Lilac blossoms above evergreen leaves wider and rounder than common thyme’s, and a taste that reminisces of lemon: that is lemon thyme (Thymus x citriodorus), a tiny Mediterranean shrub prized for flavouring sauces, soups, grilled meat and fish. Give it full sun and light, well-drained soil, and it stays ornamental all year round.
| Name | Thymus x citriodorus |
|---|---|
| Family | Lamiaceae |
| Type | condiment |
| Height | 8 to 16 inches (20 to 40 cm) |
| Exposure | full sun |
| Soil | light, well-drained |
| Foliage | evergreen |
| Flowering | spring |
| Harvest | all year round |
Its lilac-colored blossoms and evergreen foliage make it a very ornamental plant all year round.
Usually, you’ll find lemon thyme sold in pots or nursery pots.
The best season to plant these citrus thyme is fall.
If you purchase a young plant in spring, plant it right away, preferably in light and well-draining soil.
Lemon thyme, like its relative common thyme, loves growing in pots. The only word of caution: drainage!
Lemon thyme needs very well-draining soil.
Since it’s in a pot, you’ll need to fertilize now and then, but only very little, once or twice a year is fine.
To prepare seedlings, you must sow in a nursery in spring.
You can transplant the seedlings in the ground 5 to 6 weeks after sprouting.
Lemon thyme can be propagated through crown division at the beginning of spring.
Lemon thyme can be bought as a plant, raised from seed or split from an existing clump, and each route has its own moment in the year. Use the table to pick the one that matches what you have to hand.
| Method | When | You start with | What it needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planting pot-grown plants | Mid-autumn | A pot or nursery pot from the garden centre | Light, well-draining soil |
| Planting a spring purchase | Mid-spring | A young plant bought in leaf | Planting right away, not left waiting in its pot |
| Sowing | Early spring, in a nursery | Seed | Transplanting out five to six weeks after sprouting |
| Crown division | Early spring | An established clump | Splitting the crown into pieces |
Whichever route you take, drainage decides the outcome far more than feeding does.
You can cut stems off your lemon thyme whenever you need some all year round.
It is best to cut stems from recent growth to stimulate appearance of new shoots.
It is best to select the younger stems and collect them in the morning before dawn, which is when flavors are most concentrated.
Help your slow-growing lemon thyme by weeding around it to stifle out competition.
To maintain its dense, compact shape, wait for the end of the blooming season to prune it delicately.
There are two ways to keep it, either leaves are dried, or they are frozen in a freezer.
In the first case, place collected stems in a dry and ventilated place until they are completely dry. After that, they can be ground and kept in a jar for several months.
Freezing has the advantage of preserving their flavor, and thyme can keep this way for several months.
Dry the stems out of direct sunlight, or the lemon scent fades.
For drying, cut the stems just before the flower buds open, when the essential oil content of lemon thyme is at its peak.
Store the dried thyme in an airtight jar in a dark cupboard, well away from the cooker, as heat and steam soon dull the citrus note.
Lemon thyme is a tiny shrub which has leaves that remain very ornamental all year long. Its name comes from its taste that reminisces of lemon.
It is often used in infusions, and also in cooking to flavor sauces and soups.
Native to the Mediterranean area, lemon thyme is very fragrant and is particularly well suited to seasoning grilled meat and fish.
It is a rather hardy plant that resists temperatures below freezing and diseases very well. Its leaves are wider and rounder than those of common thyme.
Lemon thyme, like its cousin Thymus officinalis, has certain beneficial medicinal properties, for example it eases digestion and relaxes the body. Some varieties are variegated.
It also helps repel pests in the garden, particularly the cabbage caterpillar. You can also use extracts to silence barking dogs when they’re training (the citrus-like scent distracts them).
No need to water, thyme will be perfectly happy with poor and dry soil. It naturally grows in desolate arid places.
