Thyme or thyme (Thymus)- subshrubs with recumbent or ascending woody stems, ascending or erect herbaceous flowering shoots. The leaves are entire, small, ciliated, for the most part on petioles, located opposite. The flowers are small, purple, pink or white, collected in capitate or intermittently spike-shaped inflorescences. The fruits are elliptical or spherical nuts. The genus contains about 400 species, distributed in the temperate zone of Europe, Asia and North Africa. The following species are suitable as ground cover:
Name "Thymus"- the ancient Greek name of the plant, which is mentioned by Dioscorides and Theophrastus. Probably comes from ancient egypt, where it was used as a ritual. Russian name“Bogorodskaya grass” - apparently from the spirituality, pleasant smell of the plant
Thyme early - Thymus praecox Opiz
In the culture of the variety:
Pseudolanuginosus- when the plant blooms, the pubescent and small leaves are almost invisible. Suitable for planting along paths and along the edge of flower beds.
Minor- a relatively slow-growing shrub with very small pubescent leaves and inflorescences, suitable for alpine hills.
Location and soil. They prefer sunny places. Plants can withstand partial shade and even shading, but in such conditions they stretch out and bloom poorly. Areas with light, fertile, well-drained soil that is alkaline or neutral.
Landing can be carried out at any time - the plants are unpretentious and drought-resistant, but not late autumn, since the plants must take root well before frost.
Care. There is no need to fertilize the plants; at best, you can add a little ripe compost or horn flour to the soil. If thyme bushes are regularly pruned, they will be dense and compact. Do it in early spring or after flowering. The shoots are shortened by about two-thirds - to the lignified part. Watering is necessary only in dry spring and summer, when young shoots are actively growing and the plants are preparing to flower. There are no diseases or pests on thyme. Harm to plants is caused only by excess moisture on heavy clay soils during prolonged periods. rainy weather and winter warming. The best measure to combat this evil is good drainage and mulching the soil around the plants with fine gravel.
Propagated by seeds, cuttings and dividing the bush. The easiest way to propagate is by dividing the bush. To divide, dig up the bush, disassemble the roots and carefully divide the plant into parts. Branches creeping along the ground are separated during the entire growing season and planted immediately on permanent place or separately - for growing.
More compact varieties with a dense cushion can be quickly propagated by cuttings 3-5 cm in size, rooting them in spring and until mid-summer in greenhouses or under glass jars. The main thing is to avoid waterlogging, otherwise the cuttings will rot. They take root in 2-3 weeks, almost 100%. It is better to cut off annual, already lignified shoots.
The seed propagation method allows you to obtain in one season a large number of planting material. Thyme is sown in spring in greenhouses or on ridges. Its seeds are small and the seedlings are hard to see, so when sowing in the ground you need to carefully monitor their development, not allowing weeds to choke out the seedlings. You can also grow seedlings in room conditions or greenhouses, sowing seeds from March to early May.
The substrate must be light, air- and moisture-permeable, and contain sand and peat in a 1:1 ratio. Seeds are distributed in grooves or scattered. Sowing is carried out to a depth of 0.5–1 cm. With sufficient humidity and a temperature of 20-35 degrees. Shoots appear on the 7-10th day. IN open ground Shoots appear in 3-4 weeks. In indoor conditions, the seedlings are immediately transferred to a cool, well-lit place.
In the first month, carefully monitor the humidity of the substrate. It should be moderate, watering is necessary only when the top layer dries out, otherwise the seedlings easily rot. Frequent shoots are pulled out, leaving a distance of 2x2 cm, and young plants are planted in free places or planted in separate cups. At the age of 2 months, the seedlings already form compact bushes and are suitable for planting in a permanent place. Plants bloom in the second year; with early sowing, flowering can be achieved in the fall of the first year.
Thyme- frost-resistant, unpretentious plant. Under snow cover, it easily endures winter. On open places In conditions of little snow, it is necessary to cover with spruce branches, which protects the plants from spring sunburn.
