Help w/ Lemon Thyme - Looking Sick. =(

10 years ago

Hello,

I purchased a lemon thyme plant from a local greenhouse a few months ago. It didn't look so great at the time, but it was the last one, so I bought it anyway, hoping I could help it recuperate. It's still not doing so well though, and I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong?

Does anyone know if it's normal for these plants to look so sickly during the winter months? I read that these plants need a lot of light, which we are not getting much of right now. For the past week or so, I've been keeping it on my stove with the light on during the day in hopes that the extra hours of light help. It does seem to be looking slightly better... maybe.

I just gave it some miracle grow in it's water today. I guess we'll see where that goes.

Any advice anyone could give would be much appreciated! :)

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Comments (4)

Natures_Nature
10 years ago
Yes, your thyme does look sickly.. Its not the best idea to buy unhealthy plants.. I have one inside and it looks nothing like yours. You probably should of planted it when you purchased it, if possible.. Maybe it will pick back up.. My sage is doing horrible inside, maybe even worse than your thyme there..

Note: be careful with the miracle grow, it can burn your plants pretty bad.. When watering give it a drink, saturate the soil, drain off exess water pooling at the bottem, and dont water again until the soil is dry to the touch or right when you see the plant wilt, but ideally before
balloonflower
10 years ago
The plant looks very woody for the size--both the plant size and the pot size. It's possible that it's an older plant that has been very stunted by maintaining in a small pot. Did you repot it when purchased, and if so, was it extremely root bound?

Agree with last poster on Miracle Gro. I would recommend finding an organic liquid with low numbers, especially for herbs that you want to use. Thyme does require a lot of light--even the stove light may not be enough, or of the correct spectrum.
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gjcore
10 years ago
The plant needs more light soon or it will probably die. Thyme can get scraggly looking and still recover. Cheapest indoor light would be the sunniest window. Next would be a CFL and a single bulb shop light with reflector. Another option would be to try to it adapt to outdoors assuming you have somewhere decent to plant it and leave it outside temporarily to harden off some.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
10 years ago
Like many herbs, it will not take kindly to being grown inside.....especially in the winter. It's too warm, too dry, and too dark. Your stove light cannot provide the light quality (wave lengths) that any plant needs.

If this plant were mine, I would cut it neatly nearly all the way back to the soil. Find the brightest window in the house and leave it. Water only when the soil has dried quite a bit to the touch. No more fertilizer!

I would also not plant it outside until spring. Your plant will not adjust to the cold, especially after fertilization.

I would inspect for and expect to find spider mites infesting your plant. If so, all the more reason that it will benefit from being cut back. Let me know about the mites. That could be why it looked so bad at the nursery. (Retail plant sellers are spider mite factories, lol.)