Thyme or thyme in landscape design. Features of growing thyme in central Russia

On my own personal plot you can grow not only beautiful, but also very useful plants. Many flowering herbs can be used not only in decorative purposes but also for the treatment and prevention of various pathological conditions. Moreover, some of them are very easy to cultivate - such plants need only minimal supervision. This also applies to thyme, which is also known as thyme. So, the topic of our conversation today will be planting creeping thyme and caring for it in the ground, and we will also give a photo this plant.

Creeping thyme is a representative of undersized shrubs. It rarely grows above fifteen centimeters, and, as it were, spreads along the ground, forming an attractive, soft and very fragrant rug. Thyme flowers are most often bright purple in color, but other colors, such as white, are sometimes found. Distinctive feature thyme - a tendency to long flowering. Such a culture pleases the eye throughout the summer, so it can be used in landscape design.

Pictured is creeping thyme

Landing in open ground

Such a plant feels great on loose soils. has a positive effect on its development sunlight, so planting thyme in open ground is in well-lit areas. This crop grows well in neutral or alkaline soil. It is desirable that the land in the area with such a plant is well-drained and fertile enough. When planting on heavy clay soil, creeping thyme often undermines; in such a situation, high-quality drainage is indispensable.

Readers of "Popular about Health" need to think about preparing the site for planting thyme since the fall. When digging the territory, you need to add a certain amount to the soil organic fertilizers, for example, compost or manure. In the spring, when the temperature outside returns to normal and settles at thirteen degrees, at least, it is advisable to dig the soil again and then sow the seeds.

Planting material is mixed with sand and scattered over the surface of the prepared soil. After you can additionally sprinkle the area river sand. It is believed that such a simple measure will prevent water stagnation and provide seedlings with an additional amount. nutrients. After the emergence of seedlings, it is necessary to thin out the plants, leaving seedlings with an interval of thirty to thirty-five centimeters.

Many gardeners grow thyme from seed using the seedling method. In this case, in the middle of spring (approximately in the second decade of March), you need to sow planting material in containers filled with light soil (for example, a mixture of equal parts sand and peat). Crops should be sprinkled with sand and sprayed with a spray bottle, and covered with glass until germination. Periodically, you need to ventilate the container and spray the soil after drying its top layer. After the appearance of the first shoots, the glass should be removed, the plants should be cool, adequate lighting and periodic watering. Planting seedlings on the site should be carried out at intervals of thirty centimeters after stable warm weather is established. Before this, it is advisable to devote some time to hardening small plants.

Creeping thyme can also be grown outdoors from cuttings. They can be selected after pruning and rooted at a permanent place of cultivation or covered with a jar to form a greenhouse.

Features of the care of creeping thyme

Such a plant is not very capricious. However, for him successful cultivation, you need to organize systematic weeding for him. It is also extremely important to regularly eliminate weeds, because they not only worsen the decorativeness of plantings, but also take the lion's share of nutrients from thyme.

Even to care for the plant, it is advisable to organize systematic watering for it. Such procedures are carried out in a drought about twice a week. If the summer turned out to be not very hot, it is worth watering even less often. Besides experienced gardeners it is recommended to mulch the soil around the planting, this will help make caring for them even easier. Thus, by sprinkling the soil with gravel, thyme can be prevented from rotting in especially wet weather.

When growing perennial varieties of creeping thyme, it is extremely important to cover them for the winter using peat or fallen leaves.

As for top dressing, the thyme does not tolerate the introduction into the ground fresh manure. Growing such a plant, you can feed it with wood ash. This will help not only provide a sufficient amount of nutrients, but also help reduce the acidity of the soil. Some gardeners successfully fertilize thyme with a small amount of compost, while others prefer horn flour.
Also in early spring you can feed such a culture with urea.

After the flowering period is over, it is advisable to shorten the bushes with care. So they will take on an attractive shape and become more dense. You need to cut the stems down to the stiff parts - about two-thirds of the length.

Thyme is popular with many gardeners. This plant is not capricious, in addition, it almost never suffers from diseases and pests. In the ground, caring for him is not difficult.

Name: "Thymus" is the ancient Greek name for a plant that is mentioned by Dioscorides and Theophrastus. Probably comes from ancient Egypt, where it was used as a ritual. Russian name"Bogorodskaya grass" - apparently, from the spirituality, the pleasant smell of the plant.

