One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when it's possible to plant thyme in Charleston by checking out 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 other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Charleston 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your thyme indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Charleston and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Charleston it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your thyme if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charleston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

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

Plants to Grow in Charleston

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