Elfin Thyme is a miniature cultivar grown primarily as an ornamental groundcover, not as a culinary herb. It grows only 1-3 inches high and spreads to 1 to 1.5 feet. Preference is for full sun in sandy loam or rocky soils with good drainage. Tiny tubular pink flowers appear in summer that attract pollinators. Prune as needed to reduce an overabundance of woody stems. Use this plant to cascade over walls, between stepping stones, for edging border fronts, in containers, or rock gardens. It will tolerate light foot traffic. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No serious problems. It can suffer root rot on poorly drained soils. More information on Thymus serpyllum .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.