Description: the genus includes about 400 species distributed in the temperate zone of Europe, Asia and North Africa. A highly polymorphic genus, represented in former USSR almost 200 species. Largest number species grows in the European part (over 50), almost the same number species is found in Siberia and the Caucasus (about 40). On the Far East- 6 species, including one species on Sakhalin and the Kuriles.

Semi-shrubs with procumbent or ascending woody stems, ascending or erect herbaceous flower-bearing shoots. The leaves are entire, small, ciliated, mostly on petioles, arranged oppositely. The flowers are small, lilac, pink or white, collected in capitate or discontinuous spike-shaped inflorescences. The fruits are elliptical or spherical nuts.

Thyme lemon-scented- Thymus x citriodorus (Pers.) Schreb. Natural hybrid T. pulegioides x T. vulgaris, common in southern France. Perennial. The leaves are small, ovate or rounded. Flowering shoots 15-30 cm tall. The flowers are light pink. Blooms in June-July. In culture since 1596. Older individuals need to be trimmed from time to time so that the shrubs remain thick and tidy. The plant is susceptible to lower temperatures and requires winter shelter. Variety examples: "Sylvester Queen"("Silver Queen") - see photo on the left, leaves with white border; " Golden Duarf"("Golden Dwarf) - see photo on the right, leaves with yellow spots; "Golden King"- green leaves with a yellow border; Bertram Anderson- green leaves with yellow spots.

thyme- Thymus vulgaris L. Homeland - Northwestern Mediterranean. Flowering shoots 5-15 cm tall. The leaves are cobwebby pubescent on the underside. The flowers are pale purple or almost white. Used since ancient times as a medicinal. Collective view, it covers several miniature subspecies. In addition, several varieties of different colors were obtained: for example, white " Alba", carmine red" Splendens", red " Coccineus", and others. Dwarf undersized variety "Elfin" only 3-5 cm high, forms a dense, compact cushion with a diameter of 10-15 cm. Combining colors, you can get unusually effective pictures. Photo EDSR.

creeping thyme- Thymus serpillum L. Distributed in the European part of Russia, Siberia, the Far East, Central and Western Europe. Perennial plant up to 15 cm tall with cylindrical, creeping stems and shoots protruding hairy in the lower part. Leaves petiolate, lanceolate, up to 1 cm long. Peduncles 5-15 cm tall. The flowers are pinkish-lilac, collected in a capitate inflorescence. Blossoms in July - August 25-30 days. Fruiting. In culture since the 16th century. It has varieties with white, pink and carmine flowers, as well as variegated forms. The photograph shows the wild form. Photo by Sofia Zhelezova Photo on the right EDSR.

Thyme early- Thymus praecox Opiz In the culture of the variety. "Pseudolanuginosus"- When the plant blooms, pubescent and small leaves are almost invisible. Suitable for planting along paths and along the edge of the flower bed. "Minor"- a relatively slow growing shrub with very small pubescent leaves and inflorescences suitable for alpine slides.

Thyme subarctic– Thymus subarcticus Klok. & Host. Distributed in the north of the forest zone of Fennoscandia and Eastern Europe, south to Lake Ladoga. It is usually found in the forest part of the region in dry places, on sands, rocks, along the banks of reservoirs. Low perennial semi-shrub, forming tufts. The stems are thin, prostrate, with erect branches 2-4 cm tall. The inflorescence is loose, the flowers are purple or dark purple, bell-shaped. Plant of dry habitats. Twigs are usually pubescent. The leaves are small, dense, with hairs at the base, with more or less curved down edges, depending on the dryness of the soil and the heating of the sun. Blooms in July, August. The whole plant smells strongly and pleasantly, thanks to the essential oil it produces, which also protects against overheating and reduces water loss through evaporation. Photo from: http://www.murman.ru/flora/data/1200048.shtml