Used as a carpet plant, they are used in borders, group plantings, on rocky hills and rocky areas. Taste, aroma, size, color and abundance of flowers - the list of plant advantages does not end there. Tiny golden and silvery-white leaves of some varieties, primarily lemon-scented thyme, will also decorate the flowerbed. The bushes emit their aroma when you touch them, so if you want to plunge into a cloud of spicy aroma, just run your hand over them.
You can also plant thyme in a decorative stone trough. In a small pot, thyme, low growing cloves, navel and hyssop will look very good.
Thyme - this perennial small growth, only 15-25 cm high, shrub is distinguished by its decorative and lush flowering. Gardeners consider Thyme the best ground cover plant, and among its many species, the most popular evergreen form is Creeping Thyme or Thyme.
Having called thyme thyme, I was not mistaken; it is indeed the same plant - you can read in detail the article about the relationship of thyme with thyme and its beneficial properties for human health on this site.
When planted, thyme forms a dense, beautiful blooming carpet. Exactly about planting thyme on garden plot and caring for it will be discussed in this article.
Morphologically, creeping thyme is a good neighbor for other flowers, it beautifully fills the empty space between compositions in the flowerbed, attracts bees, by the way, flies do not like thyme, for which it received another apt name - flypalm.
Creeping thyme is not afraid of frost, drought-resistant, found wild in pine forests on the edges and sandy slopes, in the steppe and even in the mountains. It blooms from early June to late September with small lilac or purple flowers. Thyme in the photo below in the Altai mountains.
Gardeners who decide plant creeping thyme in plots you need to know that he does not like moisture and areas with stagnant water, excess moisture leads to root rot and plant death. When using thyme in group plantings with other plants, take care of good drainage, you can make it from fine gravel and sand, scattering it around the plant, and be sure to add this mixture to landing hole. Don't worry, this won't harm the plant's growth.
Thyme plant photo
Creeping thyme should be watered moderately and only during the period of drought or before flowering, watering with liquid fertilizer will achieve more lush and long flowering. In practice, thyme requires little or no care, except for pruning, and tolerates drought and lack of fertilizer well.
How to grow thyme.
Creeping thyme can be grown by dividing the bushes in the spring, using cuttings or seeds. The first two methods are suitable for lovers of varietal crops - “I want it or like a neighbor”, I advise them to buy cultivated decorative varieties thyme in the nursery. For everyone else, the old-fashioned way of planting creeping thyme, proven for centuries, is suitable - growing with seeds that are easy to collect from the same neighbor.
Just remember thyme seeds ripen unevenly and tend to crumble to the ground, place a newspaper over the plant and gently shake the thyme plants, dry the crumbled thyme seeds in warmth, avoiding open sun rays. The germination of thyme seeds collected in this way lasts for three years, and they themselves are very small, 1000 pcs. weighs less than 1 gram.
Thyme planting seeds and care in open ground.
On the street, thyme seeds are planted at a temperature of 12-15 degrees, in spring or autumn at your discretion, in spring the soil should warm up at least a little, I focus on.
When planting thyme in open ground I dig the landing grooves quite deep, on a bayonet and one and a half bayonet spades wide. Then I fill it all with the prepared soil mixture. I actually prepare the mixture for planting thyme seeds directly in the grooves, below complex fertilizer, 40 grams per meter, sand, gravel, humus - approximately 40% of the groove in depth. I mix all this thoroughly with a shovel, add another 30% layer of pure black soil on top, and spill it well with water. Then humus with black soil in a ratio of 1: 1, moisten the resulting bed from a watering can, then, planting thyme seeds, lightly press them into the ground and sprinkle with earth, leveling the soil.
IN Lately began to cover the planting site of thyme seeds with scraps of glass, protecting from birds, (this may be polyethylene film, only it must be removed in time so that the thyme seedlings do not get sick with root rot in the resulting greenhouse). The birds do not eat the seeds; they are very small, but when they dig through the ground, they pull them to the surface and they do not sprout.
After germination, when the creeping thyme seedlings have grown and can be distinguished from the sprouted grass, I thin them out, leaving one plant per 20 cm (first three in a pile, then I thin them out again).
