One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Rocky Mount you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant thyme by referring to 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 plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Rocky Mount 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. Starting your thyme indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Rocky Mount the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rocky Mount and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Rocky Mount there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your thyme if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rocky Mount

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Rocky Mount

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rocky Mount.