Japanese thyme– Thymus japonicus (Naga) Kitag. creeping low plant with small pink flowers and strong spicy aroma. The range is East Asian continental-island: Russia (Sakhalin, usually, and Moneron, the Kuril Islands - Kunashir; Ussuri district), Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu), the Korea Peninsula, North China, Mongolia. Grows on rocks and stony sunny slopes of mountains, sea and river banks. Xeropetrophyte. Semi-shrub with thin stems and small elliptical leaves. It varies greatly in morphological features. Numerous pink flowers are collected in axillary semi-whorls. Flower length 7-8 mm. Blossoms in July-August, seeds ripen in September. In SakhKNII since 1967, grows in an open place on the ridges. Unpretentious. Blooms in August. Goes green in winter. When sown before winter shoots appear in June next year. Schroeter (1970) notes medicinal properties thyme: medicinal raw material is an herb that contains essential oil(thymol, cymol, etc.), tannins and bitter substances, flavonoids, gum, ureolic and oleanolic acids. The infusion and liquid extract are used internally as an expectorant, less often as an analgesic for radiculitis and neuritis. Thyme extract is also part of pertussin, used for bronchitis, whooping cough and other diseases of the upper respiratory tract. good plant for planting in rocky gardens in open drained places.

Location: prefer sunny places. Plants withstand partial shade and even shading, but in such conditions they stretch and bloom poorly.

The soil: areas with light, fertile, well-drained soil that is alkaline or neutral.

Landing: can be carried out at any time - the plants are unpretentious and drought-resistant, but not late autumn, as the plants should take root well before frost.

Care: plants do not need to be fertilized best case you can add a little ripe compost or horn flour to the soil. If thyme bushes are trimmed regularly, they will be dense and compact. Do this in early spring or after flowering. The shoots are shortened by about two-thirds - to the lignified part. Watering is necessary only in dry spring and summer, when there is an active growth of young shoots and the plants are preparing for flowering. There are no diseases and pests on thyme. Plants are harmed only by excessive moisture on heavy clay soils in prolonged, rainy weather and winter warming. The best measure to combat this evil is good drainage and mulching the soil around the plants with fine gravel.

Reproduction: seeds, cuttings and dividing the bush. The most simple reproduction is by dividing the bush. For division, the bush is dug up, the roots are disassembled and the plant is carefully divided into parts. Twigs creeping along the ground are separated during the entire growing season and planted immediately on permanent place or separately - for rearing.

Thymus cilicicus Photo by Evgeny Tarasov	Thymus cilicicus Photo by Evgeny Tarasov	Thymus lotocephalus Photo by Anna Petrovicheva
Thymus borysthenicus Photo Mishustin Ruslan	Thymus "Highland Cream" Photo of Polonskaya Svetlana	Photo Menshova Alexandra
Thymus seravschanicus Photo Epictetov Vladimir	Thymus Marschallianus Photograph by Alexander Naumenko	Photo Andreeva Nadezhda

More compact varieties with a dense cushion can be quickly propagated by cuttings 3-5 cm in size, rooting them in spring and until mid-summer in greenhouses or under glass jars. The main thing at the same time is to prevent waterlogging, otherwise the cuttings will rot. They root in 2-3 weeks, almost 100%. It is better to cut annual, already lignified shoots.

The seed method of reproduction allows you to get a large amount of planting material in one season. Thyme is sown in spring in greenhouses or on ridges. Its seeds are small, seedlings are poorly visible, therefore, with soil crops, you need to carefully monitor their development, not allowing weeds to drown out seedlings. You can also grow seedlings in room conditions or greenhouses, sowing seeds from March to early May.

The substrate should be light, air and moisture permeable, contain sand and peat in a 1:1 ratio. Seeds are distributed in grooves or scattered. Sowing is carried out to a depth of 0.5-1 cm. With sufficient humidity and a temperature of 20-35 degrees. shoots appear on the 7-10th day. Seedlings appear in open ground in 3-4 weeks. In room conditions, seedlings are immediately transferred to a cool, well-lit place.

In the first month, carefully monitor the moisture content of the substrate. It should be moderate, watering is necessary only when the top layer dries up, otherwise the seedlings will easily rot. Frequent shoots are pulled through, leaving a distance of 2x2 cm, and young plants are planted in free places or dive into separate cups. At the age of 2 months, seedlings already form compact bushes and are suitable for planting in a permanent place. Plants bloom in the second year, with early sowing, flowering can be achieved in the fall of the first year.

