Hello everyone.
As the subj. says, I have a couple of questions about redoing my front lawn.
I wan to change my front lawn to creeping thyme lawn.
I got couple of 6in. Pots of wooly thyme and mother of thyme red carpet thyme.
I also had planted some vinca minor and vinklca major alongside of my flower bed.
Now I want to replace my frint lawn with mix of wooly thyme and red carpet.
Q1. How fast do this thyme grow?
Q2. What the best way of propagating and spread this thymes?
My research says the propagating it by cutting. How do I do this?
Thanks
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ButterflyLady29
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Remove the vinca NOW before it has a chance to take over your whole neighborhood! That stuff spreads worse than kudzu. I planted a few small stems in my woodland garden several years ago. I've been trying to remove it since. It seems like it produces something that kills off other plants growing in the area.
Thyme grows pretty slowly. The best way I've found to propagate it is to do stem rooting. Just put a little soil over some of the branches of your plants.
It won't take a lot of heavy foot traffic but it will hold up to occasional walking.
Thyme grows pretty slowly. The best way I've found to propagate it is to do stem rooting. Just put a little soil over some of the branches of your plants.
It won't take a lot of heavy foot traffic but it will hold up to occasional walking.
I don't think I will have an issue with vinca. The space where I put it us isolated with concrete, so it can only take over that much. I do not plan to plant it any where else.
Now how slow is slow, when it comes to thyme? My plan was to replace the front lawn with it. I have 2 areas, one is 6x8 and one is 30x40 feet. What time framea I looking at?
Now how slow is slow, when it comes to thyme? My plan was to replace the front lawn with it. I have 2 areas, one is 6x8 and one is 30x40 feet. What time framea I looking at?
How much sun do the areas get and what is the drainage like? Where are you located?
We always had wooly thyme lining our walkways in Colorado and it was happy and carefree. I have had terrible success with it in Maryland because it's just too wet and humid! I have it in a full sun site on a slight slope so the drainage is pretty good. It grew wonderfully in April and really filled in because it was incredibly dry, then May hit and the rain pretty much killed it all.
Depending on your location, humidity, and site specifics (drainage/sun) how quickly the thyme will fill in will vary greatly.
We always had wooly thyme lining our walkways in Colorado and it was happy and carefree. I have had terrible success with it in Maryland because it's just too wet and humid! I have it in a full sun site on a slight slope so the drainage is pretty good. It grew wonderfully in April and really filled in because it was incredibly dry, then May hit and the rain pretty much killed it all.
Depending on your location, humidity, and site specifics (drainage/sun) how quickly the thyme will fill in will vary greatly.
Creeping thyme might be a better choice it lays flatter, has pink flowers and can handle light traffic. It is best planted between pavers though. It is a steppable plant. If you have lawn, how do you use it? If it is just for looking at and not really to be stepped on then a ground cover will work pretty well. If it is somewhere you plan to be walking on or through frequently then I suggest you have some kind of paver or path. I ended up doing that in my front yard because you could see the route I took all the time in the grass.
You probably need a few more plants. Thyme creeps so you need to plant it about a foot apart but it will still take up to six months to spread. It is a spreading plant so eventually you will have to trim it and the center will die out and it needs to be replaced. I usually take plants from the edge and cut out the middle to replace it. The lower you keep it trimmed the thicker and longer it lasts. Other thymes like the woolly thyme grow a little taller and can be used in surrounding areas creeping over logs and rocks and around pavers.
To get an idea of what you want.
Do you plan to replace the lawn entirely and plant just thyme as a groundcover with no accents like pavers?
Where do you live? Thyme like full sun and well drained soil.
What garden style are you trying to achieve?
cottage, desert/xeriscape?
Since it takes time for the thyme to grow you might just start it in a corner and let it ground layer and take the rooted cutting off and spread it out slowly. Starting in a corner will also let you see if the plant will do well in the location and if you like the look without making a full committment to it. As the thyme grows you can slowly over time expand it and replace the lawn.
