One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

The first opportunity to plant thyme in Petal should be determined 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.

Since thyme do well in cold you can plant them much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Petal 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your thyme indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Petal. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Petal is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Petal you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your thyme in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Petal

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Petal

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