One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Madera it's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea 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.

Since thyme are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Madera 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. Any later than that and your thyme may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your thyme indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Madera. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Madera is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Madera you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your thyme in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Madera

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Madera

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