Care for thyme seedlings no special one is needed, just weeding and mulching after watering or rains. There is no need to fertilize thyme in the year of planting; the next year, water it in the spring with the addition of liquid fertilizer for flowers. If you want a dense lawn, as an alternative to a grass lawn, regularly prune thyme, shortening the stems of the plant by a third. In the fall, be sure to clean the thyme plant of dried or diseased, damaged shoots.
At one place creeping thyme grows well for 5-10 years without requiring special care, although there have been cases of growth in abandoned gardens up to 30 years. Thyme plants suffer mainly from root rot and its varieties, but, as a rule, the gardeners themselves are to blame for this by overwatering the plants or choosing incorrectly. place to plant thyme.
Nice smelling grass small size- thyme can cover sunny, rocky and dry areas on your estate with a continuous carpet.
Ancient doctors and scientists spoke and wrote about the unusual abilities of this plant (antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral). The Greeks gave it the ability to bring the “breath of life.”
This plant continues to amaze people in our time - modern scientists claim that pathogenic microorganisms over the centuries have not been able to develop resistance to the substances contained in thyme (thyme).
If this plant grows on your estate, the surrounding space will be saturated with a pleasant aroma and will become cozy with a dense “carpet” of its flowers and modest greenery. Thyme can be combined successfully with various plants in the garden, it is often grown as a garden ground cover crop.
Description of the plant
Thyme different nations, in different time and were called differently: boron pepper, incense, thyme, chavor, thyme, lemon scent, Bogorodskaya grass, lebyushka, etc. Most of his relatives have the same traits:
1. Perennial subshrub of small length (the height of the shoots varies depending on the plant variety and its type and can be in the range of 5-35 cm);
2. Creeping or recumbent lignified shoots, on which adventitious roots grow, the stems are covered with brown bark;
3. Peduncles formed throughout the shoot with villi;
4. Rigid leaves are placed one opposite the other, the light color, depending on the species, may change to dark green;
5. The dimensions and shape of the leaves may vary depending on the species (rounded, oblong, etc.);
6. Flowers in inflorescences of small size and different colors (the main colors are purple, white, pink inflorescences, in hybrid specimens the color range contains more different shades);
7. Pleasant (warm) smell, flowering lasts from June to the last ten days of August.
Planting thyme and obtaining planting material
To plant thyme, choose a warm and bright area in the garden. A shaded plant will develop poorly and begin to stretch out. IN as a last resort, you can plant plants in light partial shade.
For thyme to grow, the soil must be alkaline or neutral. Fertile, light, well-drained soil is best suited for this crop. If the site has damp, heavy soil, the plant begins to wither away, in which case drainage will eliminate this deficiency. You can mulch thyme with small crushed stone, gravel or pebbles.
Thyme is planted in the first ten days of autumn or early spring, when autumn planting It is necessary that the bushes take root well. In a snowy winter, the plant does not require additional shelter, and if there is not enough snow, it is advisable to cover the area with thyme with spruce branches.
Thyme propagation
Seed method. This is convenient if you need to grow a lot of thyme seedlings. To do this, in the spring, sow the seeds in a garden bed or in a greenhouse; when seedlings appear, you need to immediately weed them so that the weed sprouts do not interfere with the development of the seedlings. Often the seeds are sown in containers, and the already grown seedlings are planted in the garden. Thyme should be planted in a light soil mixture - peat and sand in a ratio of 1 to 1. Small seedlings should be lightly sprayed with a spray bottle when the top layer of soil is dry. When sowing thyme seeds early, you can get flowering plants already in the first year after planting. If you sow seeds at the usual time, the plants will flower the next year.
Cuttings. Cuttings are prepared from a creeping shoot by cutting off its green part. You can propagate thyme using this technology throughout the year. Creeping varieties of small height can be propagated by taking short cuttings (up to 5 cm). The easiest way to root them is by planting them in a container and covering them with a jar on top. You cannot water the plants too much, otherwise the risk of root rot increases. After 12-15 days have passed, the cuttings will form the first roots.
Dividing the bush. The old plant is dug up, carefully divided into parts, and the sections are planted in a previously prepared place.
