(Thymus serpyllum 'Creeping')
Creeping Thyme is a woody-based, creeping perennial herb that is native to Europe but can be commonly found growing in gardens throughout the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 3-6” and features a 12-18” wide foliage mat of rooting stems, 1/4” oval-shaped, blueish-green leaves, and small, tubular, two-lipped, bell-shaped dark pink/purple flowers. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees, birds, and butterflies, repels moths, tolerates deer, drought, and light frost, flavors perfumes and soaps, makes essential oils and fungicide, and is both edible and medicinal!
Genus: Thymus
Species: serpyllum
Variety: Creeping Thyme
Also Known As: Wild Thyme, Mother of Thyme.
Native to: Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Buryatiya, Central European Rus, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Netherlands, North European Russi, Northwest European R, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Ukraine, West Siberia.
Ease of Growing: Moderate
Grown As: Perennial
Maturity (Blooms): June to July
Hardiness: Half Hardy. Thyme is very hardy and will grow under most conditions, but this variety is not as hardy as other varieties.
Crops: Spring Transplant
Growing Season: Short, Long
Growing Conditions: Cold, Cool, Warm, Hot. Thyme is a Mediterranean plant and likes warm, dry conditions.
Outdoor Growing Temp: 60°F - 90°F
Min Outdoor Soil Temp: 60°F. Plant outdoors once the soil reaches 60˚F.
Start Indoors: Yes
Start Outdoors: No
Light: Full Sun. Min. 6 hours daily (Cool, Warm, Hot). It does best in full sun, but will tolerate some shade.
Water: Dry to medium. Thyme is quite drought tolerant so only needs an occasional watering once established.
Soil Moisture: Dry to medium. Well drained.
Feeder: Light. Thyme will grow well in poor soil and doesn't need much fertilization.
Suitability: Drought tolerant, Tolerates light frost, High heat.
Small Gardens?: Yes
Attracts Beneficial Insects?: Yes
Containers?: Yes. Thyme is a perfect candidate for container growing and doesn't need much attention. Choose a well-draining container that is at least 10" deep and fill with potting soil. Keep the soil moist but not overly wet and fertilize occasionally.
Maintenance: Low
Height: 3-6"
Spacing: 6-12"
Sow Depth: 1/4"
Hardiness Zone: 5a-10b
Produces: a 12-18” wide foliage mat of rooting stems, 1/4” oval-shaped, blueish-green leaves, and small, tubular, two-lipped, bell-shaped dark pink/purple flowers.
Garden Uses: Best as a small area ground cover or filler between stepping stones. Will sprawl over small rocks or cascade over ledges in the rock garden. Fills in crevices. Effective for sunny areas of borders, patios and along paths. Bank cover. Edging. Lawn substitute. Containers.
Water Needs: Low. Thyme is quite drought tolerant so only needs an occasional watering once established.
Fertilizer Needs: Light. Thyme will grow well in poor soil and doesn't need much fertilization.
Watering: Water, 0.5 inches, every 2 weeks. Just give Thyme enough water so it doesn't dry up completely. Too much water will cause the roots to rot (and it generally tastes better if it doesn't have much water). If you're in a hotter place where the soil dries quickly, or you're container gardening, water more frequently.
Pruning: 1 time. If it starts to get woody, prune in spring to encourage new growth.
Support: No
Harvesting
Harvest leaves when the plant is large enough.
Storage
Storage Req: Dry
Storage Temp: 50-70°F
Storage Length: 1-180 days
Seed Viability in Years: 3 - 4 years
Culinary
Light thyme scent with a hint of citrus.
Culinary Use:
Thyme is widely used in cooking, fresh or dried. The herb is a basic ingredient in many dishes from around the Mediterranean region, and is especially compatible with lamb, tomatoes and eggs. You can also use it to flavor stews, soups, sauces, meat, fish, vegetables, salads, or flavoring for vinegar.
Leaves: raw in salads or added as a flavoring to cooked foods. Thyme retains its flavor well in long slow cooking. If the leaves are to be dried, the plants should be harvested in early and late summer just before the flowers open and the leaves should be dried quickly. An aromatic tea is made from the leaves.
Medicinal
Companion Planting
Enemies: None known.
Problems
Spidermites
To attract Minute Pirate Bugs to your garden you will need to grow: Caraway (Carum carvi), Cosmos “white sensation” (Cosmos bipinnatus), Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Spearmint (Mentha spicata), Peter Pan Goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea), and Marigold “lemon gem” (Tagetes tenuifolia).
Big-eyed Bugs: Preys on Aphids, small Caterpillars and Caterpillar eggs, Flea beetles, Fleahoppers, Lygus bugs, Mites, Thrips, Whiteflies.