Thymus caucasicus	Thymus collinus Photo Kravchenko Kirill	Thymus serpylleum var.lanuginosum Photo by Marina Shimanskaya
Thymus kotschyanus Photograph by Kirill Tkachenko	Thymus marschallianus Photograph by Kirill Tkachenko	Thymus praecox subsp articus Photograph by Kirill Tkachenko
Thymus taljievi Photograph by Kirill Tkachenko	Thymus vulgaris "Snow White" Photograph by Kirill Tkachenko	thymus serpylleum Photograph by Kirill Tkachenko

Thyme - frost-resistant, unpretentious plant. Under the snow cover, it easily endures the winter. On the open places in conditions of little snowy winter, shelter is necessary with spruce branches, which also protects plants from spring sunburn.

Usage: as a carpet plant, they are used in borders, group plantings, on rocky hills and rocky areas. Taste, aroma, size, color and abundance of flowers - the list of advantages of the plant does not end there. Tiny golden and silvery-white leaves of some varieties, primarily lemon-smelling thyme, will also decorate the flower bed. The bushes give off their fragrance when touched, so if you want to indulge in a cloud of spicy smell, just run your hand over them.

You can plant thyme in a decorative stone trough. In a small pot, thyme, stunted cloves, navel and hyssop will do very well.

Or thyme (thymusserpillum) is a perennial semi-shrub that forms small tufts. The stem, creeping along the ground, sometimes giving adventitious roots, is branched, woody in the lower part, with numerous ascending vegetative and generative branches. Leaves opposite, small, oval, ovate or lanceolate, entire, short-petiolate? with essential oil glands clearly visible in a magnifying glass. The flowers are small, two-lipped, purple-red, collected at the ends of the branches in false whorls, brought together in a capitate inflorescence. Flowering in June-July, fruiting in August.

Widely distributed in the European part, Siberia and the Caucasus. Lives mainly in steppe zone, on the southern slopes, rocks, steppe meadows, along the outskirts of pine forests.

cultivation

The plant grows well in cultivation. You can place thyme in a rocky garden, in a mixborder in the foreground or among the slabs of paths, on a hill among stones or in a garden stylized as a Mediterranean. It is very decorative even after flowering. Variegated forms have been bred, as well as with strong anthocyanin staining. Skillfully combining different forms, you can create an amazing composition from just one view. A similar example was once presented at an exhibition in Chelsea.

Creeping thyme can be grown in the backyard. It is quite unpretentious, drought-resistant and winter-hardy, but it should be borne in mind that the plant is photophilous, so it is better for it to select the most sunny plot, and prefers light, fertile, and most importantly, non-acidic soils.

When preparing the site, it is necessary to carefully select all the weeds, and on heavy soils, add sand and compost when digging.

Thyme is propagated by seeds by sowing in the ground and seedlings, as well as by cuttings and dividing the bush.

Considering that the seeds are very small, it is better to grow seedlings with seed propagation. To do this, in mid-March, the seeds are mixed with 3-4 parts of river sand, and sown superficially in a box or pot and cover it with glass on top until germination. The addition of sand allows small seeds to be more evenly distributed over the surface.

In summer, the plant can be propagated by green cuttings. They root very well. Cut the tops of shoots 8-10 cm long before flowering. They are planted in river sand according to the scheme 3x3 or 4x4 cm. Cover with film or glass on top. Several times during the day they are sprayed with a spray bottle. Already after 15-20 days roots are formed, and after a month the plants can be planted on the site. Care is weeding. Plants quickly close up and form a dense, decorative-looking pillow.

For the purpose of harvesting medicinal raw materials, leafy twigs are collected during flowering. They are cut with a pruner or sickle, but in no case are they pulled out. Plants are easily uprooted, but poorly restored. The grass is dried at a temperature not exceeding 35 ° C, threshed, leaving only leaves and inflorescences. The shelf life of raw materials is up to 2 years.

Medicinal and beneficial properties

The aerial part contains 0.2-0.6% (in rare cases up to 1%) essential oil (20-40% carvacrol, 1.5-2% thymol, linalool, cineole), 3-7% tannins, flavonoids. Thyme essential oil contains at least 55 components, the ratio of which varies widely and is determined by belonging to a certain chemotype. Characteristic is the content of methoxylated flavonoids with high antispasmodic activity. In addition, triterpenes were found in the grass - ursolic and oleanolic acids, flavonoids, bitter and tannins. In addition, thyme herb contains big variety micro and macro elements, in particular, it accumulates iron, molybdenum, selenium and boron.