This is a publication with instructions and drawings of how to layer. I layer thyme using the simple tecnique. I fluff the soil under the thyme and hold the branch down to to ground with a weight, usually a stone and keep the soil damp but not wet. It can root in the Spring and Summer in as little as two weeks. Cutting propagate faster than layering or division if you want to do that.
https://hort.purdue.edu/ext/HO-1.pdf
To make cuttings. Choose stems that are semi firm but not woody. Cut about 4 inches of stems and remove the leaves off the lower 2 inches. I dip mine in rooting hormone. I place the stems in a pot of moistened potting soil. and cover them. Thyme stems break easily so I place them in bunches of three. I use a bulb pan or you can use any wide shallow container that is at least 4 inches deep. Place multiple cutting in the pot and water it well. I do not use the baggie method, I have a lot of humidity. I place the container in a shady location but one that has good light. I water daily but depending on where you live you may have to water more or use the baggie method. Thyme roots quickly and should root in 2-4 weeks. It should have some resistance when you tug on it. If it does not take it yellows and dies quickly.
You probably need a few more plants. Thyme creeps so you need to plant it about a foot apart but it will still take up to six months to spread. It is a spreading plant so eventually you will have to trim it and the center will die out and it needs to be replaced. I usually take plants from the edge and cut out the middle to replace it. The lower you keep it trimmed the thicker and longer it lasts. Other thymes like the woolly thyme grow a little taller and can be used in surrounding areas creeping over logs and rocks and around pavers.
To get an idea of what you want.
Do you plan to replace the lawn entirely and plant just thyme as a groundcover with no accents like pavers?
Where do you live? Thyme like full sun and well drained soil.
What garden style are you trying to achieve?
cottage, desert/xeriscape?
Since it takes time for the thyme to grow you might just start it in a corner and let it ground layer and take the rooted cutting off and spread it out slowly. Starting in a corner will also let you see if the plant will do well in the location and if you like the look without making a full committment to it. As the thyme grows you can slowly over time expand it and replace the lawn.
This is a publication with instructions and drawings of how to layer. I layer thyme using the simple tecnique. I fluff the soil under the thyme and hold the branch down to to ground with a weight, usually a stone and keep the soil damp but not wet. It can root in the Spring and Summer in as little as two weeks. Cutting propagate faster than layering or division if you want to do that.
https://hort.purdue.edu/ext/HO-1.pdf
To make cuttings. Choose stems that are semi firm but not woody. Cut about 4 inches of stems and remove the leaves off the lower 2 inches. I dip mine in rooting hormone. I place the stems in a pot of moistened potting soil. and cover them. Thyme stems break easily so I place them in bunches of three. I use a bulb pan or you can use any wide shallow container that is at least 4 inches deep. Place multiple cutting in the pot and water it well. I do not use the baggie method, I have a lot of humidity. I place the container in a shady location but one that has good light. I water daily but depending on where you live you may have to water more or use the baggie method. Thyme roots quickly and should root in 2-4 weeks. It should have some resistance when you tug on it. If it does not take it yellows and dies quickly.
I am in north jersey, bergen county.
I have a front lawn and back yard.
Front lawn is for show only.
I do need to walk on it now and than to water my flowerbed but that is like once a week and I can be careful. Also I plan to put a sprinkle so will be almost no walking.
I have couple of pots of creaping thyme too. It seams to do a little better.
Not sure about how well the soil drains though. I worked in some sand and perlite into the trial area.
As for sun, most of the lawn gets an afternoon sun as I have a tree right at the east side, so sun only passing it close to 11am, but still lots of light.
I want to replace the lawn to cut down on mowing and watering
I have a front lawn and back yard.
Front lawn is for show only.
I do need to walk on it now and than to water my flowerbed but that is like once a week and I can be careful. Also I plan to put a sprinkle so will be almost no walking.
