WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Thymus spp. and cvs., WUCOLS IV

How often to water thyme in California

In July in the Central Valley, established thyme in loam needs a deep watering about every 8 days: about 2.2 gallons each time for a plant 2 feet across, about 1.9 gallons a week. Thyme is a low herb with a woody base, wiry stems and tiny aromatic leaves in green, gray or silver. Masses of small white, pink or purple flowers draw bees in spring and summer. It wants full sun and sharp drainage far more than it wants water, and soggy ground is the condition it handles worst.

Ground coverPerennialRated for 6 of 6 zones

How often to water thyme, month by month

Your city
Plant width
2 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for thyme and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: established roots fill the top 1.5 feet of soil, and you water again when that soil has dried halfway. Loam soil holds about 1.5 inches of water per foot. Water the whole area the plant covers, and skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure plant width

A shrub with its width marked from one side to the other and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the plant, from the tips of the leaves on one side to the tips on the other.

Water the whole area the plant covers, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that area.

A wider plant means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While it is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Soil dry 2 to 3 inches down beneath the mat while thyme is flowering signals that it needs a soak
  • Tiny leaves turning dull and stem tips going limp by midafternoon can indicate thirst
  • Brittle, bare patches opening in the mat during inland heat can follow a long dry stretch
  • Gray, blackened stems at the center over damp soil point to overwatering or poor drainage
  • Soft, floppy growth with few flowers can mean the mat gets more water or shade than it likes

How to water it

  • Water at the outer edge of the thyme mat with drip or a slow hose so the woody center stays drier
  • Wet the soil 6 to 8 inches down, then let the top couple of inches dry before the next soak
  • Plant in sandy, rocky or gravelly soil, or on a low mound where clay would hold water
  • Use a thin gravel mulch rather than bark so stems lying on the ground do not stay damp
  • Shift emitters outward as the mat creeps between stepping stones or along a path

Through the seasons

Check a new thyme planting often through its first summer while the fine roots spread into the surrounding soil. Established mats take deeper soaks with longer dry gaps. Thyme is evergreen and handles frost, so it needs some water in every season but little in cool weather. Trim it back in early spring and after bloom to keep it from turning leggy. Winter rain covers the cool months on the coast and in the Central Valley; in the deserts, check soil through dry winter spells. WUCOLS rates thyme low water on the north-central coast and on the south coast. It rates moderate water in the Central Valley, South Inland, the high desert and the low desert.

In pots

Thyme suits shallow pots, strawberry jars and gritty herb boxes with open drainage holes. In valley and desert summer heat, check the mix every few days and water when the top inch is dry. Soak until water runs from the holes, then empty the saucer at once. A pot that stays wet turns the stems gray at the base. In winter, let the mix dry further between waterings and lift pots off flat paving so rain drains away.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
2.67gal per sq ft in JulyModerate water use in the Central Valley zone
A year
17.11 gal per sq ft
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses
0.761.52.33.00.4JAN0.65FEB1.09MAR1.52APR2.08MAY2.48JUN2.67JUL2.39AUG1.8SEP1.18OCT0.56NOV0.34DEC0.761.52.33.00.4JFM1.52AMJ2.67JAS1.18OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 2.67 in Jul, 17.11 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Thyme: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.150.40.310.780.740.78
Feb0.210.650.320.870.930.93
Mar0.351.090.461.31.461.52
Apr0.471.520.561.611.891.95
May0.582.080.641.952.392.45
Jun0.642.480.692.292.852.79
Jul0.642.670.792.513.042.85
Aug0.62.390.742.332.792.6
Sep0.51.80.61.862.142.08
Oct0.351.180.461.331.461.49
Nov0.190.560.330.90.930.96
Dec0.120.340.260.680.650.68
Year4.817.116.218.4121.2721.08

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 16

Rated moderate water in the Central Valley, like thyme. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

DahliasDahlia spp.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyStar JasmineTrachelospermum jasminoides and cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyHoneysuckleLonicera japonicamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyFernsNephrolepis cordifolia (SHADE IN DESERT)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyDayliliesHemerocallis spp. & cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyBegoniasBegonia & ssp. & cvs. (shade in the desert)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyIvyHedera helixmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyCalla LiliesZantedeschia aethiopica SHADE IN DESERTmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyStrawberriesFragaria spp. & cvs. (CA native and non-natives species)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySageSalvia officinalis and cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyBicolor MonkshoodAconitum cammarummoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyGarden MonkshoodAconitum napellusmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyCarpet BugleAjuga reptans (shade)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySnowdrop WindflowerAnemone sylvestrismoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyGreen Supreme ManzanitaArctostaphylos uva-ursi 'Green Supreme'moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyMassachusetts ManzanitaArctostaphylos uva-ursi 'Massachusetts'moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in July

Similar plants that need less water 16

Rated lower than thyme in the Central Valley. Worth a look for a new bed or a lawn replacement.

BougainvilleaBougainvillea & spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyAgapanthusAgapanthus orientalislow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyGeraniumsPelargonium x hortorum and cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyLantanaLantana camara ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySalviaSalvia greggii ssp., cvs. & hybridslow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyIrisesIris germanicalow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySucculentsEcheveria spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyJunipersJuniperus spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyRussian SagePerovskia spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyYarrowAchillea millefolium (non-native hybrids)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyMountain AlyssumAlyssum montanumlow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySagebrushArtemisia spp. (shrubby)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySilver SageSalvia argentealow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyPurple MulleinVerbascum phoeniceumlow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySilvery YarrowAchillea clavennaelow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyFern Leaf YarrowAchillea filipendulinalow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in July
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes thyme, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How often should I water thyme in summer?

In July, established thyme in loam needs a deep watering about every 8 days in the Central Valley, about every 27 days on the south coast and about every 9 days in the South Inland zone. Sandy soil holds less water, so waterings come closer together. Clay stretches them. Check the soil before each watering and skip one after a soaking rain.

How much water does thyme need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established thyme needs about 0.3 gallons a day for a plant 2 feet across and about 1.1 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for thyme change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates thyme separately for each of the six California climate zones: low water in the North-Central Coastal zone, moderate water in the Central Valley zone, low water in the South Coastal zone, moderate water in the South Inland zone, moderate water in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, moderate water in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Can thyme grow between stepping stones?

Yes, creeping kinds are often planted between stepping stones, rocks and walls. The stones shade the roots and slow drying, so check the soil in a joint before watering. Keep runoff from nearby beds out of the gaps.

Why is my thyme woody in the middle?

Thyme stems turn woody with age, and an old mat thins from the center. Cut it back in early spring and again in summer to keep growth young. When harvesting, leave the woody base and a few inches of leafy growth.

Will thyme survive frost?

Yes, thyme is frost tolerant and keeps its leaves through the winter. Cold, wet soil is the bigger risk. Keep roof and gutter runoff away from the mat.

Is thyme good for bees?

Yes, its small flowers are rich in nectar and draw bees and butterflies. Water at the base in the morning so open flowers stay dry. Deer and rabbits usually leave the fragrant leaves alone.

Can thyme share water with my vegetable bed?

Put it on its own line or at the driest edge of the bed. Thirsty vegetables keep the soil wetter than thyme likes. Shared irrigation tends to rot the crown.

When should I harvest thyme?

Cut sprigs just before the plant flowers, when the leaves hold the most oil. Leave the woody stems and some green growth behind. Regrowth comes from those leafy stems.

More plant watering guides

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Sources