He was greatly appreciated by the ancestors of the Slavs. Many peoples had a pagan custom of sacrifice to the gods - burning dry thyme grass. The name Bogorodskaya, or the Mother of God herb, is due to the fact that in Russia it was adopted on the day of the Assumption Holy Mother of God decorate her icons with bunches of this fragrant plant.

Its medicinal effect is associated with the essential oil. Thyme is used as an expectorant, antimicrobial, fungistatic agent. Its preparations enhance the secretion of the bronchi and contribute to a faster evacuation of sputum. In medicine, thymol and essential oil of thyme are used to disinfect the mucous membranes of the mouth, pharynx, pharynx, for fungal skin diseases, in particular, for epidermophytosis, as an anthelmintic, and to suppress the fermentation process in the intestines. The liquid extract from the herb is part of Pertussin, used as an expectorant and emollient for coughs (whooping cough and bronchitis). Infusion in the collection is used for bronchial asthma, complicated by bronchitis and pneumonia.

In rheumatic diseases, thyme exhibits a warming and analgesic effect. It has a weaker effect than common thyme.

It has been experimentally established that the aerial part and roots of thyme increase the function of the gonads. In China, it is used for exhaustion and as a tonic. Mixed with other plants, creeping thyme is used to treat alcoholism, as well as for prostate adenoma and prostatitis.

Application recipes

As a diaphoretic, it is recommended to drink hot infusion with sugar. An infusion used for colds and coughs is prepared at home from 10 g of thyme (2 tablespoons) per 200 g of boiling water, heated in a water bath for 15 minutes, cooled, filtered. Take a tablespoon 2-3 times a day.

Known use infusion of thyme as a sedative and analgesic for insomnia, headaches, radiculitis, neuralgia. Take an infusion of 1 tablespoon 3-4 times a day.

As an external anesthetic and distraction, they are used for neuralgia, myositis, arthritis in the form concentrated infusion or oil infusion on the sunflower oil 1:3 or 1:4.

With infusion of thyme make fragrant baths at skin rashes, rheumatism and nervous diseases. To prepare a bath, 50 g of raw materials are brewed in 1 bucket of boiling water, filtered and poured into a bath.

Thyme is contraindicated in cardiac decompensation, liver and kidney diseases, gastric and duodenal ulcers, and pregnancy. Accordingly, in these cases, thyme requires careful use.

With an overdose of thyme preparations, especially with alcohol, nausea and vomiting are observed. Therefore, in traditional medicine a concentrated decoction of thyme (15 g per 2 cups of water) is used to develop an aversion to alcohol. To do this, after taking the decoction, the patient is allowed to sniff alcohol. After a few minutes, nausea and vomiting sets in.

Leaves and inflorescences of thyme can be added when stewing meat or sprinkled on pizza as a seasoning. Thyme is used for pickling and salting, as well as in various drinks, for making cheeses and sauces. Here are a couple of recipes:

Photo: Elena Malankina, Rita Brilliantova

Creeping thyme is one of the species of this plant, which is widely distributed in Western and Central Europe, as well as in the vastness of our country. It is often called Bogorodskaya grass or thyme.

Thyme is a low-growing semi-shrub, the stems of which grow up to fifteen centimeters in length and spread along the ground, forming a dense cover. Stems with leaves exude a delicate spicy aroma. thyme blossoms small flowers collected in capitate inflorescences throughout August.

Today, creeping thyme is found not only in nature, it is actively grown as a cultivated species, which, thanks to the work of breeders, is represented by many varieties and decorative forms. Therefore, thyme is actively used as ornamental plant landscape designers.

Attracts in a creeping plant its dense plexus of stems with fragrant lanceolate leaves and abundant long flowering. The flowers of thyme are painted in purple, lilac, pale pink. Most often grown in the garden the following varieties creeping thyme:

• "Colchis" - a plant up to ten centimeters high, which spreads densely along the ground and blooms with lilac inflorescences;
• 'Donna Valley', a popular variety, forms a dense carpet of stems with light yellowish leaves in the clearing. Thyme blooms almost all summer with pink flowers;
• "Silver Queen" is one of the tall varieties, the length of the stems reaches twenty centimeters. The leaves of this variety are colored in grey colour with a white tint. Thyme blooms profusely with inflorescences of a light purple hue.

