Woolly thyme

Sun

Full sun; light afternoon shade can help in hot climates, but too much shade produces a thin, loose mat.

Water

Low once established. Water new plants when the soil begins to dry; established plants usually need extra water only during prolonged drought.

Soil

Well-drained, sandy, gritty or gravelly soil, preferably neutral to alkaline. Avoid wet clay and rich, moisture-retentive soil.

Height

0.1-0.25 ft (0.03-0.08 m)

Spread

1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m)

Flowers

Sparse, tiny pale pink flowers in early to midsummer; some plants flower very little.

Foliage

Evergreen. Tiny, rounded leaves covered in fine hairs, forming a soft silver-grey to grey-green mat. Leaves may develop bronze or purple tones in cold weather.

Growth

Slow to moderate; stems root where they touch suitable soil.

Care needed

Low

• Pollinators
• Deer resistant
• Drought tolerant
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   0 ft (0.01 m)

2. After 1 year

   0.1 ft (0.03 m)

3. After 2 years

   0.1 ft (0.04 m)

4. After 3 years

   0.2 ft (0.05 m)

5. After 5 years

   0.2 ft (0.06 m)

   full size

About 3 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Growth rate

Slow

• Water at soil level while establishing, allowing the surface to dry between waterings.
• Improve drainage before planting; use a raised bed or a gritty mound where soil stays wet.
• Avoid routine feeding, which encourages soft, loose growth.
• Use a thin gravel mulch rather than moisture-holding organic mulch around the mat.
• Remove fallen leaves and weeds promptly so they do not smother the foliage.

Pruning. In spring, snip out dead or winter-damaged patches and lightly trim spreading edges. After flowering, shear only if needed to keep the mat compact; avoid cutting deeply into bare, woody stems.

Spring

Remove trapped leaves and dead patches once new growth shows which stems have survived.

Spring

Plant or divide rooted sections into freely draining soil, watering them in thoroughly.

Late spring

Weed carefully by hand before weeds become established within the mat.

Summer

Water young plants during dry spells; lightly trim untidy edges after flowering.

Autumn

Clear fallen leaves and check that runoff does not collect around the plants.

Winter

Avoid walking on frozen or saturated mats and keep drainage channels clear.

• Plant between widely spaced stepping stones where footsteps will mostly land on the stone.
• Use as a silver carpet around rocks and small alpine plants in a sunny rock garden.
• Soften the edges of gravel paths alongside compact lavender and low sedums.
• Let it creep over the lip of a sunny trough or raised bed for a low, textured edge.

Garden styles it suits: Dry gravel garden, Alpine rock garden, Mediterranean, Sensory garden, Cottage garden and Low-maintenance.

Plant it with: English lavender, Rock rose, Creeping phlox, Low-growing sedums, Dwarf bearded iris and Sea thrift.

Wildlife: The occasional flowers provide nectar for bees and other small pollinating insects, but this sparsely flowering thyme is less useful to pollinators than more freely flowering thymes.

• Root and crown rot in wet soil: improve drainage, reduce watering and replace badly affected plants in a raised, gritty planting area.
• Thin or open growth in shade: move to a sunnier position and avoid heavy feeding.
• Winter dieback: remove dead sections in spring and improve drainage; cold combined with wet soil is particularly damaging.
• Bare patches from repeated footsteps: redirect traffic onto paving and replant damaged areas with rooted sections.

Not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses. No poisonous parts are recognized, although information specific to woolly thyme is limited. It is grown as an ornamental rather than a culinary herb.

• Breckland thyme (Thymus serpyllum)

  Usually has greener, less densely hairy leaves and more conspicuous pink-purple flowers; woolly thyme has a noticeably felted, silver-grey surface.

• Creeping thyme (Thymus praecox)

  Most garden forms have greener foliage and flower more freely. The names overlap in horticultural use, so look for the dense woolly hairs rather than relying on the label alone.

The common name refers to the dense, wool-like hairs covering its tiny leaves.

Propagation. Divide rooted pieces of the mat in spring and replant them promptly. Take short, non-flowering cuttings in late spring or early summer; division and cuttings preserve the woolly foliage more reliably than seed.

Accepted botanical name

Thymus praecox britannicus Thymus pseudolanuginosus is an older name for Thymus praecox britannicus.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.