9 Suggestions for Rising Thyme in Pots or Containers

I couldn’t reside with out thyme. Have you ever tried it with roasted carrots and honey? Unbelievably scrumptious.

Thyme is a Mediterranean herb that enhances so many varieties of delicacies, but it surely’s additionally simply plain fairly. If you need the entire advantages of this scrumptious herb however wrestle with house or tough soil, this text is for you.

Thyme doesn’t want a lot for maintenance, so it’s an amazing possibility for learners. Bees additionally belove the blooms! Fortunately for these in small areas, its shallow roots make it an amazing candidate for container rising. Want some recommendations on rising your personal? Let’s get began!

First, Choose the Proper Container

All varieties of thyme keep fairly compact, however they will unfold a bit (undoubtedly a very good factor on this case). Relying on the variability, thyme will develop between 3-12 inches tall and 12-15 inches vast over time. Maintain these concerns in thoughts when selecting a container:

Measurement

Close-up of Thyme in a large clay pot on a white table covered with a wicker napkin. Thyme is a perennial plant with slender, branching stems covered with small, oval greyish-green leaves. — Thyme has shallow roots and might be grown in a 6-inch deep, 12-inch diameter container.

Thyme is a gradual grower with shallow roots. You solely want a container 6 inches deep and 12 inches in diameter to develop one good plant. In case you’d prefer to develop a number of varieties, plant them in a wider pot or raised mattress and house them 12 inches aside. They’ll slowly develop collectively for a beautiful thyme smorgasbord.

Drainage

Thyme naturally grows in gritty, rocky soils and desires good drainage. In case your container doesn’t have drainage holes, you may drill them your self. Terracotta pots are good, letting roots breathe, however any container letting water movement by means of will work properly. Thyme can be wonderful in raised beds with oregano, rosemary, lavender, and sage. All of them like the identical free-draining situations, so amend with horticultural sand or perlite if the raised mattress is crammed with heavy soil.

I’ve been rising my thyme in a raised mattress for a couple of years. In case you’re searching for a bigger mattress, take a look at Birdies Steel Raised Backyard Beds. Not like wooden beds which might rot over time, these are made from long-lasting galvanized metal.

When you have a smaller house to work with, do this Spherical Brief Steel Mattress. It seems good, might match a number of vegetation for a compact herb backyard, and doesn’t want any particular instruments to place collectively.

Plant on the Proper Time

Close-up of a man's hands transplanting a Thyme plant into a large clay pot in a sunny garden against a blurred background. The plant has vertical thin stems covered with small oval leaves of bright green color, arranged oppositely along the stems. — Plant thyme in spring after frost, give it heat earlier than new frost hits.

You’ll be able to plant thyme begins in your backyard in early spring after the hazard of frost has handed. It’s chilly hardy right down to zone 4 but it surely likes to get established within the backyard earlier than publicity to chilly temps.

You’ll be able to plant all the way in which as much as early fall, offered you give your thyme at the least a month of heat earlier than a brand new frost hits. Its ideally suited temps vary from 68-86℉. When you have an surprising chilly snap simply after planting, cowl it with frost fabric or mulch the highest with leaves.

Thyme will keep evergreen in delicate climates. It is going to go dormant in areas with chilly winters and pop again up in spring. In case you’d prefer to harvest all of it 12 months, preserve it in a conveyable pot and convey it indoors close to a sunny window.

Select the Proper Website

Close-up of a growing Thyme in a pot on a sunny windowsill. Thyme is a herbaceous plant with small thin stems and tiny elongated leaves. The stems become woody at the base and become more flexible towards the tips. The leaves are small, oval, narrow, green. The pot is wrapped in craft paper. — Plant thyme in full solar for 6-8 hours per day for optimum development.

When planting something, it’s smart to maintain its native habitat in thoughts. Thyme originates within the Mediterranean, which has a scorching and dry local weather. Translating this to your backyard means placing your thyme in full solar for at the least 6-8 hours per day.

