Lemon Thyme

Lemon Thyme

Thymus × citriodorus

Plant out 4 weeks before your last spring frost. Space plants 10 in (25 cm) apart.

Photo: Alessio Sbarbaro User_talk:Yoggysot, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

When to plant

Timed from your frost dates, so it holds wherever you garden. Give yours and every step below becomes a date.

See the dates for your garden

Enter your average last spring frost and first fall frost. Every timing on this site turns into a calendar date. Not sure of yours? Your local extension service or a search for “last frost date” and your town will tell you; the app finds them from your location.

Last spring frost
First fall frost

Saved in this browser only. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Optimal Transplant (Division/Cutting)

From a plantRecommended from a plant
  1. Plant out4 weeks before your last spring frost
  2. First harvestsummer through fall, continuous harvest once established, once established

Optimal Indoor Start

From seedRecommended from seed
  1. Start indoors9 weeks before your last spring frost
  2. Begin hardening off1 week before your last spring frost
  3. Plant outaround your last spring frost
  4. First harvestsummer through fall, continuous harvest once established, once established

Optimal Transplant

From seed
  1. Plant outaround your last spring frost
  2. First harvestsummer through fall, continuous harvest once established, once established

Growing lemon thyme

Spacing in the row
10 in (25 cm)
Between rows
12 in (30 cm)
Planting depth
1/8 inch, barely covered, needs light to germinate
Sun
Full Sun
Soil
Well-drained, sandy or loamy soil, low fertility, pH 6.0-8.0
Germination
14-21 days at 65-70°F
Harvest season
Summer through Fall, continuous harvest once established
Years to first crop
1
Mature height
6-12 inches
Hardy to
USDA zone 5
Life cycle
Perennial (grown as tender perennial/annual in Zone 4)

Start indoors 8-10 weeks before last frost; seed is slow and uneven, division/cuttings preferred for true lemon scent.

Watering. Drought tolerant once established; water only when top inch of soil is dry; avoid overhead watering and waterlogged soil to prevent root rot.

Neighbours

The companion chart →

Grows well beside

Feeding

Seedlings
Light diluted balanced fertilizer once true leaves emerge
Growing
Minimal feeding; light balanced organic fertilizer once in spring
Flowering and fruiting
Not required; excess nitrogen reduces aromatic oil concentration
How often
Once a year, in early spring, or not at all if the soil is naturally fertile.
Note
Thyme thrives in lean soil; over-fertilization diminishes flavor and essential oil content.

Your lemon thyme, planned to the day.

Canopy turns these timings into dates from your own frost data, places every plant at its spacing on your garden map, and tracks it all the way to harvest.

Add lemon thyme to your planting calendar →

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