One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

It's possible to estimate when it's possible to plant thyme by referring to the USDA zone info for Molalla.

Planting Calendar for Thyme

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

Thyme are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Molalla 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. 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

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Molalla. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Molalla and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Molalla last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your thyme if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Molalla

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 Molalla

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