Side by side
Garden thyme or rosemary? How to tell them apart
Thymus vulgaris · Salvia rosmarinus
How to tell them apart – garden thyme: small, upright, greyish-green shrublet with tiny, strongly aromatic leaves and lilac flowers; rosemary: needle-like leaves of 2–4 cm, pale blue flowers and a much bigger shrub.
How do you recognise them?
- Garden thyme
- Small, upright, greyish-green shrublet with tiny, strongly aromatic leaves and lilac flowers.
- Rosemary
- Evergreen, strongly aromatic shrublet with needle-like leaves and pale blue flowers in spring.
- Compared with garden thyme: needle-like leaves of 2–4 cm, pale blue flowers and a much bigger shrub.
| Garden thyme | Rosemary | |
|---|---|---|
| Leaves | Opposite, narrowly elliptic, 5–10 mm, greyish-green, with a rolled edge and a felted underside; strongly aromatic. | Opposite, 2–4 cm, narrow, needle-like and leathery; dark green above, white-felted below, with a rolled-under edge. |
| Flowering | Small lilac, pink or white two-lipped flowers in whorls at the stem tips, May–July (May–July). | Pale blue, two-lipped flowers in the leaf axils, March–May, and often again in autumn (March–May). |
| Fruit | Small nutlets. | Small nutlets. |
| Bark | Woody, branched stems with greyish-brown, peeling bark. | Greyish-brown, woody and often twisted stems. |
| Shape and height | Dwarf shrub, 15–30 cm | Dwarf shrub, 0.5–1.5 m |
| Site | Full sun, any garden soil, dry | Full sun, any garden soil, dry |
| Native to Belgium | No, planted | No, planted |
| Good for bees, butterflies and birds | – | Yes, for bees |
| Poisonous to people and pets | Not known to be poisonous | Not known to be poisonous |
| Pruning months | April and July–August | May–June |
What does it mean for your garden?
- Choose what suits your soil, your light and the space you have: see the growing conditions in the table.
Read on
- Plant profile: Garden thyme
- Plant profile: Rosemary
- Garden thyme: when and how to prune
- Rosemary: when and how to prune
- Identification key
Also looks like
Identify by feature
This comparison is compiled from the Bladwijzer species pages.