Guv's Gardens
Photo: Isidre blanc, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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- Sun
- Full sun
- Soil
- Free-draining, gritty
- Soil pH
- Neutral to alkaline
- Water
- Drought tolerant
- Hardiness
- Hardy, RHS H5; dislikes cold winter wet
- Height and spread
- 15-30cm tall, 15-40cm spread
Guv's tipThyme's happy in gritty, free-draining soil and doesn't mind drought. Trim it lightly after flowering, but steer clear of old wood.
Through the year
Timings are for the UK as a whole. Northern and exposed gardens often run a couple of weeks later.
When to plant
Plant in spring (Apr-Jun) or early autumn
Harvest or flowering
Harvest all year; flowers in summer
Pruning
Trim lightly in mid to late spring and/or after flowering; avoid old wood
Making more plants
Softwood or semi-ripe cuttings, layering, division
Watch out for
Rosemary beetle
Look for: Metallic green-purple striped beetles and grey larvae eating leaves
What to do: Hand-pick or shake onto newspaper; tolerate light damage
Sage and Ligurian leafhoppers
Look for: Pale mottled patches on upper leaf surfaces
What to do: Usually tolerable; no action normally needed
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, according to the ASPCA
Weed risk: Not listed as an invasive plant in Great Britain
Growing somewhere else? See this plant for the USA and Australia.
The Plant Doctor and the Guv's book
Printable pest and disease charts with real photographs, and all 50 UK plants in one book.
