One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 Collinsville you should be able to determine 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.

You can plant thyme much earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Collinsville 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. If you wait any later than that and your thyme may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your thyme indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Collinsville. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Collinsville is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Collinsville it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your thyme if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Collinsville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Collinsville

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