To attract Big-Eyed Bugs to your garden you will need to grow: Caraway (Carum carvi), Cosmos “white sensation” (Cosmos bipinnatus), Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Spearmint (Mentha spicata), Peter Pan Goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea), and Marigold “lemon gem” (Tagetes tenuifolia).
Lacewings: Green lacewings are common generalist predators that feed on aphids. Brown lacewings are slightly smaller. Some species of adult lacewings are predaceous while the larvae are very active predators that feed on soft-bodied prey such as mites, aphids, leafhoppers, thrips, whiteflies, and pest eggs. Lacewings in nearly all life stages are commercially available.
To attract Lacewings to your garden you will need to grow: Fern-leaf yarrow (Achillea filipendulina), Dill (Anethum graveolens), Angelica (Angelica gigas), Golden marguerite (Anthemis tinctoria), Four-wing saltbush (Atriplex canescens), Purple poppy mallow (Callirhoe involucrata), Caraway (Carum carvi), Coriander (Coriandrum sativum),
Cosmos white sensation (Cosmos bipinnatus), Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota), Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), Prairie sunflower (Helianthus maximilianii), Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale).
Nutrition
The Health Benefits of Thyme
Antioxidant Capacity: With one of the highest antioxidant concentrations in any herb, thyme has been praised for thousands of years as an overall health booster. The phenolic antioxidants found in thyme, including lutein, zeaxanthin, and thymonin all contribute to neutralizing and eliminating free radicals throughout the body. Free radicals are the dangerous byproducts of cellular metabolism that can do major damage to your healthy cells by causing apotosis or spontaneous mutation. These antioxidants help to prevent oxidative stress in all of your organ systems, as well as your neural pathways, heart, eyes, and skin.
Circulation: The high concentration of iron and other essential minerals in thyme make it ideal for stimulating the production of red blood cells, thereby boosting your body’s circulations and the oxygenation of essential organ systems and extremities throughout the body.
Heart Health: The rich blend of antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins in thyme have many small effects on the heart, but the potassium and manganese are particularly important. Potassium is a vasodilator, meaning that it can reduce the stress on the cardiovascular system by relaxing blood vessels and lowering blood pressure. This can extend your life by preventing atherosclerosis and avoiding strokes, heart attacks, and coronary heart disease.
Vision Booster: The concentration of carotenoids and vitamin A found in thyme make it an effective antioxidant agent for your visions health. Carotenoids can neutralize the free radicals in your ocular system and slow the onset of macular degeneration and prevent cataracts!
Immune System: The high levels of vitamin C found in sage make it a natural immune system booster. Vitamin C stimulates the production of white blood cells, which are the first line of defense in the body’s immune system. Vitamin C also plays a crucial part in the production of collagen, which is essential for the creation and repair of cells, muscles, tissues, and blood vessels.
Reduce Stress: One of the vitamins in thyme (B6) has a powerful effect on certain neurotransmitters in the brain that are directly linked to stress hormones. Regular inclusion of thyme in your diet can help to boost your mood and ease your mind when stressful thoughts come calling.
Respiratory Issues: One of the most well known and long-standing uses for thyme in traditional medicine is as a respiratory health agent. If you are suffering from bronchitis, chronic asthma, congestion, colds, flus, blocked sinuses, or seasonal allergies, thyme acts as an expectorant and an anti-inflammatory substance, eliminating phlegm and mucus from the respiratory tracts, easing inflammation to help breathing, and prevent microbial development that can lead to illness. Brewing thyme leaves into a powerful tea is the best way to achieve this sort of relief for respiratory ailments.
A Final Word of Warning: For those with sensitive stomachs, high intake of thyme can cause gastrointestinal distress, but generally, this herb is not known as an allergenic substance and can be consumed regularly in your diet.
Suggested Varieties
(Brassica oleracea 'Early Jersey Wakefield')
Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage is a heirloom, hardy, cool weather annual vegetable that is native to England, but was first grown in the United States in 1840 by Francis Brill of Jersey City. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 12-18” and features dark-green, conical heads averaging 5" in diameter and weighing 2 to 3 lbs. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts earwigs, is rabbits safe (in moderation), can be used as a trap crop for aphids, tolerates frost, and is edible.
(Brassica oleracea 'Late Flat Dutch')
Late Flat Dutch Cabbage is a heirloom, hardy, cool weather annual vegetable that is native to the Netherlands, but was first offered in the United States by D. M. Ferry & Company in 1924. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 18-24” and features blue-green flat 12” heads that weigh up to 15 pounds. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts earwigs, is rabbit safe, can be used as a trap crop for aphids, tolerates frost, and is edible.
