One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

In Hartford you can determine when to plant thyme by using 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 are very cold tolerant you can plant them earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Hartford 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Hartford. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Hartford is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Hartford there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your thyme in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hartford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Hartford

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