Planting thyme
This crop needs to be grown in a warm, well-lit area; in the shade, thyme will develop slowly. It will successfully complement the surroundings of the pond in the garden, garden paths and an alpine slide. For growing, it is better to choose loose, light soil with a neutral or alkaline reaction.
Before planting plants you must:
IN autumn period dig up the area well, you need to remove the roots of weeds from their land;
Feed the soil with mineral and organic fertilizers; rotted manure or good compost will be in place;
In the second ten days of April, dig up the soil again, fence the area, and add 20 g/m2 of urea;
Sow seeds on the surface of the bed, covering them with a layer (1 cm) of river sand. It is advisable to sow in rows with row spacing of 40 cm;
Cover the top with film.
In the rows between individual plants, leave a free space of about 30 cm. For the emergence of friendly shoots, the optimal temperature is 20 degrees Celsius, then only two weeks will pass between sowing the seeds and the appearance of the first shoots. Thyme develops slowly and its seeds are small, for this reason, when propagating this crop, it is better to use the seedling method.
Sowing thyme seeds for seedlings is carried out in the second ten days of March. The seeds are not buried in the soil (since they are very small), but are scattered evenly over the surface and covered with sand;
The required age of seedlings for transplanting to a garden bed is 70 days;
Thyme grows well in areas where vegetables previously grew, but keep in mind that this crop grows in one place for about 5 years.
Thyme care
At first, thyme needs to be loosened and weeded. Water the planted plants, but do not flood them. Thyme tolerates low temperatures well, but to be on the safe side harsh winters You can cover it with fallen leaves. After cutting the greenery, it is advisable to feed the area with azophoska. Thyme that has been growing for more than two years needs to be fed with a mixture of mineral fertilizers and a two-week infusion of mullein. If you cut the greens down to the woody parts, the bushes will become denser and more compact.
Attention! Thyme does not tolerate fresh manure well.
It’s good if you feed the plants with a small dose of horn flour and high-quality compost.
Important care operations:
IN spring period and after the thyme has faded, trim the bushes slightly, this will make them denser in appearance and give them a beautiful shape. The stems need to be cut down to the woody parts, the length is about 2/3 of the length of the shoot;
Plants develop well in dried soil, but still during drought it is necessary to water them occasionally;
This crop is unique in that it is not afraid of pests and practically does not get sick.
Thyme harvest
Traditionally, this herb is collected on Trinity Sunday.
Traditional healers say that during this period the plants are most effective.
The raw materials are cut during flowering; for this purpose, well-leafed shoots are trimmed.
Do not injure the bushes by picking or breaking them off. The bush can simply be accidentally pulled out of the soil.
The harvested raw materials are dried, just like other medicinal herbs, they are scattered on thick fabric, spread out in the shade.
Thyme, or also called Bogorodskaya grass, is popularly called thyme. Its varieties are found not only in Europe, but also in Southeast Asia, as well as in northern Africa. Today we will introduce you to the most common varieties of thyme, describe in detail the process of cultivation, planting, care in the open ground, and also pay attention to how to propagate the plant.
Creeping thyme: varieties and varieties
Creeping thyme is a type of low-growing shrub. The height of the plant rarely reaches more than 15 cm. It is called so because of its ability to spread along the soil, forming a soft, fragrant carpet. The flowers have a bright purple hue and are collected in capitate inflorescences. This type is most often used by gardeners. Applicable in landscape design because it blooms continuously all summer. The most common varieties of thyme are:
- "Colchis" - has light lilac flowers and spreads low (10 cm) along the ground;
Variety "Colchis"
- "Donna Valley" - grows in a dense carpet, the leaves are bordered by a yellow stripe, the flowering is constant pink;
- “Silver Queen” - forms a rather high (20 cm) loose carpet, the leaves are gray with a white edge, the inflorescences are densely arranged and have a pale lilac tint.
Creeping thyme is a type of thyme, among which you can also find:
Planting a plant
Thyme is grown in light, loose soil. Has a beneficial effect on its development sunlight Therefore, planting in open ground is carried out in a well-lit place.