The popularity of thyme among gardeners is further reinforced by the ease of growing and caring for it.

Landing

Growing thyme in the garden does not require much hassle. It perfectly decorates flower beds, rocky hills, curbs. decorative leaves in addition to external beauty, they also complement the overall picture with delicate spicy aromas.

In order for the thyme creeping along the ground to develop well, bloom and have full medicinal properties, it needs certain growing conditions.

Places for flower beds with thyme should be chosen sunny. With a lack of light, creeping thyme loses its visual appeal. Its stems are stretched, the leaves become smaller and its flowering becomes not so plentiful and long.

You need to plant thyme in a good fertile soil. The soil should be light, well-conducted moisture and have a neutral acidity.

Before planting, the soil in the flower beds should be prepared in advance. Since autumn, the earth must be dug up and limed by adding dry lime to the soil and mixing it. Then a substrate is prepared from black soil, river sand, humus and slightly rotted leaves. Before planting thyme, organic fertilizers are applied to the soil in the form of compost or last year's manure.

Planting creeping thyme on flower beds in open ground can be done in two ways:

• directly from seeds
• seedlings.

Seeds are planted in open ground in the spring, when the air and soil warm up a little. The average air temperature should not be lower than thirteen degrees. The flower beds are dug up again, the earth is mixed with the prepared substrate and leveled, then the seeds are sown, watered and sprinkled thin layer river sand. After the thyme seeds sprout and grow to two or three centimeters, they can be planted a little. Insofar as optimal distance for the normal development of thyme - at least thirty centimeters. Creeping thyme grows and develops quite quickly.

You can plant thyme in open ground in the form of seedlings. It is grown independently from seeds that are sown in landing boxes in the middle of February.

First, special containers are prepared, their depth should be about ten to fifteen centimeters. Special holes are made in the boxes and a drainage layer is laid, and then a substrate of leafy soil, peat, humus and river sand. Before planting, the soil is moistened, and then the seeds are sown and covered with glass. The boxes are placed in a warm and bright place. Seeds need constant care. The soil must be regularly moistened, remove condensation from the glass. Soil moisture is maintained by spraying from a spray bottle. When the seeds sprout and grow a little, they begin to harden. To do this, they are taken out daily to Fresh air. In open ground, seedlings are planted in flowerbeds at the end of April.

Planting and caring for thyme seedlings requires minimal effort from the gardener.

How to properly care

Thyme is not difficult to grow in the garden. For its full development, the plant needs to be watered twice a week, but you should not fill the flower beds too much with water, the soil should be soft, not wet. You also need to monitor the cleanliness of planting and remove weeds in a timely manner and periodically loosen the soil. To form a beautiful appearance, the bushes must be periodically pinched. Such manipulations stimulate the appearance of young shoots, from which the thyme bush becomes more lush and voluminous. In autumn, thyme stems are shortened a little, they do this to improve the decorative qualities of the plant.

Thyme creeping, in principle, you can not feed. But to improve the appearance and density of the cover, the plant needs to be fed with urea in the spring, and complex mineral fertilizers can also be used for the second season.

Thyme also responds well to wood ash. It is periodically introduced into the soil, ash helps to reduce acidity.

How to propagate

Creeping thyme can be easily propagated by seeds, dividing the bush and cuttings. How to grow a plant from seeds has been described in detail a little higher.

Reproduction by dividing the bush is a simple method, albeit traumatic for the plant. You need to dig a healthy bush, carefully clean root system from the ground and divide it into parts that can immediately be planted in open ground in flower beds.

Cuttings are also a popular method of propagation. They are prepared in spring or autumn period. You can also take branches that were removed during the cut. Their lower part is completely cleared of leaves. Then the cuttings are planted in moist soil for rooting. This process does not require much time, thyme quickly takes root and develops quickly.

What is sick

Proper planting and care can protect thyme from many diseases and pests. The plant is unpretentious, so caring for it is not difficult at all.

In open ground, pests such as:

• weevil;
• meadow moth;
• sandy medlyak.

