Lemon thyme · Jersey City, New Jersey, United States
When to plant lemon thyme in Jersey City
Main outdoor window
26 Apr - 24 May
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
12 April
In Jersey City, 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 Jersey City
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
26 Apr - 24 May
Two weeks after your last frost.
Harvest
1 May - 30 Sep
Lemon thyme through the year
Against the frost risk in Jersey City
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 Jersey City.
Hardiness is not the obstacle here. Jersey City is zone 7b, comfortably inside the range this crop is rated for, so an established plant should come through an average winter without protection.
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.
Growing lemon thyme in Jersey City
When should I plant lemon thyme in Jersey City?
Aim for 26 Apr - 24 May in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 5 May - 2 Jun - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will lemon thyme be ready to harvest in Jersey City?
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.