Well...how does it die?

When you say you're in Florida, my first guess is, "maybe it dried out from the heat." Thyme is pretty hardy once it gets established, but all new transplants need a bit of babying until they get a good root system.

Beyond that, though, give us some more information, and maybe we can help.

I bought one in the winter so that didn't die from heat. They just wither up and die. I've tried feeding them, not watering, watering a lot. I believe I've tried everything. So there HAS to be a trick to growing thyme!

Did you buy your plants from a nursery or from the produce section of the supermarket? The ones sold for cutting as fresh herbs are not hardened off since they are intended only for a short life in the kitchen. You need plants which are tough enough to be planted outside. Thyme is quite easy to grow from seed so maybe that is worth a try. oh... .and don't feed it. Other than that I can't think what the problem is.

I bought them at Home Depot or Lowes. I may try from seed as well.

I live on the Texas Coastal Bend in zone 9. The weather is similar to Florida's weather. I used to live in Florida. I have found that growing thymes is easy providing I grow the right thymes for my area. I have found that French thyme, lemon thyme and variegated lemon thyme works best for me. In fact, they all survived the ice storm that we had a few weeks back. I have not had any luck with English thyme, lavender thyme, coconut thyme or Elfin thyme. I think that the combined hot temperatures along with the high humidies kill off lots of thymes.

Website http://growingtaste.com/herbs/thyme.shtml states:

Planting
Like almost all herbs of Mediterranean origin, thyme likes mediocre but slightly alkaline and very well-drained soil, and lots of sun. It is a perennial, but best replaced every few years (one source says every 4 years). It can be grown from seed, but normally one buys it as a plant from a reliable specialist.

Thyme takes well to indoor growing, and can be grown in a rather small and shallow container, ideally--as with all herbs that don't like wet feet, which is most herbs--an unglazed terra cotta pot (which can "sweat out" excess moisture) with a fair bit of gravel at the bottom. Use a potting mixture that is not peat-based. Thymes need horizontal space more than they do vertical, so a shallow, wide container is best for them. One expert recommended putting a thin layer of light gravel on the soil surface to reduce evaporation in dry weather, to give better drainage in humid situations, and to just look nice; that is probably good advice with most potted herbs.

Growing
Thymes, once established, are drought-tolerant, but very, very much dislike damp conditions, which can quickly kill the plant, so keep thyme watered regularly but with a light hand; don't let its soil get really damp.

Though most herbs give best flavor in less-than-ideal soil, those being grown in pots do need a touch of fertilization once in a while--say annually. Use a "complete" (that is, with "minor" nutrients included) slow-release type--organic if you prefer; dib a few small holes in the soil maybe a couple of inches deep and add the fertilizer, then fill in the holes.

Plants should be pruned regularly, with spring usually being the best time, though some further light pruning at other times of the year is probably a good idea too; in general, try to achieve dense but open foliage that will encourage good air circulation through the leaves.

Thyme likes lean, well-drained soil - somewhat similar to "rock garden" like conditions, if that helps.

Plus I've got nothing good to say about buying plants from big-box stores like Home Depot or Lowes. Any local nurseries around you that you like? They would have good quality stock plus knowledgeable staff that might be able to make suggestions given your local conditions - which are about as far from my growing conditions as you can get so I have no personal suggestions. (I've had blizzard conditions all day!)

FataMorgana

My best Thymes have grown out of pebbly soil.... there is regular soil underneathe a layer of smaller stones.... actually, a crushed concrete path is where they are most happy. (Then there is the one that has wrapped itself around the base of one of the irrigation risers.) I also have a plant in a terra cotta bowl with a (surprise!) culinary Sage plant; they've even managed to survive this cold winter.

I always buy my plants from the big box stores without an issue. I don't know of any nurseries.

We grow a variety of thyme in our community garden and have found that some prefer hot weather and some prefer cool weather. If they don't like the weather they appear to die but in reality they just go dormant.(Bunching onions can do the same thing) If you make sure they get a bit of water and don't completely dry out, they come back as soon as the weather they prefer returns.

I would suggest looking around for different kinds of thyme so you can have some at all times (thymes) of the year. And you might want to consider putting plants in a variety of places. I've had great luck growing it on the edges of shrubs where it can get shade if it wants it.

Julia, Common Thyme is fairly easy to grow from seed. You may want to try it since buying the plants can get a bit expensive (at least it is here) especially if they are dying on you.

All of our Thyme has been started from seed. It grows pretty good for us, and lived even through the drought years. It stays evergreen although it does go through a dormant period in cold weather where growth is reduced. I live in GA and we can have "extremes" weather wise. I have found Thyme to be happiest in large self watering containers in full sun on our patio. We make our own potting soil mix using Al's recipe from the Container Gardening Forum. The soil mix drains easily. We have Thyme growing in ground also, and it does OK. But the happiest Thyme during really hot weather has both well drained and aerated soil mix AND consistent access to moisture. (It's not possible to over saturate the soil mix with the self watering containers, similar to Earth Boxes.)