(Brassica oleracea 'Red Acre')
Red Acre Cabbage is a heirloom, hardy, cool weather annual vegetable that is native to southern Europe, but is commonly grown in the northern United States. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 12-18” and features reddish purple round heads that weight up to 3 pounds. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts earwigs, is rabbit safe, can be used as a trap crop for aphids, tolerates frost, and is edible.
(Brassica rapa 'Pak Choi')
Pak Choi Chinese Cabbage is a heirloom, hardy, cool weather annual vegetable that is native to southern China, but has been commercially grown in the United States for more than 100 years. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 6-18” and features a head of smooth, dark green leaves with thick white stalks. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts earwigs, is rabbit safe, can be used as a trap crop for aphids, tolerates frost, and is edible.
(Carum carvi ‘Caraway')
Caraway is a biennial herb that is native to Europe and Asia but can be commonly found growing in meadows, prairies, and along roadsides throughout the northern United States. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 12-18” and features feathery fronds and umbrella shaped clusters of tiny white flowers. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees, butterflies, damsel bugs, hoverflies, lacewings, ladybugs, and predatory wasps, and is also both edible and medicinal!
(Coriandrum sativum ‘Leisure')
Leisure Coriander is a warm weather annual herb that is native to the western Mediterranean and southern Europe but can be found growing throughout meadows and fields in the coastline and border states of the U.S. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 24-36” and features fern-like, finely-divided upper leaves, lobed lower leaves that resemble Italian Parsley, and 2” compound umbels that have white to pale lavender flower blooms. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees, butterflies, hoverflies, lacewings, ladybugs, predatory wasps, and tachinid flies, repels aphids and spider mites, is horse and rabbit safe, is used to flavor perfume and soap, tolerates light frost, is used to make fungicides, and is both edible and medicinal!
(Anethum graveolens ‘Dukat')
Dukat Dill is an annual herb that is native to the Mediterranean and Asia but can be commonly found growing throughout the Midwest, northeastern, and west coast of the Untied States. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 3-5' and features stiff hollow stems, sweet scented, bluish green, feathery foliage and compound 10” umbrella-shaped umbels that are topped by yellow aromatic flowers. This plant can be grown in a container, attracts bees, butterflies, hoverflies, lacewings, ladybugs, predatory wasps, and tachinid flies, repels aphids, spider mites, and squash bugs, is rabbit safe, tolerates deer, its leaves are used as an insect repellent, tolerates drought and light frost, is used to flavor soaps, is used to make insecticides, is both edible and medicinal, and self sows!
(Solanum melongena 'Black Beauty')
Black Beauty Eggplant is a heirloom, very tender, warm weather annual vegetable that is native to south eastern Asia, but was introduced into the United States by Burpee Seed Company in 1902. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 24-36” and features 8” pear shaped, dark purple eggplant. This plant can be grown in a container, is rabbit safe, tolerates drought, and is both edible and medicinal!
(Solanum Melongena 'Golden Egg')
Golden Egg Eggplant is a very tender, warm weather annual ornamental vegetable that is native to south eastern Asia, but can be found growing in gardens throughout the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 24” and features nearly two dozen 3-4" egg-shaped fruits that turn from white to golden. This ornamental plant can be grown in a container and tolerates drought!!
(Solanum melongena 'Long Purple')
Long Purple Eggplant is a heirloom, very tender, warm weather annual vegetable that is native to south eastern Asia, but can be commonly found growing in gardens throughout the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 24-36” and features 9” cylindrical, smooth, dark purple eggplants. This plant can be grown in a container, is rabbit safe, tolerates drought, and is both edible and medicinal!
(Foeniculum vulgare ‘Florence')
Florence Fennel is a perennial herb that is native to the Mediterranean but can be commonly found growing throughout most of the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 3-5' and features a rounded, branching, celery-like stalk, yellowish-green, feathery foliage and umbrella shaped heads of tiny yellow flowers. This plant attracts bees, butterflies, damsel bugs, hoverflies, lacewings, ladybugs, and predatory wasps, tolerates deer, is used to flavor air fresheners, perfumes, soaps, and toothpaste, the leaves are used to repel insects, tolerates drought and light frost, is used to make dyes, is both edible and medicinal, and self sows!
(Mentha spicata ‘Spear’)
Spearmint is a perennial herb that is a native from Europe and China but can be commonly found growing in wetlands and along streams throughout most of the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 24-36” and features erect, hairy stems, 3” aromatic, oval-shaped, sharply toothed pointed leaves and 4” tapering terminal spikes that bare pale purple or pink flowers. This plant can be grown in containers, attracts bees, butterflies, and damsel bugs, repels ants, aphids, cabbage loopers, flea beetles, mice, squash bugs, and white flies, is resistant to deer and rabbits, is used to make essential oils and potpourri, its leaves are used to repel rodents, is used to flavor toothpaste, is both edible and medicinal, and self sows!