

Only water when the compost is dry and the plant is obviously struggling. The container should be placed where it will get as much light as possible, a south-facing patio is ideal. Place the plant in a rain shadow to prevent excess water from rotting the roots of the plant. Place a layer of grit around the plant in the container to protect the leaves from touching bare soil. Backfill with the growing media and fill any gaps with more potting mix. Place the plant in the hole at the same level it came in the original container-no deeper or no shallower. On top of this add a mix of 70% by volume of multipurpose compost with 30% by volume of horticultural grit.ĭig a hole that is slightly bigger than the root ball it came in the original container. In a 15cm diameter container that has an adequate amount of drainage holes, add a 2.5cm layer of gravel to help ensure that excess moisture drains away.
#Growing thyme in container space how to#
HOW TO PLANT READY BOUGHT THYME PLANTSĪt this stage, you can plant the ready bought Thyme plants exactly the same way you would plant home-reared thyme plants. Allow the plant to grow to a decent size and when it is ready in late May, it can be planted out in a container once frosts have passed.
#Growing thyme in container space full#
Once the seedling is large enough to handle, prick them out and then plant onto individual 7.5cm pots full of multipurpose compost to grow on. Place the pots on a heat mat or in a propagator and wait for the seeds to germinate. It is then best to cover the pot with Clingfilm to increase the humidity and to aid in the seed germination.

On top of this, lightly sieve some more compost to cover the seeds and water gently. In early spring, fill a 7.5cm diameter pot with seed sowing compost and lightly scatter some seeds over the surface. The latter you will be limited to what varieties can be grown and what is available online or in garden centres. You can either grow from named-variety thyme from seed or you can buy garden-ready plants. You have two options for how you grow thyme in containers. One of the unique selling points of thyme is that the shrub tends to be short, only growing up to 30cm high and therefore making it a suitable plant for containers. The flowers that are produced are small and often come in pinks and mauves that often complement the leaves. A versatile plant for the container garden. A plant that not only looks attractive, smells attractive but has a multitude of uses in the kitchen. It is also a drought-tolerant plant once established and will make a great addition to a sunny patio.

It can be used to flavour soups, fish dishes, meat dishes, stuffings and vegetables dishes. The flowers are a magnet to wildlife, whilst the edible leaves can be used fresh or dried. You will discover that it is much more than a culinary herb, as the scent is delightful and the leaves are often beautifully variegated and colourful. In this article, we will discuss how to grow Thymus (Thyme) in containers.
