Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when to plant thyme is to examine the USDA zone info for Clinton.

Planting Calendar for Thyme

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

Thyme do well in quite a bit of cold which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The last month that you can plant thyme and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your thyme may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your thyme indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Clinton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Clinton and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Clinton last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your thyme if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Clinton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Clinton

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