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groundcover

Creeping thyme

Thymus serpyllum

Climate-suitable non-native

Growing guidance

Horticultural figures below are practitioner estimates for planning, pending expert review. The botanical record further down is sourced and verifiable.

Current-climate suitability

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Future-climate resilience

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Sun

Full sun

Soil moisture

free-draining, average

Heat tolerance

Up to about 44°C

Cold tolerance

Down to about -25°C

Waterlogging tolerance

1/5

Drought tolerance

5/5

Mature size

0.05–0.1 m tall, 0.4 m spread

Seasonal interest

Early summer · Pink purple

Maintenance

low

Wildlife supported

General wildlife value 5/5 (verified species relationships are shown only where structured data exists)

Known risks or warnings

Fails in shade or compacted wet soil.

Toxicity: none

Verified botanical record

Accepted scientific name
Thymus serpyllum L.
Family
Lamiaceae (Lamiales)
Rank and status
species · accepted
GBIF record
Taxon 6409622

Recorded native range: Belgium, Flanders, Flemish Region

Ranges are exactly as recorded in the GBIF source checklists and may be incomplete for widely cultivated species.

Thymus serpyllum, known by the common names of Breckland thyme, Breckland wild thyme, wild thyme, creeping thyme, or elfin thyme, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is a low, usually prostrate subshrub forming creeping stems up to 10 cm (4 in) tall. The oval evergreen leaves are up to 8 mm. The strongly scented flowers are either lilac, pink-purple, or magenta, are up to 6 mm long and produced in clusters. The species is native to most of Europe and North Africa. The hardy plant tolerates some pedestrian traffic and produces odors ranging from heavily herbal to lightly lemon, depending on the variety.

Description from Wikipedia — Thymus serpyllum (CC BY-SA), shortened and unedited in substance.

Native status and geographic context

  • United Kingdom: climate-suitable
  • United States: climate-suitable
  • Australia: climate-suitable

Native status is never inferred from climate similarity. Plants restricted or invasive in a jurisdiction are excluded from recommendations there.

Demonstration data. Climate, plant and retailer records shown here are realistic samples awaiting horticultural validation and live data connections.