Lemon balm
Its small white summer flowers offer nectar easily reached by honey bees; its lemon scent has long been used to make swarm traps more attractive.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Low
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0.3-0.9 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
🐝 Add to my apiary
Log in to add it to your apiary.Value for beekeeping
Lemon balm takes its name Melissa from the Greek word for bee. The small whitish flowers in the leaf axils have a short corolla tube, so honey bees reach the nectar easily. Its pollen contribution is limited; its real value is a steady nectar supply in midsummer.
Flowering
It flowers from June to August. If cut after the first flowering, it can bloom a second time towards autumn. In partial shade and moist, nutrient-rich soil it secretes nectar for longer.
Honey and pollen
No commercial monofloral honey is produced; its nectar ends up in mixed summer honey. The pollen loads are small, and bees visit the plant mainly for nectar.
Note for the beekeeper
The lemon-scented volatile compounds in the leaves resemble the bees' aggregation pheromone, which is why beekeepers rub the inside of hives and swarm traps with lemon balm. It is easy to plant around the apiary, is perennial and spreads by self-seeding.