Japanese name: タチジャコウソウ（立麝香草） Scientific name:Thymus vulgaris
[Overview]
A small evergreen shrub about 20 cm tall.
The whole plant is fragrant.
The stems branch well from the base.
Leaves are simple and opposite, oblong-lanceolate to linear, about 5 mm long, with entire margins.
The leaves have glandular dots and are green to gray-green.
The flowers are borne in verticillasters at the stem tips; they are two-lipped and white to pale pink.
The 4 stamens stick out from the corolla.
[Uses]
It contains essential oil and has long been used as a herb.
It is used medicinally and in cooking, and also in potpourri and the like.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed, by cuttings, or by division.
It prefers sunny, well-drained, calcareous soil.
It does better on the dry side, so water only after the soil surface has dried completely. Keep it on the dry side in winter.
For plants in the garden, watering is not necessary.
It dislikes heat and humidity, and the leaves may wither if the plant becomes stuffy, so before summer cut it back by 1/2–1/3 to improve ventilation.
It is very cold-hardy, but the leaves may turn black if exposed to heavy frost.
It needs little fertilizer, and too much weakens the fragrance.
If you are growing it for harvest, do so before flowering, since the fragrance weakens once the flowers open.
There are no particular pests or diseases.
