How to Care for & Transfer a Lemon Thyme Plant
In Victorian days, everyone had a kitchen garden. Fresh herbs were used for cooking and medicine. Nowadays, we can buy fresh herbs at the grocery store. However, it is so easy to grow lemon thyme and other herbs, it's almost a shame not to try. Follow the very easy steps below and you'll see why it's so much more fun to grow, care for and even transplant herbs yourself. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Water
- Plant pots
- Shears
- Small trowel
- Alkaline potting soil
- Optional:
- Small rocks
Instructions
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How to Care for a Lemon Thyme Plant
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1
Set your lemon thyme plant in a very sunny area where it won't get rained on too much.
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2
Water your plant moderately, so that the soil stays moist but not soaked. Make sure your pot has good drainage.
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3
Pinch the tips off of any branches that are not flowering. This will help it to be bushy.
How to Transplant a Lemon Thyme Plant
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4
Tip the pot your plant is in and gently wiggle the plant free. Shake off any excess soil. Prepare a larger pot, or the ground, by digging a hole deep enough for the roots.
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5
Set the plant into the new hole and gently fill it in, but do not pack it tight. Water the plant generously, but without soaking it.
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6
Remove a plant from the ground by using the trowel to dig very carefully around its base, making sure not to damage the roots. Shake off the excess soil.
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7
Move the entire plant to a larger pot, or to a sunny spot in the ground with a hole deep enough to let it fit comfortable. Water it well, but do not soak it.
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8
If your plant has grown too bushy, you can thin it out a little by taking cuttings from the stem above any new shoots. Only do this after the plant has rooted and is thriving, and after all threat of frost is past.
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Tips & Warnings
Place some small rocks around the base of your lemon thyme plant until it is securely rooted. This will mimic its natural environment and help keep the soil moist. Tie lemon thyme sprigs in bundles and hang them in your kitchen window to dry them for cooking and to scent the room.
You can cook with and eat lemon thyme leaves, but do not ingest the essential oil. Be aware that lemon thyme attracts bees.
