Hi,

I've had the same German Winter Thyme plants since 2003. At least it seems to be working for me. Mine are growing in nutrient poor sandy/gravelly soil in full sun.

Vera

Thyme is a short-lived perennial, best replaced every 2-3 years.

I have a couple of real ratty ones that were planted in 1998. I've added new, more prolific ones since, but those two struggle on.

my lemon thyme dies out after about 3 winters in MI, so ever spring I take a longer limb and stem layer it in the soil. The following spring I transplant them all back into a neat row at the edge of the patio where I can step on their edges and release their wonderful fragrance. But that job is getting harder each year, so I may just let it go.

When my DH was stationed in Nebraska for 7 years, I had several thymes that lived for 6 of those years (couldn't plant the day we moved in, it was late fall). They were full and happy. I had them in a bed with decorative pavers. They really enjoyed the extra heat from the rock and sprawled across those. Nevermind the rabbit who gave birth in that particular thyme bed!

I have nutmeg thyme, a creeping thyme, that has creeped everywhere in my yard. I brought the plant with me when I moved in 1993. Not sure when I bought it...1984-1986 probably. I've thrown away bushels from it and given away flat after flat. Ditto with my gold oregano thyme and alba thyme. The tuffet thyme, wooley thyme, elfin thyme, mother of thyme, silver thyme, and english thymes all have times of dying back but I've kept these plants for >10 years. Camphor thyme seems to be an annual here.

I've found that if you don't harvest them in the fall that they are better about coming back. They seem to take a while to come back in the spring but don't give up on them. Once they come back they are great.

Thyme needs to have its roots kept dry. If yours is not planted in a well-drained position and gets cold and wet over the winter, it will not survive. It should live for several years.

I have lemon, lime, and summer thyme plants that are about 5 years old now. The lemon and lime plants were in 3 inch pots when I got them and they are now easily 4 feet in diameter (not to mention the smaller bunches that have popped up in my lawn and other areas around that bed). I harvest some and let it bloom (bee heaven). They are planted in a dry, sandy, and sunny location and seem to be very happy. This year there was some die-back in my thyme mats, but they have filled in well by now and are going strong.

I have bought thyme three times now and it doesn't live. The stalks turn black and they rot. Sun or no sun, wet or no wet. What gives? My soil is Scotts. I live in South East Florida-Miami.

Try growing the herbs a soiless mix other than one made by the big chemical companies like Miracle Grow and Scotts. Gardens Alive offers some good soils as do Gardeners Supply in VT, and both are 100% organic based.

A lot of the cheap "top soil" or "garden soil" sold is actually shredded and only slightly composted bark. Sometimes they throw some sand in to make you think it's suitable for potting. Awful stuff - it's heavy, doesn't hold moisture, doesn't allow for aeration of the roots. It waterlogs easily - it's really hard to regulate moisture.

HOWEVER. If you mix this stuff with 1/3 milled peat moss, 1/3 this cheap crap, and 1/3 vermiculite or perlite, you get a fairly decent potting mix for pretty cheap. Miracle Gro "potting soil" is, from what I can tell, at least 90% peat moss anyway. Mix your own and save some bucks. Nothing against Garden's Alive or Gardener's supply, but their potting mixes are even more expensive than Miracle Gro and its clones, especially once you figure shipping charges in.

Sojourner

MG still uses chemicals in their soils too. I would much prefer worm castings and coconut husks as soil mediums with natural nutrients. The sources I mentioned are expensive, yes, but are 100 % organic and have been very useful for my seed starting and transplanting. The last time I used cheap crap top soil was when I made a big batch of soil for growing potatoes. It consisted of about the exact same mixture you mentioned. The potato leaves looked great, but when I dug for potatoes, there were very few and those that did grow had tiny holes drilled all through them. It was fom wireworms. I have never had wireworms in my garden until I used that bagged top soil. Never again..

Oregano thyme has been in my garden since the 70s and has found it's way to different places in the old yard. We have quite a bit of shade so it doesn't get more than 6 hrs of sun a day. A white creeping thyme is almost as old and has made a nice matte. Wooly thyme struggles so I make sure it's near some rocks. A little lemon thyme (Doone's Valley) has done okay for maybe 10 years but is not prolific. I usually grown silver thyme and golden lemon thyme as annuals in pots with a couple of other herb plants.