Obviously, we grow this pretty little ground covering for more than just its blooms – but if we’re honest they are just too beautiful to be ignored! When does creeping thyme bloom, I hear you cry? Read on for everything you need to know about these eye catching little flowers!
What You'll Learn Today
When Does Creeping Thyme Bloom?
Once this lovely plant has started blooming, it may seem like it never stops! It goes on for a while, even after the first flower has opened.
Creeping thyme tends to begin blooming in the spring or summer, around the time that most plants start to step out in their best.
Thyme tends to have a fairly long blooming season; they can go for as long as a month without stopping those pretty flowers!
The only exception is if you have just planted your first thyme – they tend not to flower on the first season’s growth.
Once your thyme is established and happy, you should see it flowering for a long time to come – and for years afterwards too.
These plants are perennials, so they will just keeping back, year after year, even when they die back to nothing in the winter.
If your plants are getting on in years, they may not flower so much as they will be putting energy into making their stems strong and robust.
When you spot your thyme plants turning leggy and woody, it is a good idea to dig them up and plant new ones that will thrive – and bloom – much better.
You can take cuttings from your plants or simply just get new seeds and start again from the beginning.
Here is a good article telling you just about everything you need to know about growing creeping thyme.
What Is The Longest Blooming Creeping Thyme?
Most thymes do seem to have a fairly long flowering season, so if you’re after colour in your garden then these little herb plants are great.
Obviously, we love thyme for its foliage as well as its flowers, and also for its culinary uses – but the flowers really are lovely.
If you are looking for a creeping thyme that blooms longer than the rest, go for Pink Lemonade (the plant, not the drink!)
This little beauty produces pretty pink flowers that can go on until pretty much the end of the growing season.
Some types of creeping thyme do not bloom at all – if you are just after the leaves, that unmistakeable scent and the ground cover, go for Woolly Thyme.
This one does not bloom at all, but has rather lovely leaves and it will happily fill up a bare spot in your garden.
What Month Does Thyme Flower?
Some thyme plants seem to flower for an incredibly long time, and you would be forgiven for thinking they never stop!
In reality this plant, like many others, generally puts on its best displays in the spring and summer.
The flowering season can be a long one, which is great for your garden and also for the various pollinators that love this little plant.
They are not wildly flashy, eye catching flowers as thyme is a low to the ground plant, but they really will add a lovely splash of colour to your garden.
If the weather is particularly mild, you may even find that your thyme continues to flower into the autumn – this is unusual, but not unheard of.
The great thing about this cute little herb is that even when it is not flowering it is still very attractive – the leaves are a great addition to your garden as well as the flowers!
And, of course, all types of thyme are edible, so you can use them in your cooking too.
Will Thyme Grow Back After Winter?
Because it is a perennial, thyme will happily bounce back in the spring after a winter of lying almost dormant.
You can happily trim it back hard at the end of a growing season, and not have to worry about having killed it – this little hardy will spring right back up!
In fact, it is recommended that you trim your thyme back quite hard to encourage iot to grow better the following year.
Thyme that is left to its own devices will become leggy and woody, and you will find that you don’t have nearly as many leaves or flowers, and you may even have to replace the plant.
Keeping on top of it and making sure it has the right conditions – plus giving it a good chopping now and then – will ensure that your thyme grows back after winter, every single year.
Should I Let Thyme Bloom?
Unlike some plants, thyme can happily maintain both its leaves and its flowers with very little visible effort on behalf of the plant.
Letting it bloom will not affect the leaves or the rest of the plant, and it will make a really pretty patch of colour wherever you plant it.
Some thyme flowers are white, but they range from pinkish to purple and cream coloured too.
Pollinators absolutely love the flowers of this little herb, so letting it flower is great for the ecosystem as well as for the look of your garden!
If you like to use thyme in cooking, you can use the leaves as well as the flowers – the flowers are not as strong tasting, but they will still add flavour.
Creeping thyme also looks very pretty in little posies and cut flower displays – just be careful it doesn’t get overshadowed by larger flowers!
This video will tell you about the advantages and disadvantages of letting your thyme flower:
When you have filled your entire garden with creeping thyme, you will see for yourself why people love those tiny little flowers so much.
Once you know when creeping thyme blooms and how to make it bloom even more spectacularly, you will join the ranks of creeping thyme gardeners.
I absolutely love the smell of thyme, can I use the flowers as pot pourri?
In short, yes! Thyme is a very good herb in so many ways – it is anti fungal, anti viral and some people really like the smell. Gather as many flowers as you can, dry them out and dot them about your house for the benefits.