Is this Lemon Balm?

[Inastate]

I didn't take care of it last year and left it in small pots, but it lived, and then I can't remember what I did.

However, it is located on the concrete slab where I keep my mint (to avoid the roots getting into the soil.

It looks like it and I'd imagine it is it, it just doesn't smell or taste like Lemon. It's slightly bitter.

Confused here.

[Glutton4...]

It looks like Lemon Balm, but you'd definitely know by the smell. Perhaps it has hybridised with the Mint.

[greenishfing]

Mine looks like yours but tastes strongly of lemon.

[Mrs Bee]

If you crush the leaves it should smell like lemon sherbert. If it doesn't it isn't.

I don't think the taste actually tastes lemony. I got rid of mine as I found very little culinary use and it spread like weeds.

[muddled]

but surely if it was mint you would smell...mint!

My lemon balm doesn't smell much yet this year. In fact, when I was clearing young stinging nettles from that area this morning, I had to pick and crush a leaf to make sure it was balm and not nettle....once crushed the leaf gave off that unmistakeable smell though so maybe try that.

I grow it for the chickens. I throw armfuls in their run all summer to give that citronella scent and deter flies.

[Florence Fennel]

Looks like Lemon Balm to me too. I freeze individual leaves in ice cube trays. Lovely in a G&T

[purplekat]

Certainly looks like it. Makes a good tea when you have a cold

[Inastate]

It looks like Lemon Balm, but you'd definitely know by the smell. Perhaps it has hybridised with the Mint.

Is this a real possibility?

It definitely tastes bitter. Maybe it just needs some more TLC before it gets going again. Or maybe I did actually cross it with the mint. would it be best to hoy it all in with the nettle fertiliser and crush it to bits. Then get some seeds, repot, and start again.

It's almost definitely Lemon Balm but almost definitely bitter, though.

Should it both taste and smell like lemon?

[veggiechicken]

My lemon balm smells of lemons - now! I've just squashed a leaf and its unmistakeable.

[Inastate]

The thing is, I don't even think I let either go to flower, let alone seed.

[Mrs Bee]

Lemon Balm always smells like lemon sherbert. If it doesn't it is likely to be something else.

[Zelenina]

No, lemon balm can't hybridise with mint because it is in a different genus (the first part of the Latin name). Mints are all Mentha but lemon balm is Melissa.

It's true they are in the same family called lamiaceae, often known as the mint family. But it's a huge family that includes the dead nettles, many of the herbs we grow (basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, hyssop, thyme, lavender, and perilla) plus coleus, bergamot, chia, Chinese artichokes and teak trees. You wouldn't expect all those to be able to cross with each other.

And even if they could hybridise, it wouldn't affect the plants you have already, only new plants grown from the hybrid seeds. So they are the same thing now as they were last year. Unless by some remote chance the original plants all died and some similar looking weed seeds landed in the pots and germinated.

But they don't look like new seedlings, and they do look like lemon balm. Although there could be other plants that look very similar. How did you get them, and what made you think they were lemon balm in the first place?

I went out to my garden in the rain to pick a bit of mine to test. Definitely a citronella type smell when I crushed it. But not a strong taste of anything. Maybe a very slight hint of bitterness.

I noticed how far north you are. Maybe the plants need a bit more spring warmth to develop the right smell and taste. But that's just a guess.

There are also some genes that allow people to taste bitter compounds that other people can't taste. But I don't know if that's got anything to do with it.

[Nicos]

Needless to say, if in doubt don't use it as a herb!

[Scarlet]

I didn't take care of it last year and left it in small pots, but it lived, and then I can't remember what I did..

It looks very much like lemon balm. It comes back year after year, it is as hard as nails. I dug mind up as I've the same opinion as Mrs Bee, it's weed like and very invasive.

[SlugLobber]

If you crush the leaves it should smell like lemon sherbert. If it doesn't it isn't.

I don't think the taste actually tastes lemony. I got rid of mine as I found very little culinary use and it spread like weeds.

Lemon balm is an anti-spasmodic and also has sedative effects, in addition to being anti-viral/bacterial. I use it as a herbal infusion if I have terrible stomach cramps (either lady-related or food-related) and it's invaluable when I have a cold, as it helps me sleep whilst also easing other cold symptoms. I used to harvest it in the Autumn, so I had a stock for the winter and early Spring!