Garden thyme

Garden thyme: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Small, upright shrublet of 15–30 cm with a woody base.

Leaf

Opposite, narrowly elliptic, 5–10 mm, greyish-green, with a rolled edge and a felted underside; strongly aromatic.

Bark

Woody, branched stems with greyish-brown, peeling bark.

Flower

Small lilac, pink or white two-lipped flowers in whorls at the stem tips, May–July.

Fruit

Small nutlets.

Difference from large thyme

Large thyme (Thymus pulegioides) is a wild, half-creeping thyme with green, flat leaves without a rolled edge; it grows on dry grassland.

Difference from rosemary

Rosemary has needle-like leaves of 2–4 cm, pale blue flowers and is a much bigger shrub.

Flowering: May–July · Harvest and fruit: May–September · Pruning: April and July–August

Identify by feature: Purple or blue flowers

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Large thyme (Thymus pulegioides): wild, half-creeping thyme with green, flat leaves without a rolled edge; on dry grassland.
• Rosemary Salvia rosmarinus: needle-like leaves of 2–4 cm, pale blue flowers and a much bigger shrub. Difference from rosemary

Why grow it?

• An essential kitchen herb, to pick all year round.
• Small lilac flowers in May–July for bees, bumblebees and butterflies.
• A fragrant, evergreen edging for a dry, sunny spot.
• Needs no fertiliser and little water.

Garden thyme: where does it grow best?

• Full sun: the warmer, the stronger the scent.
• Dry, free-draining, preferably chalky soil; poor soil is no problem.
• No wet feet: on heavy clay, plant it in a raised bed, a rock garden or a pot with gravel or sand.
• Lovely as an edging along a path, in a herb or rock garden, or in a pot on a sunny patio.

Light

Full sun

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Dry

Size

0.3 m tall, 0.4 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• English lavender: Also Mediterranean and fragrant, for the same sunny, dry, chalky spot.
• Common sage: Another kitchen herb with grey leaves, for the same dry soil.
• Common rock-rose: A low, yellow-flowered plant for the same dry, chalky soil.
• Rosemary: A larger, aromatic shrub as a backdrop in the herb garden.

Good and bad companions

Best kept away from

• Do not plant under the dense crown of these trees: norway spruce, european silver fir, nordmann fir, douglas fir, yew, horse chestnut, norway maple, sycamore

Garden thyme: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant in April–May, so that it is well rooted before winter.
2. Space plants 25–30 cm apart; a little closer for an edging.
3. Don’t plant deeper than it was growing, and cover the soil with gravel if you like, not with bark or compost.
4. In a pot: use compost mixed with a third gravel or sand, in a pot with a drainage hole.

Care

Watering

Only for the first few weeks after planting, and in pots during dry spells; in the ground it copes on its own.

Feeding

Not needed: on poor soil it has the strongest scent.

Harvesting

Pick sprigs all year round. For drying, harvest just before or at the start of flowering, when the scent is strongest.

Renewing

After 3–5 years it becomes woody and bare: replace it with a young plant or a cutting.

Tip: Plant thyme close to the kitchen door or along a path: that way you can easily pick a sprig, and every brush releases its scent.

Garden thyme: when to prune it?

Pruning months: April and July–August.

When: Lightly in April, and after flowering in July–August.

How:

• In April, trim the plant lightly into shape, only in the green foliage.
• After flowering, cut off the flower stems and a third of the growth, so the plant stays compact.

Caution: Don’t cut back into bare, old wood: thyme struggles to regrow from it. After a few years it becomes woody; replace it then.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Cuttings

In May–June or after flowering, take 5–8 cm cuttings from non-flowering shoots; they root in a sandy mix.

Sowing

Sow indoors in March–April, somewhere warm; press the fine seeds down and barely cover them.

Layering

Peg a low branch to the ground and cover it with sandy soil; after a few months it will have roots.

Garden thyme: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Hardy, but sensitive to wet soil: in winter it dies more often from waterlogging than from frost.
• Don’t prune late in autumn, so the plant goes into winter with its foliage.
• In winter, move pots to a sheltered spot against a wall or under an overhang, so the compost doesn’t get waterlogged.

Diseases and pests

• Root rot: The plant turns grey and dies, often after a wet winter. Replant in a drier, better-drained spot.
• Bare and woody: Only grows and flowers at the tips. Trim lightly every year; replace an old plant.
• Rosemary beetle: Small, shiny beetles striped green and purple, and their larvae, eat the leaves. Shake them off over a bucket.
• Little scent: Too much shade or too rich a soil. Give it full sun and poor soil.

Through the year

• April: Light shaping trim in the green foliage; planting.
• May: Planting; flowering begins; take cuttings.
• June: Flowering: bees and bumblebees; harvest for drying.
• July: Trim after flowering: flower stems and a third of the growth.
• August: Last month for trimming; take cuttings.
• October: No more pruning; keep pots dry.
• November: Move pots out of the rain.

What can you use it for?

Food and drink

Kitchen herb for soups, sauces, stews and a bouquet garni; thyme tea for coughs.

For wildlife

The small flowers attract bees, bumblebees and butterflies.

Garden and landscape

Fragrant edging or a plant for a rock garden, herb garden or pot in a sunny, dry spot.

Edible and useful

Flowers (June–July)

Pick the little flowers in June and July, when the plant is in full bloom, on a dry morning. Snip off the flowering tops and strip the flowers loose with your fingers, or use the small tops as they are. You can use them in syrup, tea or as an edible decoration on salad and goat’s cheese. Be sure to leave plenty of flowers for the bees and bumblebees.

Leaves (May–September)

Snip the sprigs with scissors or a knife on a dry morning, once the dew has gone. The flavour is strongest just before and during flowering, but you can harvest from May to September. Never cut more than a third of the plant at once and do not cut into old, bare wood, because the plant struggles to regrow from it. Strip the leaves from the stalks with your fingers, from top to bottom. In soups and stews you can also cook whole sprigs and take them out at the end.

Storing

Fresh thyme keeps for a week in the fridge, wrapped in a damp cloth or in an open bag. You can freeze sprigs loose in a bag, or chopped leaves in ice cubes with olive oil; that keeps for up to 6 months. Dried thyme keeps for up to a year in a tightly closed jar, dry and dark. Syrup keeps for six months in sterilised bottles.

Caution: Thyme is safe as a culinary herb in ordinary amounts. Never swallow the concentrated essential oil or thymol, and do not use strong extracts as food. People who are allergic to the mint family (such as mint, sage, oregano and lavender) may react to thyme too. If you have doubts, for example during pregnancy, while breastfeeding or when taking medication, ask your doctor or pharmacist before drinking thyme tea every day. Wild thyme (breckland thyme or creeping thyme) grows on protected dunes and heath and is rare: do not pick it in nature areas, but harvest from garden plants. Plants bought at a garden centre may have been treated: let them grow for a few weeks and wash the sprigs well. Do not pick beside busy roads or where dogs go, use only plants that clearly smell of thyme, and never eat anything you have not identified with certainty.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Thyme and lemon syrup (Syrup · ± 600 ml · 20 min + 1 hour steeping)
• Fresh thyme tea (Tea · 2 cups · 10 min)
• Dried thyme (Dried · ± 25 g dried leaves · 15 min + 1–2 weeks drying)
• Roast potatoes with thyme and garlic (Dish · serves 4 · 55 min)

Did you know?

• Thyme contains thymol, a powerful antiseptic that is also used in mouthwash and cough syrup.
• Garden thyme comes from the western Mediterranean; in our countries large thyme and wild thyme grow in the wild.