Oregon · Washington · Idaho

When to plant thyme

Plant in the garden: Portland and Seattle Mar 15 – May 10; Spokane Apr 15 – Jun 10; Boise Apr 1 – May 27; Bend May 12 – Jul 7.

Thyme is a low, woody herb in the mint family with tiny leaves that flavor soups, stews, roasted vegetables and meats. Common (English or French) thyme is the main cooking type; lemon thyme adds a citrus note, and creeping thymes make a fragrant groundcover between stepping stones. Bees work the small flowers hard in early summer.

Add to my garden plan

Puts thyme on your free plan, with dates for your town and a spot in your beds.

Difficulty: Easy
Sun: Full sun
Spacing: 12 inches apart
Planting depth: Plant at the depth it grew in the nursery pot
Frost: Handles light frost
First harvest: Pick lightly the first year, freely after that

Drought-tolerant once established and hates wet feet. Raised beds and rocky edges suit it.

Thyme planting dates

Towns	Plant in the garden
Portland, OR, Seattle and Tacoma, WA	Mar 15 – May 10
Spokane, WA	Apr 15 – Jun 10
Boise and Meridian, ID, Astoria, OR	Apr 1 – May 27
Bend and Redmond, OR	May 12 – Jul 7

Dates for six main cities. For any of the other 80 towns, type it in the box at the top of the page or browse all towns.

Gresham, OR, Oregon City and West Linn, OR, Portland, OR, St. Helens and Scappoose, OR, Wilsonville and Canby, OR	Mar 15 – May 10
Hillsboro and Beaverton, OR	Mar 19 – May 14

Corvallis and Albany, OR, Eugene, OR, Salem, OR	Mar 15 – May 10
Cottage Grove, OR	Mar 27 – May 22
McMinnville and Newberg, OR	Mar 18 – May 13

Ashland and Talent, OR	Apr 8 – Jun 3
Grants Pass, OR, Medford, OR, Roseburg, OR	Mar 15 – May 10

Astoria, OR, Brookings and Gold Beach, OR, Coos Bay and North Bend, OR, Newport and Lincoln City, OR, Tillamook, OR	Apr 1 – May 27

Bend and Redmond, OR, Klamath Falls, OR	May 12 – Jul 7
Burns, OR	May 14 – Jul 9
Lakeview, OR	May 7 – Jul 2
Madras, OR	Apr 21 – Jun 16
Prineville, OR	May 4 – Jun 29

Baker City, OR	Apr 27 – Jun 22
Enterprise and Joseph, OR	Apr 26 – Jun 21
Hermiston, OR, Hood River, OR, Ontario, OR, Pendleton, OR, The Dalles, OR	Apr 1 – May 27
John Day, OR	Apr 30 – Jun 25
La Grande, OR	Apr 15 – Jun 10

Bremerton and Port Orchard, WA, Everett, WA, Kent, Renton and Auburn, WA, Seattle and Tacoma, WA	Mar 15 – May 10
Olympia, WA	Apr 1 – May 27
Shelton, WA	Mar 30 – May 25

Anacortes, WA, Bellingham, WA, Friday Harbor and the San Juans, WA, Mount Vernon and Burlington, WA, Oak Harbor and Whidbey Island, WA	Mar 15 – May 10

Aberdeen and Hoquiam, WA, Forks, WA, Long Beach and Ilwaco, WA	Apr 1 – May 27
Port Angeles, WA, Port Townsend, WA	Mar 15 – May 10
Sequim, WA	Mar 24 – May 19

Centralia and Chehalis, WA	Mar 25 – May 20
Longview and Kelso, WA, Vancouver, WA	Mar 15 – May 10

Chelan, WA, Wenatchee, WA	Apr 1 – May 27
Leavenworth, WA, Omak and Okanogan, WA	Apr 15 – Jun 10
Winthrop and Twisp, WA	Apr 17 – Jun 12

Ellensburg, WA	Apr 15 – Jun 10
Ephrata and Quincy, WA, Moses Lake, WA, Tri-Cities (Pasco, Kennewick, Richland), WA, Walla Walla, WA	Apr 1 – May 27
Goldendale, WA	Apr 21 – Jun 16
Sunnyside, Grandview and Prosser, WA	Apr 3 – May 29
Yakima, WA	Apr 10 – Jun 5

Colville, WA, Pullman, WA, Spokane, WA	Apr 15 – Jun 10

Bonners Ferry, ID, Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls, ID, Sandpoint, ID	Apr 15 – Jun 10

Lewiston, ID	Apr 1 – May 27
Moscow, ID	Apr 15 – Jun 10

Boise and Meridian, ID, Nampa and Caldwell, ID	Apr 1 – May 27
Emmett, ID	Apr 2 – May 28
McCall, ID	May 25 – Jul 20

Burley and Rupert, ID, Idaho Falls, ID, Pocatello, ID, Rexburg, ID, Twin Falls, ID	Apr 15 – Jun 10
Salmon, ID	Apr 19 – Jun 14

Thyme year at a glance

Task	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O
Plant	Mar	Apr	May
Harvest		Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct
In bloom			May	Jun	Jul

Around Portland. Colder towns, especially east of the Cascades, run a few weeks later; the table above has your town's planting dates.