In case you solely have half shade, thyme will tolerate it however responds with slower development. Go forward and plant it anyway- you’ll possible nonetheless get loads to reap and revel in.

Give it Good Soil

Close-up of young Thyme sprouts in black small pots in the garden. In the foreground is a woman's hand with golden rings on her fingers. Thyme sprouts are small, upright, short, thin stems covered with tiny oval, narrow, linear green leaves. — Thyme is adaptable to numerous soil varieties however prefers sandy soil with good drainage.

Thyme isn’t finicky about soil. In actual fact, many gardeners plant decorative varieties in dry areas between rocks the place it spreads superbly.

Go for sandy soil over heavy clay, as this aids in drainage. A superb potting combine amended with a layer of compost and a little bit of horticultural sand or gravel will do properly.

Select The Proper Selection

Probably the greatest elements about thyme is its varied fragrant and taste profiles. Some are earthy, others scent like citrus, and a few are grown for his or her colourful flowers. It is available in two most important varieties, decorative and culinary, although all are edible.

Listed below are a couple of totally different varieties I like to recommend making an attempt in your backyard this season:

English Thyme

A yummy, earthy-tasting selection, additionally referred to as Widespread Thyme. It will get about 12 inches tall and vast, with gentle pink to lavender flowers adored by pollinators. It has a strong taste in style in cooked dishes, particularly used with meats and roasted veggies.

German Thyme

That is the variability I take advantage of most in my backyard. It’s barely much less potent than English thyme, making it extra of a flexible background taste than the star.

This selection can be very winter-hardy, withstanding temps right down to -30℉. It has small pink flowers and is nice as a garnish and in salads.

Lemon Thyme

I might inhale this scent for hours! Lemon thyme has a refreshing citrusy mint taste and a dreamy aroma when crushed. It has chartreuse foliage and pink flowers. Whereas nice for cooking and making tea, it’s additionally in style as a decorative.

Creeping Thyme

Creeping Thyme includes a number of decorative varieties (you may eat them too!) that look beautiful flowing over the perimeters of pots. Take a look at Purple Creeping Thyme for fairly darkish pink flowers, Wooly Thyme for mushy, gray-green leaves and pale rose blooms, or Elfin, with a pleasant mounding behavior and lightweight purple flowers.

Seed vs. Nursery-Grown Vegetation

Close-up of Thyme plants in black nursery pots, in the garden, against a blurred background. The plant has vertical thin stems covered with small oval green leaves with a slightly purple underside. — Begin thyme from seed indoors 8 weeks earlier than the final frost, then transplant the seedlings.

Thyme might be grown from seed, however reaching maturity takes 6-12 months. In case you do need to develop it from seed, begin it indoors at the least 8 weeks earlier than your final frost.

Sprinkle seeds on the floor (purpose for about 3 each 10 inches or so), and barely cowl with soil. Seeds germinate in 12-15 days and might be thinned as soon as they’re an inch tall.

Harden your seedlings off as soon as the hazard of frost has handed, then transplant them into the backyard.

Most gardeners decide to buy a nursery begin, which might later be propagated through cuttings. This fashion, you may harvest it straight away. Put together the soil and plant your bought thyme about 12 inches from different herbs so it has room to unfold.

Water the Proper Quantity

Close-up of a woman spraying a Thyme plant from a green plastic bottle with a white sprayer. Thyme is a perennial plant with woody stems covered with small green oval leaves. The plant grows in a terracotta pot. On the white table is an empty terracotta pot, a spool of string, cut Thyme sprigs, and another Thyme plant. — Thyme is drought tolerant and appropriate for arid climates.

Thyme is drought tolerant as soon as established and an amazing alternative for arid climates and water-wise gardens. Verify small transplants usually and water them every time the soil is dry.

Mature vegetation prefer to dry out fully between waterings. When the climate is scorching, chances are you’ll have to water it as soon as every week. Within the cooler temperatures of spring and fall, it possible received’t should be watered greater than twice a month.

Once you water, give it an intensive soak to achieve the roots. Do not forget that small pots will dry out extra shortly and have to be checked extra usually as days get hotter.

