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.

The USDA zone info for Killeen can be used to estimate when to plant thyme.

Planting Calendar for Thyme

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

Thyme do well in pretty solid cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Killeen 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 fully mature. 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 March 15 in Killeen. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Killeen is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Killeen last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your thyme in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Killeen

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 Killeen

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