When to Plant Thyme in Palm Springs, CA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when you can plant thyme is to check out the USDA zone info for Palm Springs.


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 earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant thyme
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant thyme
Probably not a good time to plant thyme

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Palm Springs 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your thyme indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Palm Springs the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Palm Springs is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Palm Springs there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your thyme in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Palm Springs

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Palm Springs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Palm Springs.