thyme

When to plant thyme?

Botanical name
Thymus vulgaris
Family
Lamiaceae

Thyme is planted from April to June. It is harvested all year. It is cut back from April to May.

Thyme is a woody perennial. The edible parts are the leaves and flowers.

thyme
Photo: Henry Brisse · CC BY-SA 3.0

Thyme through the year

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Planting
Harvest
Cutting back
15913172125293337414549
  • planting
  • harvest
  • cutting back

In short

Planting
from April to June
weeks 16 to 24
Spacing between plants
20 to 40 cm
Harvest
all year
Cutting back
from April to May
weeks 14 to 22
Renewal
every four years
Propagation
division, layering, cuttings and seed

Growing conditions

🪨
Soil
light
🧪
pH
6.3
☀️
Sun
full sun
💧
Water
little water
❄️
Frost
overwinters outdoors
🌱
Nutrients
a light feeder
📏
Height
8 to 30 cm

Companions in the bed

Companion planting is tradition and not an agronomic claim. What is recorded is which pairs sources recommend and which they advise against.

broccoli cited

Thyme is a perennial and broccoli an annual, so plant the thyme at the edge of the bed, where it stays once the broccoli is gone.

strawberry cited

Both are perennials and both stay low. Thyme needs drier soil than the strawberry, so it goes at the edge and not in between.

  • “Cited” means the pair is named by one source or two.

Pests and diseases

Listed here is every problem for which the sources name this plant as a host. The problems are not listed in order of how common they are.

Rosemary beetle

pest
Signs
Eaten leaves left as short stubs with a grey brown edge where the tissue has dried. The metallic green and purple beetles are on the plant all year round.
Prevention
Action is usually not needed, because a healthy plant takes the beetle. Encourage birds and ground beetles.
What to do
Pick them off by hand or shake the branches over a sheet of paper laid underneath, easiest in the morning, when the beetles are slow.

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Related plants

The plants below are in the same botanical family (Lamiaceae).

Sources about the plant: BUND Region Hannover, GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, NC State Extension Plant Toolbox, Penn State Extension, Royal Horticultural Society, University of Georgia Extension, University of Maryland Extension, University of New Hampshire Extension, Utah State University Extension, Wikidata. Checked between 14 and 17 August 2026. The problem descriptions also draw on: EPPO Global Database.