Thymus serpyllum
Creeping thyme
Common names: Wild thyme, Breckland thyme, Sand thyme
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 25 cm, rows 30 cm
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Sowing
- Apr–May
- Harvest
- May–Sep
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −30 °C
- Water need
- Low
- Origin
- Native to Germany
Photo: CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Creeping thyme, botanically Thymus serpyllum, is a native wild thyme that grows as a flat, evergreen mat. Its woody stems creep across the ground and take root wherever they touch it, and the flowering shoots stand only 5 to 10 cm tall. From June to September, pink to purple flower heads cover the cushions, and bees, bumblebees and butterflies visit constantly. In nature it grows on sandy dry grasslands, heaths and sunny slopes. In the garden it belongs in rock gardens, wall joints and paving crevices, along sunny path edges and between stepping stones, where it tolerates occasional treading and gives off fragrance when walked on. The tiny leaves can be used in the kitchen like thyme and usually taste somewhat milder. The cultivar 'Coccineus', with crimson-purple flowers, is popular.
Care instructions
Plant creeping thyme in April or September in a full-sun spot with lean, well-drained soil, spacing the plants about 25 cm apart. Water regularly during the first weeks until they have rooted, then only during prolonged drought. No fertilizer is needed, as it makes the cushions loose and weakens the aroma. Weed between young plants until the mat has closed; later it suppresses most weeds. It spreads over time and overgrows small neighbors, so simply cut back overly long shoots at the edge. From late August, shorten spent flowering shoots by about one third, but do not cut into old, bare wood. Harvest from May to September; the shoot tips just before and during flowering are the most aromatic. The most common mistake is too much moisture: on heavy soil or under fallen leaves, the cushions rot, so in autumn sweep leaves off them.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingApr–May
HarvestMay–Sep
FloweringJun–Sep
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 12 °C, ideally 20 °C
- Days to sprout
- 14 to 28 days
- Light
- Needs light to sprout
- Sowing depth
- Press in, don't cover
- How to start
- Start indoors, then plant out
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
sandy, well-drained, lean, dry
Wild thyme grows best on lean, sandy, well-drained soil, just as it finds it in nature on dry sandy grassland and sunny slopes. Whether the soil is slightly acidic or chalky hardly matters. It will not tolerate nutrient-rich, heavy or permanently moist soil: there it grows loose and soft and easily rots away from below in winter. On loamy soil, mix in plenty of sand or fine grit, which makes the soil free-draining.
Feeding
Light feeder
Wild thyme needs no fertiliser. On nutrient-poor soil it stays dense and aromatic; too much food makes it soft, loose and weaker in flavour. This also applies in a container: when the mats get tired after a few years, replace the top layer of compost in spring with fresh, sandy compost. Do not feed.
Overwintering
Wild thyme is fully hardy and needs no protection in the bed. Wet is more dangerous than frost: where water stands in winter or fallen leaves lie on the mats, they rot from below. Sweep the leaves off in autumn for this reason. In a container, place the pot against a sheltered house wall, on pot feet or stones so that rainwater runs off, and water only on frost-free days if it has not rained for a long time.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
- Cuttings
- Division
The easiest way to propagate wild thyme is by division: the creeping shoots root where they touch the ground. In April or September, cut a rooted piece from the edge of the mat with a spade and plant it straight away in its new place. Take cuttings in early summer, shoot tips about 5 cm long, which you put in sandy seed compost and keep lightly moist in a bright spot, but out of full sun. Sowing is also possible: the fine seeds need light to germinate. In April, scatter them in trays on fine compost, press them down only and keep them evenly moist at 15 to 20 °C until they germinate after two to three weeks. In May you can also sow directly into the bed. Do not dig up wild populations; plants and seed are available from nurseries, and for lean grassland also as regional seed mixes.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
nightshade family (Solanaceae)
particularly well establishedYou will find that basil next to tomato and pepper improves taste and keeps whiteflies and aphids away.
For example PotatoTomatoSweet pepperCocktail tomatoEggplantCape gooseberry and 14 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
cabbage family (Brassicaceae)
You will notice that the intense scent of basil, thyme, and others confuses the cabbage whitefly and keeps it away from the cabbage family.
For example White cabbageKohlrabiRadishKalebroccolicauliflower and 41 more species in the catalogue
Source: bio-gardening intercropping practice
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Creeping thyme yourself
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