I have couple of pots of creaping thyme too. It seams to do a little better.
Not sure about how well the soil drains though. I worked in some sand and perlite into the trial area.
As for sun, most of the lawn gets an afternoon sun as I have a tree right at the east side, so sun only passing it close to 11am, but still lots of light.
I want to replace the lawn to cut down on mowing and watering
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ButterflyLady29
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- Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:12 pm
- Location: central Ohio
My patch of creeping thyme took 3 years to get established and spread out to look nice. I had 3 plants in a 1' x 3' area. It was between the front steps and a sidewalk. It got stepped on every so often but did not have steady foot traffic.
Start with a small area, a corner perhaps, and let it grow. You don't want to spread a few plants over a large area only to let it get overrun by weeds.
Start with a small area, a corner perhaps, and let it grow. You don't want to spread a few plants over a large area only to let it get overrun by weeds.
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ButterflyLady29
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- Posts: 1030
- Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:12 pm
- Location: central Ohio
Oh, ok.
I have clay soil too, but I prepare it before hand.
I dig out about 2 or 3 inches os soil,
Mixit with sand,perlite add some fresh garden soil and pitmoth, some plant foos and blood meal.
Also after planting I water with mixture of root promoting hormone.
Still lots of plugs do not take so far.
I just planted 2 pots of woolly thyne and both of them ar ashen like dried out. Cannot be as I water them regularly.
I am lost. My hopes are for 2 other pots of red carpet mother of thyme. They look more or less ok so far.
I have clay soil too, but I prepare it before hand.
I dig out about 2 or 3 inches os soil,
Mixit with sand,perlite add some fresh garden soil and pitmoth, some plant foos and blood meal.
Also after planting I water with mixture of root promoting hormone.
Still lots of plugs do not take so far.
I just planted 2 pots of woolly thyne and both of them ar ashen like dried out. Cannot be as I water them regularly.
I am lost. My hopes are for 2 other pots of red carpet mother of thyme. They look more or less ok so far.
The "ashen and dried out" look you describe for the wooly thyme sounds like too much moisture actually. That's the problem I've experienced with them as well. They start to rot with too much water and end up looking fried up and crispy... even though they'd actually do better if they were allowed to dry out (a bit counter intuitive).
I planted creeping thyme between pavers and it still took almost a year to fill in. Part of that was watering.
If you take out the lawn and kill whatever weeds are there and put down a 20 year interwoven mesh fabric, you can put down large stones line Arizona stones and accent with some groupings of stones or a center piece of some kind. Fill in between the stones with pea gravel and a well drained mix. You will have to have more thyme plants but if you plant in the gaps between the pavers you will have less area to cover and more space to walk on. You can create a focal point with a grouping of plants with different colors textures and heights. You can use a drought tolerant shrub as a focal point, or use monolith stones as accents to keep the rocky theme.
If you take out the lawn and kill whatever weeds are there and put down a 20 year interwoven mesh fabric, you can put down large stones line Arizona stones and accent with some groupings of stones or a center piece of some kind. Fill in between the stones with pea gravel and a well drained mix. You will have to have more thyme plants but if you plant in the gaps between the pavers you will have less area to cover and more space to walk on. You can create a focal point with a grouping of plants with different colors textures and heights. You can use a drought tolerant shrub as a focal point, or use monolith stones as accents to keep the rocky theme.
You know, you might be right.pinksand wrote:The "ashen and dried out" look you describe for the wooly thyme sounds like too much moisture actually. That's the problem I've experienced with them as well. They start to rot with too much water and end up looking fried up and crispy... even though they'd actually do better if they were allowed to dry out (a bit counter intuitive).
I had checked it over, last several days have been hot and dry, and I can see some new green growth on the sides.
Also , when I bought the plants, there have been a lot of overhang around the pot, that I spread all over when planyed.
There is lots of the offshoots have roots now. They are clinging to the ground with roots. I might actually have a good source of plugs for my new lawn next year. Woo hoo.