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Thyme
Thymus
Also comes in pink, red and white.
Thyme blooms from May through July.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Thyme
Plant it in full sun. It prefers low water. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–9. Expect it to reach about 6 in tall and 12 in wide at maturity, in roughly 2 years (a house reading).
Pets
- No toxic listing found for dogs and cats in the sources we check.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Thyme. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Thyme
Plant Thyme in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. Once settled, it blooms from May to July.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in April. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Thyme get?
6 intall5 ft 7 inan adult12 inwideSee Thyme in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Thyme
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Thyme about 12 in apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Thyme to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Thyme's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom color and trait tags were checked against 14 published sources on October 29, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- University of Wisconsin HorticultureUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Extensionheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Penn State ExtensionHerb Garden Plants: Thyme, Thymus vulgarisheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, bloom months and color and trait tags
- NC State Extensiongenus Thymushardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Society (thyme growing guide)height, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical GardenThymus vulgarisheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- NC State ExtensionThymus vulgarisheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- bloomindesigns.comBloomin Designs Nurserywater and bloom months and color
- Chicago Botanic Gardensun and bloom months and color
- Missouri Botanical GardenThymus serpyllum, creeping thymehardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- NC State ExtensionThymus serpyllum, creeping thymehardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- University of Illinois ExtensionHerb Gardening: Thyme, Thymus vulgarisheight, sun and trait tags
- University of Maryland ExtensionThyme, Thymus vulgarisheight and trait tags
- Clemson Home and Garden Information CenterHerbs, Thymus speciessun
- Missouri Botanical Gardensun
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Good to know about Thyme
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note. A note reports what its source says; where that differs from a fact above, the fact above is this entry's stored value, and its mark says whether it has been checked.
Worth knowing
Counterintuitively, feeding thyme makes it worse. Rich soil pushes tall, spindly, weak growth and dilutes the flavor; lean, gritty, unfed soil concentrates the aromatic oils. per NC State and Iowa State
Cold hardiness splits by species
Sources split the cold floor: creeping thyme (T. serpyllum) is hardy to zone 4, common thyme (T. vulgaris) usually only zone 5. Pick the species to match your winter. per NC State
Edible
The whole plant is edible for people: leaves, flowers and stems alike. per NC State
Bee and butterfly magnet
The tiny nectar-rich flowers strongly draw bees and butterflies; creeping thyme is even a larval host for common and large blue butterflies. Leave some to bloom. per NC State
Deer and rabbit resistant
Its pungent, oily foliage deters browsing, so deer and rabbits usually leave it alone. Very hungry wildlife may still sample it, so resistance is not immunity. per NC State and UGA
Walkable fragrant groundcover
Creeping types (mother-of-thyme) knit into a low mat between stepping stones, take occasional foot traffic, and release their scent when you step on them. per NC State
What pairs well with Thyme
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
Fragrant Sumac
Shares full sun and low water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; stands well above at 4.5 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months.
Rubber Rabbitbrush
Shares full sun and low water; overlaps, then carries the display into mid fall; stands well above at 5 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; both are strong pollinator plants.
Fernbush
Shares full sun and low water; overlaps, then carries the display into late summer; stands well above at 5 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; both are strong pollinator plants.
Little Bluestem
Shares full sun and low water; blooms in late summer as this one finishes; stands well above at 3.5 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months.
Switchgrass
Shares full sun and low water; blooms in late summer as this one finishes; stands well above at 5 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months.
Blackhawks Big Bluestem
Shares full sun and low water; blooms in late summer as this one finishes; stands well above at 5 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months.
Russian Sage
Shares full sun and low water; overlaps, then carries the display into mid fall; stands well above at 4 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; both are strong pollinator plants.
Ironweed
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; blooms in late summer as this one finishes; stands well above at 5 ft, a canopy to plant beneath; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months.
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Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.