You can control pests with the help of insecticides. You can also prevent their appearance by properly caring for creeping thyme: remove weeds, loosen the soil, lime and fertilize in a timely manner.

Among the diseases, thyme is most susceptible to the occurrence of fungal diseases. Most often, this is facilitated by improper care, especially excessive watering and lack of sunlight.

Creeping thyme is also called Bogorodskaya grass but most people know it as thyme. Varieties of thyme grow not only in the European part, but also in southeast Asia and even in northern Africa. Thyme is a perennial plant with numerous branches and small flowers, painted in purple hue. This attractive plant for many landscape designers blooms in June, and bears fruit at the end of the summer months.

Numerous amateur gardeners and professional landscape designers use this plant popularity not only because of the attractive appearance, but also its unpretentiousness in care. Thyme calmly tolerates drought and is resistant to frost. among the people amazing plant even assign healing properties and use it in homeopathy. So how do you grow creeping thyme outdoors? Features of planting, care, reproduction of a plant should be considered in more detail.

creeping thyme varieties

Thyme belongs to undersized semi-shrubs and reaches a height of about 15 cm. Common and creeping thyme are most often grown in the Moscow region. Creeping thyme is called because of its ability to spread over the soil, forming an unusual rug that exudes a pleasant aroma. Creeping thyme flowers form into inflorescences. Of the most popular and common varieties of creeping thyme, one can distinguish the following:

There are also other varieties of creeping thyme with carmine, snow-white and pinkish flowers and variegated leaves, but all of the above are more popular with gardeners.

Planting a plant

It is better to plant creeping thyme in open ground in a good illuminated place because the sun's rays favorably affect the development of the plant. In order for thyme to take root faster, it is also necessary to carefully dig up the site with the onset of autumn and add organic fertilizers (compost). In the spring months, the soil will again need to be dug up, and as soon as the temperature outside becomes above 13 degrees, you can start planting thyme seeds.

After planting the seeds, you can lightly sprinkle them with river sand to prevent water from stagnating on the surface and provide young shoots. nutritious elements. As soon as the seedlings grow slightly and sprout, the planting must be thinned out. The distance between plants should be at least 30 cm.

In open ground, creeping thyme can be planted using seedlings. To begin with, in the month of February, thyme is sown in trays. Water the seedlings regularly, in no case flooding. The plant sprouts under glass, creating a greenhouse effect. After 3-4 weeks from the moment of sowing, the seedlings can be taken out into the street, and after another 14 days they are transplanted to a permanent place.

Features of care

Immediately after planting, creeping thyme needs to pinch the tip of the stalk so that the plant forms into a luxurious lush bush. As soon as it stops bloom, the bushes will need to be slightly shortened. With the onset of the new season, it will be possible to notice that the plant, due to pruning, has compacted, begun to grow better and acquired a decorative shape.

Thyme also needs to be regularly weeded and weeds removed, which literally pull most of the nutrients out of the ground. Weeds can also significantly slow down the already slow growth of thyme.

Of course, creeping thyme must be regularly water. It is advisable to water no more than 2 times a week during the drought period. In cold summers, the plant can be watered less often. For the winter, it is necessary to cover the thyme with fallen leaves or.

When growing creeping thyme outdoors, wood ash can be used to help reduce soil acidity and provide additional nutrients. Mineral fertilizers while it is desirable to make only two years after planting thyme.

How to grow thyme: plant propagation methods

Cultivation and propagation of thyme in open ground can be carried out 3 ways:

Thyme in landscape design

Landscape designers use creeping thyme for decoration alpine slide and mixboards. It's unusual perennial shrub also used in combination with other plants and planted on rocky talus.

Creeping thyme is also used as a backdrop for large-leaved plants and in combination with geyhera. Thyme also looks great in group plantings.

Pests and diseases

Creeping thyme is not only unpretentious in care, but also quite resistant to attacks by pests and a variety of bacteria. Some can still attack thyme pests, such as the:

• weevils;
• meadow moths;
• sandy medlyaks.

Thyme can also be affected by some fungal diseases and this can happen due to abundant watering or violation of other rules for growing perennial plant. From pests, thyme will help to protect regular loosening and timely weeding. You can get rid of insects with alkaline fertilizers.