Lemon thyme · Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico
When to plant lemon thyme in Celaya
Main outdoor window
11 Feb - 11 Mar
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
28 January
In Celaya, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 May - 30 Sep
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Celaya
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Plant out
11 Feb - 11 Mar
Two weeks after your last frost.
Harvest
1 May - 30 Sep
Lemon thyme through the year
Against the frost risk in Celaya
Why these dates
Hardy to about -18C in dry soil. Winter wet is the usual cause of death, not frost.
Seed packets and extension guides express timing as weeks either side of the last spring frost, because that is the only reference point that travels. Lemon thyme are timed with planting out 2 weeks after it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Celaya.
Celaya sits in zone 10a, which is milder than this crop wants, and a winter that never really arrives is its own problem. The dates below still describe the right time of year; the open question is survival rather than timing.
Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 1, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.
Nearby
Lemon thyme in places close by
Growing lemon thyme in Celaya
When should I plant lemon thyme in Celaya?
Aim for 11 Feb - 11 Mar in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 4 Mar - 1 Apr - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will lemon thyme be ready to harvest in Celaya?
Expect to start picking around 1 May - 30 Sep, based on 80 to 100 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will lemon thyme tolerate?
Hardy to about -18C in dry soil. Winter wet is the usual cause of death, not frost.