Thyme is a perennial shrub, divided into three types: creeping, Marshall, ordinary. The fragrant decoration of any garden in June and July blooms with small purple and red flowers. The fruiting period is August. Growing thyme in the garden is a real pleasure, as it serves not only decorative purposes, but is also suitable for cooking. In this case, the plant does not require special care. The plant looks wonderful in mixborders and on alpine slides, due to its tendency to grow and cover the area around the planting with a dense, fragrant carpet.
Sorts
There are an incredible number of varieties of thyme, and every year there are only more of them. Let’s look at the most popular varieties that can be planted outdoors in your garden and care for which does not require extra effort and time. Flea – a small bush with leaves 1-1,5 cm wide and neat purple inflorescences. The flowering period is June-July.
Ordinary – a low bush with small leaves, pubescent on the underside. Medicinal plant, with white or red inflorescences. Lemon-smelling – a hybrid heat-loving variety. Srednerosly plant with variegated round leaves.
Dorfler’s thyme is a non-hardy variety with gray-pink inflorescences and pubescent leaves. Subarctic – low-growing plant, semi-shrub. Flowering occurs in mid-June, blooms with lilac inflorescences.
Early – undersized fluffy shrub with small leaves of light green color. During flowering, it blooms with lilac inflorescences forming a carpet. Creeping – a ground cover variety that forms a dense carpet with pink or white inflorescences.
Siberian – ground cover shrub with a developed rhizome. It blooms all summer with numerous pink inflorescences. Best suited for vegetative propagation. Japanese – creeping shrub that blooms in August. Pink flowers with a rich aroma look good in mixborders.
Video “How to plant thyme”
This video provides instructions for planting thyme seedlings in the garden.
Landing
Outdoors, thyme prefers to grow in full sun and dry soil. A prerequisite for good growth is soil drainage. Prefers neutral and alkaline soil.
Planting thyme in the garden falls in early spring. A late autumn planting option is possible, but in this case, make sure that the seedlings have a well-developed root system. In early April, start preparing for landing. Dig up the earth to get rid of lumps, fertilize it with urea. Then pour the seeds, and cover with a centimeter layer of sand on top.
Keep in mind that there should be at least 40 cm between the beds so that the plant has room to grow. After sowing, cover the beds with foil. The best temperature for planting is from 20 ° C, so it will take 14-15 days to germinate.
If you decide to plant seedlings, then you should start in the second half of March. Seedlings must be at least 70 days old before they can be planted in the ground. Spread the seedlings over the beds, sprinkle with river sand, that is, repeat all the steps from the seed option. More care for seedlings is not needed.
Reproduction
Before planting thyme, it must be prepared. Reproduction of the plant occurs in two ways: with the help of seeds and vegetatively. Both options have their advantages and disadvantages, so it is not possible to unambiguously recommend one.
It is worth propagating from seeds if you want to arrange a very large flower bed in the garden. Prepare a container and neutral soil, it is best to mix peat with sand. It is necessary to plant the seeds not very tightly, trying not to deepen into the soil, regularly spray with water from a spray bottle so that the soil does not dry out. After the emergence of sprouts – lower the temperature to harden the seedlings and prepare for transplanting. That’s the whole care of seedlings.
Vegetative propagation is divided into two types: cuttings, dividing the bush. In the first case, separate the cutting from the shoot, plant it in the garden or in the greenhouse for growing. You can also plant a cutting under a jar to moisten from time to time. And after rooting – put in the main place. In the second case, that is, when dividing a bush, you should dig up a bush, divide the roots and plant these individual pieces where intended.
Care
Caring for planting thyme will not cause any difficulties. The plant receives the main care along with fertilizers, which are laid in the ground during planting, as well as from sunlight. But if you want to make the conditions even friendlier, then apply a small amount of manure and horn meal several times a season.
Planting care includes regular pruning. In spring and late summer, shorten the bushes to the stiff part of the stem to give shape and compact plantings. Since the plant does not require a lot of moisture, in fact, an excess of water only spoils its life, then try to water it only in especially dry times. A big plus is that thyme does not need care in terms of diseases and pests – the plant is practically not subject to harmful effects, so it will grow in the garden and delight you without any extra effort.
Video “Growing thyme from seeds”
Video review on growing seedlings of thyme or thyme from seeds, recommendations for caring for it in order to get a good harvest.
