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wooly thyme
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Posted by mitch80 nb, canada (My Page) on Tue, Jul 17, 07 at 17:38
Good day, I am about to embark on my first gardening experience. I have a flagstone walkway leading to a stone patio in my back yard. Walkway is probably 100 feet long, and patio is probably 12 feet in diameter.
I want to fill in the gaps between my stones and I think woolly thyme is what I'm looking for. However, I am not a gardener and have absolutely no idea where to start.
A little background on my project. The stones were laid a year ago, and the landscaper filled the gaps with a very course crushed stone. Almost like quarter minas. Would I have to scrape all of this out and fill it witih a different type of soil? And if so, what soil should I replace it with?
Second question is, how many plants will I need. Could I get away with planting some every few feet, and then waiting untill next season to see it really creep?
Any information would be excellent. I hope someone could stear me in the right direction to get the project started.
OH, also, is it too late to plant them now (mid July?)????
THanks guys,
MITCH
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: wooly thyme
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| Hi Mitch - since no one else has replied, I'll give you my very very wee bit of knowledge. I planted some wooly thyme and some lemon thyme in three sets of stone steps. Both are planted in soil, although it's just the dirt that was between the stones, nothing special. I think I planted them quite late in the summer, if I remember correctly. Anyway, the wooly thyme doesn't like the somewhat shady spot its in, so it's gotten very straggly and hasn't done much creeping. I have a couple of friends who have planted some on sunny walkways and patios, and theirs has crept like crazy. The lemon thyme is in a sunnier spot, and while it doesn't creep like the wooly thyme, it's expanded very nicely. So I'd say you can space your wooly thyme a few feet apart (hey, you could always fill in later if it's not enough for you!) |
RE: wooly thyme
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| Mitch, it's not hard to plant the wooly thyme to creep between the stones. thymes like lots of sun and can handle foot traffic.
need to watch out when they flower for bees-- but that's only when they flower. if yoiu have shady areas along the path you might consider a mint-- with the same issues.
you will find that once or twice during the growing season you might want to run a lawn mower over the walk to keep it from getting too shaggy. hopefully the walk was laid over just a paver base or sand.
i would recommend planting you thyme either in early fall--
september/early october depending on when the frosts come or
in mid spring. I'd plant mine in the center of the walk so that the plants grow out to the edges. a 2" plant is all you really need, just scoop down between the stones until you are deep enough and set it in there and tamp it in place. water as needed for the first growing season -- until you are sure that the plants are growing and settled. if you plant in the spring, but the middle of august you'll be able to see where you need more plants and put them in during the fall. herbs such as thyme do best without a lot of help, they thrive on neglect, poor soil, sun and dryness. diggerb |
RE: wooly thyme
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| Hens and chicks or some type of sedum would work well. I use these decoratively in my cracked sidewalk. They can withstand drought and lack of water, look good all year around and no bees. |
RE: Doone Valley thyme VS wooly thyme
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| I have just put in a flat stone walkway and have been reading about wooly thyme which sounds great but there is no wooly thyme within 60 miles of my home. I did find a local gardening store with about twenty 4 inch pots of Doone Valley thyme that have been marked down to 1.50 a pot. They look great and appear flat, no more than 2 inches in height, and the price is right. If I go with Doone Valley, will I live to regret it? The soil has good drainage and it gets a lot of sun. I have not worked with Doone Valley before. I read that if the flowers are not cut, the plant tends to mound, which I do not see as a problem because we plan to mow over the walkway anyway. Any advice please? Thanks! |
RE: wooly thyme
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| I used elfin thyme for my path. It needs to bee trimmed this summer because it's covering many of my rocks. I bought it from Bluestone Perennials. Here's a link. http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/THELS.html I divided the tiny little pots into four parts and just kept dividing it over the next few years. The link below has a picture of the thyme from a few years ago. There is elfin thyme on the path, and wooly in the steps. Both are nice. The elfin has almost no height. The wooly is also low but grayer in color. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Thyme picture
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