help! Lemon balm dying
Metamorfose
Yesterday I bought 4 herbs, they were in little plastic pots, wrapped
in plastic (dill, lemon balm, parsley, and thyme).
Weather is awful, this afternoon we had a shower of hail stones, and
several thunder storms, I am afraid this is a bad time for planting
them, so I put them in the back-kitchen.
But now the lemon balm has 'unhappy leaves', they are hanging down,
and it looks like it will not be around much longer.
Do I plant them and if so, how to protect them? Or how do I keep them
inside, without them either drying out, or rotting because of too
much water. This has happened before, so I will start by taking off
the plastic wrapper, but then what?
Thank you for your help!
Caroline
michelle
How long did you have your Lemon Balm inside? Only one day? Sounds
like it was on its last legs when you purchased it. Try taking it back
and getting another plant. Lemon Balm is in the mint family and enjoys
a lot of water. It especially likes a lot of water if it's out in full
sun in hot weather. It really shouldn't rot (from my experience).
If you're patient, you can try to grow it from seed. It's kind of slow
from the beginning, but out in full sun and with hot weather and plenty
of water, you should have a nice sized plant by the end of the summer.
I started one a few weeks ago and it seems to have promise of a decent
harvest by the end of the summer. Just press the seeds on the surface
of your potting soil, don't cover, and keep moist.
--
Response to "Age before beauty"
"Pearls before swine."
--Dorothy Parker
Bobbi Nell
Caroline: Lemon Balm is in the mint famil and it's pretty hardy.
Is the soil wet? How root bound is it. It's good you took off the
plastic wrap but if it's very root bound it could need water.
As far as how much cold it can take I don't know. But mine
is in the front gets full sun after 12p. gets watered twice a week and is
very invasive even the seeds sprout every where. I am cutting it back all
the time so
it doesn't set seed.
Bobbi zone 9b
Peter
I can't believe you're lemon balm is dying. I'd say it's stressed but
that's all. Stick those plants in the ground and give em a shot of low
level fish fertilizer. In a year you'll wish you'd never planted such
a weed. I live in Oregon so maybe it's different but I can't get rid
of the stuff.
Peter
>
>
pyrc...@crosslink.net
Metamorfose wrote:
>
> Yesterday I bought 4 herbs, they were in little plastic pots, wrapped
> in plastic (dill, lemon balm, parsley, and thyme).
> Weather is awful, this afternoon we had a shower of hail stones, and
> several thunder storms, I am afraid this is a bad time for planting
> them, so I put them in the back-kitchen.
>
> But now the lemon balm has 'unhappy leaves', they are hanging down,
> and it looks like it will not be around much longer.
>
> Do I plant them and if so, how to protect them? Or how do I keep them
> inside, without them either drying out, or rotting because of too
> much water. This has happened before, so I will start by taking off
> the plastic wrapper, but then what?
>
> Thank you for your help!
>
> Caroline
garden. I would imagine that the pot it is in is pretty small and "it
would feel better" if it was outside in the ground. Lemon balm is
pretty hardy. In fact, when you plant it, chop the top off to encourage
the roots to develop more. Before you plant it, look at the roots. If
they form a square similar to the shape of the pot, it's probably root
bound. Dig around in the roots with your fingers and loosen them up.
You can even trim the roots. Saying a prayer over the lemon balm might
help! Anyway, plant it now, see how it does, it will probably be even
better next year once it gets established! Good luck!
Fern in zone 7 (where the biting flies make gardening forbidden this
summer)