Guv's Gardens
Photo: Isidre blanc, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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- Sun
- Full sun.
- Soil
- Free-draining.
- Soil pH
- Neutral to slightly alkaline (about 6.0-8.0).
- Water
- Low once established; avoid wet soil.
- Hardiness
- All Australian climate zones.
- Height and spread
- About 15-30 cm high x 15-40 cm wide.
Guv's tipThyme wants free-draining soil and little water once established. Trim after flowering to keep it compact, and pick leaves year-round.
Through the year
Timings are for temperate Australia. Tropical and arid gardens follow different seasons.
When to plant
Spring (also autumn).
Harvest or flowering
Flowers late spring-summer. Evergreen; pick leaves year-round.
Pruning
Trim after flowering to keep compact.
Making more plants
Seed, cuttings, division or layering.
Watch out for
Root rot in wet soil
Waterlogging-related root rots.Look for: Plants yellow, rot and collapse in poorly drained or wet soil.
What to do: Plant in free-draining soil or pots; avoid overwatering.
Always read and follow the label on any treatment, and check it is approved for use where you live.
Safety and spread
Pets and people: Non-toxic to dogs, cats and horses (ASPCA); Cats Protection lists thyme as safe for cats.
Weed risk: Not listed as a weed on Weeds Australia or the Queensland restricted invasive plant list.
Growing somewhere else? See this plant for the UK and the USA.
The Plant Doctor and the Guv's book
Printable pest and disease charts with real photographs, and all 50 Australia plants in one book.
