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 estimating when it's a good idea to plant thyme is to look at the USDA zone info for Melbourne.

Planting Calendar for Thyme

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

You can plant thyme quite a bit earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Melbourne 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

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Melbourne. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Melbourne is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Melbourne last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your thyme if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Melbourne

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 Melbourne

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