One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Scottsdale it's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant thyme.

Planting Calendar for Thyme

Frost tolerance for thyme:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Thyme tend to make it in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Scottsdale is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant thyme and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your thyme may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your thyme indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Scottsdale. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Scottsdale is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Scottsdale you get a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your thyme if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Scottsdale

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Scottsdale

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Scottsdale.