Thymus herba-barona
Thymus herba-barona
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Requires a well-drained soil in a sunny position. Succeeds in dry soils, tolerating drought once it is established[1]. Grows well between stepping stones on paths, tolerating light treading[2, 3]. Succeeds on walls. Thymes dislike wet conditions, especially in the winter. A layer of gravel on the soil around them will help protect the foliage from wet soils[4]. This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c[3]. The leaves of the species have a delicious caraway scent[1]. There are some named varieties. 'Nutmeg' is fast growing and has a pronounced fragrance somewhat reminiscent of nutmeg[2]. 'Lemon Scented' has a strong lemon scent[3]. The flowers are rich in nectar and are very attractive to honey bees[3]. This is a very difficult genus taxonomically, the species hybridize freely with each other and often intergrade into each other[3].
Propagation
Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. Seed can also be sown in autumn in a greenhouse. Surface sow or barely cover the seed. Germination can be erratic. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division in spring or autumn[3]. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is best to pot up smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame until they are growing away well. Plant them out in the summer or the following spring. Cuttings of young shoots, 5 - 8cm with a heel, May/early summer in a frame[3]. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 8cm with a heel, mid summer in a frame[3]. Layering. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Thymus+herba-barona>
Pollinators
Bees, Flies, Lepidoptera
References
- [1]The Dry Garden. — Chatto. B. · Dent · 1982 · ISBN 0460045512 ↩︎A good list of drought resistant plants with details on how to grow them.
- [2]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
- [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
- [4]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
- [5]Plants for Ground Cover — Thomas. G. S. · J. M. Dent & Sons · 1990 · ISBN 0-460-12609-1 ↩︎An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.