissa needs good solar lighting, but should be shielded from the effects of scorching rays. The best option is a semi-shady place.
Top dressing
When the seedlings are moved to the beds, they carry out the first feeding - they apply nitrogen fertilizer. If the seeds are planted immediately in open ground, fertilizing is done when the shoots reach five to six centimeters in height. Use complex liquid fertilizers in combination with organic.
Every spring, at the beginning of the growing season, a mullein solution is added with the addition of nitrogen fertilizer. To preserve the nutritional value of the soil and moisture, the root area is mulched with compost or humus.
Before flowering lemon balm is not fedotherwise you can prevent the timely maturation of seeds. After each cut of the leaves is required to make a mineral complex according to the instructions on the packaging of the drug.
Nip
In order for the bush to grow compact and well branched, seedlings grown on seedlings are pinned at a height of 10-15 centimeters. Pruning Two or three times per season, the stalks are pruned 10 centimeters from the soil surface. Plants are quickly restored and give many new shoots.
Loosening
After each watering and after the rain, the soil is loosened. The procedure maintains high breathability and prevents moisture stagnation.
Weeding
Weeds are able to stifle the growth of young seedlings. As necessary, the bed with seedlings weed. From the second year of life, the presence of a small amount of weeds around the strengthened lemon balm bushes is allowed.
How to grow at home?
Consider how to organize the landing and provide competent care for melissa drug at home. Planting seedlings at home spend in the spring. Seeds are sown in the same way as for open ground. Seedlings are transferred to the pots after the appearance of three leaves. Follow the algorithm:
- Prepare a pot with a volume of 1.5 to 2 liters and a height of at least 15 centimeters.
- Place a drainage layer on the bottom: pebbles or expanded clay.
- Pour the prepared soil on top.
- Plant two or three sprouts in one pot.
- Moisten the soil with a spray bottle.
- Send the pot to the windowsill.
How fast is growing and when to harvest?
The leaves are cut before the flowering period or at the very beginning. Flowering occurs in mid-June. You can take three or four crops per season. After cutting be sure to make dressing.
To grow lemon balm, you need to choose the right place, correctly perform the landing and take good care of the bushes. If you provide the appropriate soil composition and sufficient lighting, water properly, feed and trim plants in a timely manner, you can collect several harvests of fragrant greenery during the season.
