When to Plant Thyme in Sanford, NC

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Sanford you can determine when it's a good idea to plant thyme by reviewing 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 quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant thyme
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant thyme
Probably not a good time to plant thyme

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Sanford 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Sanford. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Sanford is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Sanford last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your thyme in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sanford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Sanford

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