Thymus (Thyme) for Low Mainenance Gardens

Thyme in all its infinite variety is an amazing plant. Used as a seasoning for centuries, it also has medicinal properties of an antibacterial nature and can be used as an insect repellent. Strongly scented, the plant contains thymol, the essential oil. It has been used as an ornamental plant for almost as long, and by all accounts, there are an amazing number of species and varieties for almost every purpose in the garden.

One of the most notable, although unseen, properties of thyme plants is the incredible reach of the root system. Fibrous, fine roots spread out to almost twice the breadth of the above ground plant. I don’t recommend trying to transplant anything over the size of about 4” across, as they really don’t do well, even given lots of irrigation. Smaller plants transplant fine, and will overtake the growth of a struggling transplanted bigger plant. The moral of the story is to place them well initially!

Pavers and rocks placed around the plants enable them to survive temperature changes, and retain warmth and the slight amount of moisture needed. Never over-water thyme, or plant in anything less than perfectly draining soil, preferably with some sand in it. I never add anything to the planting hole, unless it’s heavy clay, in which case I will lighten it with sand or other porous material such as pumice. Occasionally I will top-dress with mushroom manure or other mild composted material, or mulch with gravel or sand.

To plant into a rock wall or amongst pavers, I use a kitchen fork or a wide bladed butter knife to remove the plug, and then place it into a crevice in the wall. Another technique is to wind the roots around a small stick like a chopstick, and push them into the gap between pavers or rocks. The ideal way to do it is as the wall or patio is being constructed, when you can just squish the plug between the rocks or bricks. Sounds cruel, I know, but the results are great, and the plants recover very quickly and root into the soil behind or underneath.

I also find that it’s best to cut the roots on the bottom of the plug, especially if the plant is root bound. You can tell by the roots starting to encircle the bottom of the plug. I’ve dug up plants that weren’t doing very well, only to find the roots still confined in the shape of the pot! If you cut them off, this allows the roots to seek out new soil and nutrients. It also better anchors the plant because it makes the roots branch into even more fibrous growth.

I prefer to plant in the fall, as the soil is warm even when the air is cooling. I water in the newly planted plugs a couple of times if it’s warm weather, but other than that, they’re on their own. Then they gradually go dormant as the ground cools and then freezes, to emerge powerfully in the spring. By the second fall after planting, they’re well established, and need no further coddling.

In my area, we get a good snowfall every year. Sometimes it falls before the ground freezes, giving perennials of all descriptions a lovely warm blanket. If, as occasionally happens, we get a hard freeze first, before the snows, that’s when we will lose the odd plant to frost damage or heaving, but this is usually caused by, you guessed it – imperfect drainage!

For a lawn alternative, I will space most varieties around 8-12” apart, which enables them to grow into one another in about 2 seasons. Any closer than that and you run the risk of them choking each other out due to not enough root run. Further apart and it takes much longer to fill in. See Berna's Lawn Project