I second Fatamorgana. Thyme likes lean alkaline, well drained soil. I have them growing on the edge of my herbs gardes that has rocks/stone retainer.
Mines are called "german thyme", now over 3 years going

Opal. I'm going to start some from seed too. I've been researching the self watering containers and have the stuff to make a few now. I also have Al's mix so that's good to know that Thyme likes that. I'm not going to give up! Thyme will not defeat me :)

I just googled thyme, specifically German thyme, because I'm going to try, once again for about the 40 millionth time to grow some thyme! I have some German thyme, bought at a wonderful local garden shop who grow their own plants. I'm an organic gardener for more than 25 yrs,. It's not like I don't know how to grow things, people! I'm an avid herb gardener. But thyme! Thyme and I just don't like each other! I'm like Julia who started this post. I've tried every combination of things. Except starting thyme from seed. And I don't buy from Home Depot or Lowes! From what I've read here, I'm going to try the rock garden approach. I'm in zone 7 here in Dallas, in N. Texas. But any advice or tips you can give me will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

When I lived on the humid central TX gulf coast it was hard to grow thyme. It handled the mild winters fine, but once the weather warmed it would rot. Yes, many varieties like heat & sun, but they like it dry. Finally carried lemon thyme over by planting it in a large unglazed clay pot, in a very sandy mix with oyster shell blended in & oyster shell mulched on top. Pretty much the same for lavenders.

Since moving to central TX, I can grow any thyme--have huge masses of the lemon, silver, mother of thyme, German, French, English, etc.. Elfin, citrus, wooly, Doone Valley, Pink Chiffon are growing well--every thyme I pick up seems to thrive on the alkaline calcareous soils here (I'm being generous--we have little actual soil, lots of exposed caliche). Our normal rainfall is supposed to run ~29" but it's been much less than that for the last 5 years. Water is also alkaline here, coming from limestone aquifers--also has lots of calcium. I buy 4" pots from the local nurseries, but have had thymes from big box stores do well, too. Lavenders thrive also. 4" pots of augustifolias reach 3' height & spread in a year or so.

In this drier environment I can mulch thymes with chopped leaves, etc, but in the rainier climate of the coast organic mulches seemed to make them rot faster.

So, besides using a very well draining mix, try some fine oyster shell, like chick grit from the feed store (not the granite grit). I think if you can find a perfectly draining mix, plus add a bit of alkalinity to it maybe it will tolerate your high rainfall & humidity. Good luck.

Thanks for information on thyme. Finicky buggers. The new ones I just got-German & lemon-I did put close to the cement wall. Most of the time the stinker will grow & then just dissappear. Any ideas on what eats & or makes off with my coneflower plants? First they were fine for a few years then it looked like something snipped the flowers off then the plants just dissappear. Purple, white, pink -all of them!

I'm having the same trouble with thyme! I've picked up some clues here and I think soil acidity is my nemesis; I live beneath 2 humongous pine trees and I believe they are the culprits here (SE Texas) Gonna try the oyster shell in with potting mix this time! Wish me luck, thanks everyone for the ideas.

Thyme is a Mediterranean plant and prefers conditions that mirror that background - mild, damp winters and cool, dry summers. It is intolerant of high summer humidity. Needs very well drained, lean soil, lots of sun and no fertilization. If you can provide the conditions it prefers, the plant pretty much grows itself.

I doubt soil pH is much of a factor unless the soil is overly acidic. Soils in the PNW are slightly to moderately acidic and thyme grows like a weed here but that is because we have a pretty much Mediterranean climate - mild, wet winters and very dry, zero humidity summers. btw, pine trees do not cause soil to be acidic - that's an old gardener's tale/gardening myth :-)

Next to rosemary, thyme is my favorite culinary herb and I grow several pots of it but only outdoors - herbs simply do not thrive in indoor conditions. I also grow various types of groundcover thymes inground - full sun, minimal watering and no fertilization.

i live south of houston tx, we have gumbo concrete here and i can't dig a 6 in hole in this stuff so i just bought rose soil and built a bunch of raised beds, lots of rose soil i just put layers of cardboard under it and stack it up my original beds are about a year old and have settled to about 10 in in height i originally planted lantana, rosemary, thyme, verbena, fennel and butterfly weed in them (over a period of a few months) the rosemary grew beautifully from the start and is now about 3 ft tall, lantana did great also as did verbena and fennel, thyme almost disappeared in June and started coming back in early sept. and now is thriving i believe that in our climate, it simply thrives in spring, winter and fall and just tries to exist in summer heat

in another bed i put peppers, chives, bay, oregano and parsley and it is basically doing the same thing existing through summers and thriving when cooler temps are

i've tried a few things in large tubs and those -except for mint don't do as well for me (same soil)

living in houston, i had a large clay pot turned sideways under a pine tree filled with only 2 year old leaf mulch compost i threw a dead/dying parsley plant in it and it lived there for 5 years and grew to about 3 feet in diameter, almost never watered it it was amazing....

keep trying ....

I've had good luck with growing my thyme in containers with other plants so the soil does not stay too wet. You can try a bit of Epsom salt but generally herbs are not fussy and require sparse watering.