When to Plant Thyme in Zone 1a

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

A common way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant thyme is to refer to the USDA zone info for Zone 1a.


Planting Calendar for Thyme

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

Thyme tend to make it in cold weather which means that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant thyme
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant thyme
Probably not a good time to plant thyme

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Zone 1a is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant thyme and expect a good harvest is probably July. 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 June 15 in Zone 1a. It might get as low as -60°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 1a is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 1a you get surprised by a frost after June 15 be ready to cover your thyme if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 1a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 1a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)June 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)July 15
Lowest Expected Low-60°F
Highest Expected Low-55°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -60°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -55°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 1a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 1a.