Growing Thymes in Pots

Thymes will grow very well in pots.  I prefer terracotta pots.   Use John Innes potting compost rather than a peat based compost which is not suitable.  Add a small amount of gravel to the compost to improve the drainage, roughly about one part gravel to five parts soil.  As the plants will be growing in restricted conditions they will need some fertiliser and I find the most suitable is a small amount of Osmocote.  This is a slow release compost and one application should be sufficient for twelve to eighteen months.  When reapplying, make three or four holes, a couple of inches deep in the soil using a narrow pointed dibber and drop a few granules into the hole.  As far as pot size is concerned, thymes need width and not depth.  For mat forming thymes use a semi pot and for the more bushy thymes a half pot is more suitable.  A six inch wide pot is ample for most mat forming thymes and as they get bigger replant into a wider pot.  The pot should be top dressed with a layer of gravel.  This will stop the soil drying out in hot weather, give better drainage around the plant in wet weather and makes the plant look more attractive.

Page introduced: May 2000