To perennials have taken root well, the site must be carefully dug up in the fall. And add organic fertilizer(compost or manure). In the spring, when the weather is warm outside with a temperature of at least 13°C, the soil is dug up again and the seeds are sown.
Advice! After the thyme has been sowed, you can sprinkle the seeds with river sand. It will provide young shoots with additional nutrients and prevent water from stagnating on the surface.
After the seedlings sprout and grow a little, it is necessary to thin out the planting. The ideal distance between plants is 30-35 cm.
Fertilize and dig up the soil before planting thyme
In open ground, planting can also be done using seedlings. To do this, at the end of winter, thyme is sown in prepared trays. Watering the seedlings is carried out regularly, but not abundantly. Thyme grows under glass, which creates a greenhouse effect. After 3-4 weeks, the seedlings are taken out to open air for hardening, and after another 2 weeks they are planted in a permanent place.
Thyme care
The first thing you need to do for thyme after planting is to pinch the tip of the stem, so the plant will form into a beautiful lush bush. Perennial crops need seasonal pruning. In the fall, when the thyme has stopped flowering, it is necessary to shorten the bushes. In the new season you will see how this procedure helped the plant become denser and acquire a decorative shape.
As it grows, shape the plant to get a beautiful bush
Regular weeding and removal of weeds, which draw most nutrients from the soil, are very important for thyme. Since thyme already grows rather slowly, “undesirable neighbors” will further inhibit its growth.
Caring for the plant also involves watering it, which should be done no more than twice a week in dry weather and even less often if the summer is not very hot.
Important! Cover perennial plants with peat or fallen leaves for the winter.
Fertilizer and top dressing
It is undesirable for thyme to add fresh manure to the soil. Growing thyme in open ground allows the use wood ash. It will not only add nutrients to the soil, but also reduce acidity.
Feed the perennial with mineral fertilizers
The first fertilization of thyme is carried out with urea in early spring. If this is the first year, then before germination, and in the second and subsequent years during spring pruning.
Advice! Mineral fertilizers can be applied from the second year of life of creeping thyme.
Thyme propagation
Reproduction of creeping thyme varieties in open ground is carried out in three ways:
Diseases and pests
Creeping thyme is very resistant to attacks by pathogenic bacteria and pests. Planting and caring for it is not difficult. It is unpretentious, but the only drawback is its slow growth.
The main pests of Bogorodskaya grass are:
- weevil;
- meadow moth;
- sandy sluggish.
Sand slow beetle
Thyme can also be affected by some fungal diseases. This happens due to violations of agricultural cultivation techniques. Excessive watering, infrequent weeding, and shading of the plant lead to the spread of fungi on it.
Deep plowing, regular loosening of the root area of the soil, and timely weeding will save you from insect pests. Pests can also be removed by applying fertilizer containing lime or other alkaline fertilizers.
Creeping thyme: combination with other plants
Thyme looks great in group or joint plantings. It can be used as a background for plants with large textured leaves. Often they play on the contrast of colors in combination with heuchera.
Thyme in landscape design
Creeping thyme attracts a large number of butterflies, bees and other pollinating insects with its powerful aroma. Therefore, it can be planted next to cucumber beds. By flocking to the smell of thyme, bees will help pollinate other vegetable crops.
Thyme or Bogorodskaya herb is the main component in the composition of bouquets made for the holiday of the Holy Trinity. These bundles also contain wormwood, mint and lovage. Since ancient times, it was believed that the combination of their aromas would drive away all evil spirits from the home.
Creeping thyme in landscape design
Being a low shrub that creeps along the ground, thyme is used in landscape design as a background for alpine slides and mixboards. But he can act there in the leading role. Looks very good on rocky screes.
Decorating a rock garden with thyme
Growing creeping thyme will bring you a lot of pleasure. You will be able to enjoy not only the beautiful appearance fluffy cushion bushes, but also its wonderful spicy smell. And what bright and rich photos you get against the backdrop of thyme is simply a sight for sore eyes.
Growing thyme: video
Varieties of thyme: photo
