The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant thyme is to consult the USDA zone info for Ruston.

Planting Calendar for Thyme

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

Thyme can survive in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Ruston 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your thyme may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your thyme indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ruston the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ruston is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ruston last frost occurs after March 15 so always be ready to protect your thyme in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ruston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

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

Plants to Grow in Ruston

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