Lemon Balm Not Over-Wintering
Answered by: Inge Poot
Question from: Eva Netteey
Posted on: April 29, 2004

I was wondering why my lemon balm disappeared. I had a large evasive patch but none returned last spring.

You did not say where you live and therefore what climatic zone you are in. In Ontario, Canada we had four mild winters in a row, but in 2002 to 2003 and again in 2003 to 2004 we had normal winters. I live in zone 4 and find that in normal winters lemon balm does not overwinter for me. It did during the mild winters though. The plant is therefore not hardy in zone 4 but makes it through zone 5 winters unless they are unusually cold. Try protecting it heavily for the winter and make sure it goes into the winter in good condition. To make sure it does not get smothered by an ice-sheet, cover the patch you want to keep with a short cover such as a plastic cake cover, weight it down with a rock and cover the whole thing with lots of mulch. Remove in spring after warm days are the norm.

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