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Post by ahntjudy on Jul 19, 2015 15:24:14 GMT -5
I was wondering if Creeping Thyme would do well as a ground cover in some bare areas in a grass strip next to the driveway… It would be OK if it spread around…unless as it spreads it becomes unruly… As it spreads, does it spread and root again? I use an old fashioned girl powered push mower...so that's how it would be cut...amongst the grass with which it would grow... You think this would be a good or bad idea?
I looked it up and of course, found a gazillion sites with info about all kinds of different varieties… Truth be told, I did not read all about it yet…I suppose I should have...And I will... I would really rather talk to you here and get your informed opinions...
Anybody here use Creeping Thyme as ground covers and what are your favorite varieties? I will truly appreciate your input! Thanks!
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Post by desertwoman on Jul 19, 2015 15:51:14 GMT -5
Yes, I have used creeping thyme in my landscapes. It does spread. And it re-roots I also use a human powered push mower for my native grasses. But in reality, I don't have to mow the thyme. Heres links to the pics I have posted. This is a mix of 3 different thymes (I'll have to look up what I used, I'm forgetting right now) organicgroup.freeforums.net/post/13870/threadedit: wooly thyme (about 2" , rarely flowers, hardy, withstands foot traffic, evergreen); pink chintz (very low growing- about 1", drought tolerant, but does well with watering): and pink creeping thyme (2", drought tolerant, handles water, very vigorous) and this is Reiter Thyme lawn at our house in town. It's a little more drought tolerant. I can use the push mower to trim off the dead flowers, but the thyme itself doesn't need mowing. I give it a raking in the spring. organicgroup.freeforums.net/post/265/threadedit: Reiter thyme (3", , Tough and vigorous, good for covering larger areas, tolerates foot traffic, chokes out most weeds) I like them all. The pink chintz at 1" really needs no mowing at all (except if I am cutting it back to stop the spread), so it is the easiest of these four. I love the reiter as a lawn. They are all low fertility, needing well drained soil.
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Post by tendingmygarden on Jul 19, 2015 16:18:25 GMT -5
Creeping Thyme is a great plant. I had it for many years in my front borders. I didn't mow it. It spread slowly. During one very hot summer, it died out for me and I never replaced it.
Like any plant we use, various varieties of thyme can perform differently in different locations. I think the only way to really know if it's for you is to try it and see what it does. If you start small with anything and it gets out of hand, it's usually pretty easy at that point to take it up.
I would definitely go for. It's a nice plant. Theresa
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Post by Mumsey on Jul 19, 2015 18:00:12 GMT -5
Mine is supposed to be creeping thyme, but it's about 8" high, flowering and smells wonderful when I mow it off when it creeps out of it's boundaries! It has creeped really fast this year.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 19, 2015 19:15:07 GMT -5
Will creeping thyme choke out some undesirables? That would be too good. I was thinking of planting some, but the area I wanted to plant it is not in an area where I would be watering regularly, and I've also heard bad things previously about hot summers, which is why I have hesitated.
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Post by Latitude33 on Jul 19, 2015 20:14:56 GMT -5
Still in my lawn replacement scenario...any preference for creeping versus "wooly" thyme?
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Post by desertwoman on Jul 19, 2015 21:26:19 GMT -5
What I like about the wooly thyme is that it is really low and dense. Chokes out undesirables well But it doesn't flower (or rarely does)
What I like about the Reiter thyme is that I have a lavender-pink lawn in late July-August buzzing with honey bees. I love lying in it before/after the bees are active. Smells so good. It does a pretty good job of choking out what you don't want, but not as good as the wooly.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 19, 2015 23:18:40 GMT -5
desertwoman - Where are the seeds to those thymes available, or are they only available as plugs?
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Post by desertwoman on Jul 19, 2015 23:37:06 GMT -5
I had a lot going that year so I ordered plug trays from Mountain Valley Growers, in Squaw Valley, CA. That was the best price I found (this was maybe 8 years ago. The tray had 128 small plugs for around $65 (I think they are around $70 now. I planted them on a 10-12" grid and it was filled in quite a bit by fall. Year two was fully filled in.
Seed is available on line. I just don't know what company is best for seed. You can do a search for them
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Post by ahntjudy on Jul 20, 2015 21:05:06 GMT -5
The Wooly and Reiter thymes are nice. I like the pink flowering idea...that would look pretty neat. I also like that it could choke out some weeds along the way. I had no idea there were so many varieties til I started looking for info about it. Thanks for the ideas and the help! Ooh goody! A good reason to go look at the garden centers and see what they have in that line!
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