Advantages and Disadvantages of ‘Magic Carpet’ Lemon Thyme
Answered by: Conrad Richter
Question from: Steve Guerin
Posted on: May 6, 2001

I am looking for the best low lying thyme to lay between our flagstone sidewalk. I am undecided to go with plants or the ‘Magic Carpet’ lemon thyme seeds S6462-600. Can you tell me the advantages and disadvantages and the germination time of these seed? How much soil does thyme require as the flagstone will be layed on small stones and then sand.

Up until this year the only lemon thyme option was to plant one of the asexually-propagated lemon thymes such as ‘Doone Valley’ lemon thyme or ‘Lemon Carpet’ thyme. That’s why the new ‘Magic Carpet’ lemon thyme is such an important development. There is no disadvantage with ‘Magic Carpet’ except for the extra time and care required to establish plants from seeds. Thyme seeds are very small so they require extra care to germinate them and to nurture the seedlings until they are established enough to survive on their own. The key concerns are planting the seeds too deep (no more than 2-3 mm or 1/8 inch) and not letting them dry out during the critical germianting and seedling establishment phases. In contrast, starting with plants is much easier and faster to establish a thick mat between the stones. Starting with plants you can have a thick growth of thyme in 1-2 months, while seeds will take 2-3 months.

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