One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can figure out when to plant thyme in Minneapolis by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Thyme

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

Thyme do ok in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The last month that you can plant thyme and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your thyme may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your thyme indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Minneapolis the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Minneapolis is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Minneapolis last frost occurs after May 15 so always be ready to protect your thyme if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Minneapolis

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°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 -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Minneapolis

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