How to grow thyme

Pick a sunny spot with soil that drains well, and mix in an inch or two of compost.
Plant young thyme plants on your city's dates, 12 inches apart. Plant at the depth it grew in the nursery pot.
Water only until established; thyme prefers dry soil. Replace plants every few years when they get woody.
Harvest: Snip sprigs before the plant flowers for the best flavor. Trim lightly after flowering to keep it compact.

Growing thyme in your part of the Northwest

The same plant behaves differently on the wet west side, the foggy coast and the dry, colder east side.

West-side valleys

Willamette Valley, Puget Sound, southern Oregon

Thyme rots in wet, heavy soil, so plant in raised beds, rock gardens or pots with good drainage.

Coast

Oregon and Washington coast

Give thyme the sunniest, best-drained spot; constant damp is its biggest enemy here.

East of the Cascades

Columbia Basin, Yakima, Boise, Spokane, north Idaho

Thyme thrives in the dry, sunny climate and handles cold winters.

High desert and mountain towns

Central Oregon, high eastern Oregon valleys, McCall, Salmon

Thyme is hardy and drought tolerant; it is one of the best herbs for the high desert.

More thyme varieties

More widely sold picks that do well somewhere in the Northwest. The tag says which part of the Northwest suits each one best.

English thyme

Culinary, common

The everyday cooking thyme, with broad leaves and a strong, earthy flavor. Hardy and easy, it thrives in sunny, well-drained spots.

Both sides

French thyme

Culinary, narrow-leaf

Narrow, gray-green leaves with a sweeter, more refined flavor preferred by many cooks. Slightly less hardy than English thyme. Give it gravelly, well-drained soil.

Both sides

Lemon thyme

Culinary, citrus

Bright lemon scent and flavor that is excellent with fish, chicken and vegetables. Variegated forms add color to an herb bed.

Both sides

Creeping thyme

Groundcover, Thymus serpyllum

Low, mat-forming plants covered in pink to purple flowers that bees love. Tough enough to plant between stepping stones. It needs sun and good drainage.

Both sides

Silver thyme

Culinary, variegated

Leaves edged in creamy white with mild thyme flavor. Pretty in containers and borders, though a bit less hardy than green types.

Both sides

Woolly thyme

Ornamental groundcover

Soft, fuzzy, gray mats grown for looks rather than flavor. Drought tolerant, but it needs excellent drainage to avoid rotting in wet winters.

Both sides

How much to grow

How many to plant

Two or three plants for most households.

What to expect

Snip sprigs every week or two through the season.

Storing the harvest

Dries easily in a shady, airy spot and keeps its flavor well.

Key numbers

6.0–8.0Soil pH
Only in long dry spellsWater
Every 3–5 yearsReplace plants
Wet winter soilBiggest risk

Top care tip: Trim lightly after flowering to keep plants compact, and skip watering except in long dry spells.

Growing notes

What makes the difference in Northwest gardens, in plain language.

Drainage beats everything

Thyme comes from dry, rocky Mediterranean hillsides. It handles cold well, but sitting in cold, wet soil all winter rots its roots, and that kills more thyme in western Oregon and Washington than frost ever does. Plant it in a raised bed, at the edge of a rock wall, on a slope or in a pot with gritty mix. Mixing some fine gravel into heavy soil helps.

Skip rich compost and fertilizer. Lean, dry soil keeps plants compact and makes the leaves more flavorful.

Harvesting and drying

Flavor is strongest just before the plant flowers in late spring, which is the best time for a big harvest. Cut the soft, leafy tips, never into old woody stems. Thyme is one of the herbs that dries really well: bundle stems loosely and hang them in a dry, shady spot for a week or two, then strip the leaves and store them in a jar.

Lemon thyme keeps its citrus scent best when used fresh or added at the end of cooking.

Pruning and winter

Trim plants lightly after flowering to keep them dense; unpruned thyme sprawls and turns woody in the middle. Even with good care, plants decline after a few years, so take cuttings or buy a new plant to replace tired ones.

English thyme is very cold hardy and does well on both sides of the Cascades. Lemon and French thyme are a bit more tender; in the coldest eastern areas, grow them in a pot that can move to a sheltered spot.

Good neighbors

Rosemary, sage and oregano. The same dry, sunny, lean soil.
Paths and edges. Low types grow between stepping stones and along bed edges.

Pests and problems

What most often goes wrong with thyme in Northwest gardens, how to spot it and what to do.

Root rot

Signs: Plants die out in wet winters.

What to do: Gravelly soil, a raised spot or a pot.

Woody centers

Signs: Bare middles after a few years.

What to do: Trim lightly after flowering, and replace plants every three or four years.

Common questions about growing thyme

When should I plant thyme in Oregon, Washington and Idaho?

Plant in the garden: Mar 15 – May 10 in Portland and Seattle, Apr 15 – Jun 10 in Spokane, Apr 1 – May 27 in Boise and May 12 – Jul 7 in Bend. Pick your town at the top of the page for your own dates.

Why is my thyme dying in the middle?

Thyme naturally gets woody in the center as it ages, especially if it isn't trimmed. Wet soil can also kill the center first. Trim lightly each year after flowering and replace old plants every few years.

Can I grow thyme from seed?

Yes, but the seed is tiny and the seedlings are slow, so most gardeners buy small plants or root cuttings instead. Plants grown from seed can also vary in flavor, while cuttings match the parent.

When should I prune thyme?

Lightly after it flowers in summer, removing spent flowers and a little leafy growth. Avoid heavy pruning in fall, and don't cut into old bare wood, which may not sprout again.

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