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Gardening in New Zealand

Types of Thyme

17 years ago

I had a thriving border of common thyme but it has all died this winter. Does anyone have any idea what could cause this? The cold and wet? Old age? Disease?

At any rate I want to replace it, but there is a bewildering array of varieties in the garden shops. Can anyone recommend the best variety for Christchurch conditions? I only want it for culinary purposes. I have very sandy soil.

Thanks,

Brien

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Comments (3)

vetivert8
17 years ago
I like the more creeping varieties such as Pizza Thyme because I usually forget to clip back T vulgaris to keep it going with fresh shoots. It seems to be quite tasty, too.

I'm always happy to blame ALL my deaths on 'cold and wet'. Couldn't possibly be my erratic cultivation! Yet Christchurch has had a lot more rain than usual this year, so you're probably right.

If you contact your local herb society you could find varieties to suit your soil and climate. With spring sort of arriving herb societies tend to put on 'herb happenings' and you may be able to find suitable plants there. Or ask at your local Citizens Advice Bureau for a contact.
andy_sa
17 years ago
Whenever I've lost thyme - in both UK and Aussie climates - it's been due to not picking. Now if I don't use any for a while in the kitchen (rarely), I'll get the shears out and cut the whole patch back a few inches. Works wonders!
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coolclimate
17 years ago
Yeah, my flatmate told me the other day to plant my herb bed level with the lawn and line it with leveled bricks to maintain a boundary.
His reasoning was when he worked on a herb farm in israel (hes the original backpacker lol) his job was to mow the woody herbs so they would produce new shoots
if it thrives in cent otago than why not chch? :)

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