Savory & Thyme

[winter_unfazed]

Last week I ordered some seeds from Le Jardin du Gourmet (Home of the 35 cent Seed Packet). One of the packets was Thyme. It was a choice of French or German thyme, and I assumed both were winter thyme. However, I found out that French (the kind I chose) was summer, and German was winter. However, they both are perennial according to the label. Is winter thyme evergreen, and summer thyme not? Is that the difference?
Also, they sent me a packet of winter savory instead of the mitsuba that I ordered. Can anyone tell me what zone it is hardy to, how it is used, etc.?

[Lavandula Girl]

Winter Savory is Satureja montana, and is a semi-woody perennial. It's hardy to zone 6. Use it with red meats and game meats, it's similar to rosemary, in that it has a kind of pine taste to it. It's also great with roasted or pan fried potatoes, and in stews. As to the thyme question, do you have a botanical name for those two? I'm not familiar with french and german, but I am familiar with a lot of thymes.... maybe they are just called something different here colloquially. All thymes that I can think of are perennials, though. Hardiness factors have more to do with the amount of harvesting you do than the specific kind of thyme. (Second harvest can make some of them have a tougher winter.)

[flowerpower]

I started Thyme from seed this yr. I don't remember if it said German, French or anything on the pack. I don't have a prob w/ Thyme surviving the winter as long as it is mulched..

[winter_unfazed]

Can winter savory be planted outdoors in the fall?

[Lavandula Girl]

From seed, I'd say no, since it germinates really slowly. I'd think you could start it indoors, overwinter inside, and harden off then plant in spring. By the way - when you get to next fall, don't give it a lot of water going into the cold season - too much will cause winter kill.

[ipaintedmyhousewhite]

I don't know anything about planting Winter Savory from seed, since I bought mine as a plant, but I wanted to say (1) I think the tag on mine said it was evergreen. We'll see, but if it is, I'll be really excited (2) It has cute little white flowers on it and has for a while and (3) It is a really really zippy taste, quite bitey but also magnificent. I really hope you enjoy it and get some fun from the mistake :)

[winter_unfazed]

Lavandula Girl, can you explain this sentence? "Second harvest can make some of them have a tougher winter."

Are you saying that "second harvest makes winter tougher on the plant", or that "second harvest makes the plant able to handle a tougher winter"?

[Lavandula Girl]

Sorry Winter - I meant that if you harvest a second time, the plant may have problems overwintering. Not too clear the first time! Did you ever get the botanical names on those thymes?

[winter_unfazed]

The package didn't say, but sources list French thyme as T. vulgaris. I don't know about the German thyme.

[Lavandula Girl]

T. vulgaris is common thyme. It's the easiest to grow. While common thyme isn't a true evergreen, it can appear so in some gardens, as it doesn't die back and drop all it's leaves. T. vulgaris is probably the oldest thyme in the world, and therefore you can count on it to be relatively hardy. Sow your seeds indoors, as thyme likes about 70 deg to germinate properly. (I'm not sure where you are - if that can be achieved outdoors in winter, then you can direct sow.) Good luck!

[winter_unfazed]

So what you're saying is, T. vulgaris is as old as thyme itself?

[louanne]

I started some of that thyme in a pot on my back porch 5 years ago....
it has survived everything...and now is perminately planted inthe yard here...
if for nothing else....I love it cause it lives on for me....and smells WONDERFUL

[HerbalBetty]

German thyme (winter thyme) is AKA English thyme and has a slightly wider leaf than French thyme. Both are very tasty. Some say that French thyme is preferred in cooking. I don't think there is that much of a difference between the two. They are fairly easy to start from seed.
Winter unfazed - You are so punny!!