Overwatering is extra of a hazard than underwatering. Soggy soil results in rotted roots and brown leaves. Keep away from this by doing a soil verify. Stick your finger in knuckle-deep. If it’s dry at that depth, give it a drink! In case you really feel moisture, verify once more in a few days.

Fertilize (or Don’t)

Close-up of stems with leaves of a Thyme plant in a clay pot. The plant has thin, woody stems covered with small, oval, green, fragrant leaves. — Thyme thrives in poor soil and doesn’t require fertilization.

Thyme is a rugged plant that doesn’t want fertilization (actually, it prefers poor situations over wealthy soil). A high dressing of compost in early spring will give all of it the mandatory vitamins.

In case you’d prefer to pamper your thyme, you can provide it a liquid seaweed feed as soon as a month in the course of the summer season.

Patrol For Pests

Thyme is usually unbothered by pests when grown within the backyard. They don’t like its minty odor. Nonetheless, listed below are some critters you may encounter and what to do about them:

Aphids

Aphids prefer to colonize tender new development, sucking out sugary sap. This ends in stunted development and distorted leaves. You’ll normally see these small, soft-bodied bugs in spring. They’ll vary in colour from inexperienced, grey, or pink.

I don’t like to make use of any kind of pesticides in my edible backyard. I discover that aphids might be defeated with a robust, direct spray from the hose.

You may also forestall pests through companion planting. Parasitic wasps, lacewings, birds, and ladybugs like to munch on aphids. Appeal to these useful predators by planting thyme close to rosemary and umbel-flowered vegetation within the carrot household, like dill, fennel, and cilantro.

Spider Mites

Spider mites are so tiny (lower than 1 mm) that you just’re unlikely to identify them. In case you see curled or distorted leaves, verify for positive white webbing- a key indicator that they’ve made a house in your thyme.

Deal with spider mites the identical as you’d aphids, with a robust spray from the hose and a biodiverse backyard that pulls their predators.

Take away badly affected elements of the plant. If this doesn’t work, you may deal with your thyme with neem oil within the night, however accomplish that solely after you’ve exhausted different efforts. Horticultural oils like neem affect bees and different pollinators.

Harvest Frequently

Pruning and collecting Thyme growing in a pot. Close-up of female hands cutting stems with leaves of a Thyme plant using black kitchen scissors, indoors on a white wooden table. The Thyme plant is a herbaceous perennial plant with small thin stems and tiny oval dark green leaves. The plant pot is wrapped in craft paper. The table also has a rope cat, Pestle and Mortar, and other potted herbs. — Common harvesting of thyme eliminates the necessity for pruning.

In case you harvest your thyme frequently, there’s no want for pruning to maintain it in nice form! Simply snip off a stem proper above a leaf node, leaving at the least 5 inches of development behind (for shorter vegetation, take not more than a 3rd of its peak). Choose essentially the most tender new development and keep away from any woody or thick stems.

In case your thyme is a child plant, harvest sparingly till the subsequent season when it may rebound extra simply.

The focus of oil and taste is strongest proper earlier than it flowers, however I discover that thyme is tasty all season. After you’ve snipped your stems, strive pulling them by means of the tines of a fork to separate the leaves for cooking. In addition they look fairly as-is to make use of as a garnish or in salads.

Maintain slicing a couple of sprigs right here and there, and your thyme will keep bushy and compact. Proper earlier than your final frost, be at liberty to chop the entire plant down by half for a giant harvest which you can dry to make use of all through winter.

Keep in mind all the time to make use of clear, sharp shears and sanitize them between vegetation to forestall the unfold of ailments.

Last Ideas

Thyme is good for container rising. With shallow roots, cold-hardiness, and drought tolerance, it’s low upkeep and simple to maintain joyful in a small house.

Keep in mind this plant’s most popular scorching, sunny, and freely draining situations for a profitable harvest. Snip and revel in usually (or lean in for a little bit aromatherapy). You’ll quickly search for new methods to include this scrumptious herb into your repertoire!