- Quendel: origin and characteristics
- The best wild thyme varieties
- Plant thyme
- Caring for Wild Thyme
- Increase quenelle
- Harvest & store wild thyme
- Use of wild thyme asmedicinal plant
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Quendel is also called wild thyme or wild thyme and is a popular medicinal herb. Here you can find out how to plant wild thyme in the garden and what to look out for when caring for the so-called wild thyme.
Quendel (Thymus serpyllum) is a wild relative of common thyme (Thymus vulgaris). The strong-growing herb is often used as a fragrant ground cover that bees and other insects feast on. But wild thyme can also be used as a medicinal and spice plant. In this article we tell you everything about the origin, different varieties, plants, care and use of wild thyme.
Quendel: origin and characteristics
Quendel belongs to the thyme genus (Thymus) and belongs to the mint family (Lamiaceae). It is also known under the names wild thyme, field thyme, wild thyme, field cumin or rain cumin. Wild thyme is originally native to Central Europe. He feels particularly comfortable there in sunny, warm and stony places such as dry sandy grassland, in pine forests and on dunes.
Quendel is an evergreen, ground-covering subshrub that can grow two to ten centimeters high. It is a great groundcover and can form entire, densely overgrown carpets. The leaves of the plant are lanceolate in shape, smooth, green and aromatically fragrant.
The blooming period of buckthorn thyme is from June to September. Quendel then forms countless small, depending on the variety, white, red or pink to violet flowers, which smell strongly from afar. Bees and other insects like to fly to the flowers and they serve as a source of food for helpful insects.
Tip: If you can't get enough of buzzing and buzzing little animals in the garden and have a heart for bees, butterflies and insects, we recommend our Plantura organic seed "beneficial magnet ', 'Butterfly Meeting' or 'Bee Pasture'. The special, insect-friendly seed mixtures offer a habitat and a source of food for numerous little helpers in the garden.
The best wild thyme varieties
The different wild thyme varieties differall in their flower color.
Some recommended Quendel varieties:
- 'Albus': White Field Thyme
- 'Coccineus': Red Wild Thyme variety
- ‘Creeping Red’: red wild thyme variety
- 'Gregor's Weiße': White Flowers
- 'Lemon Curd': Robust, lemon aroma, pink flowers
- 'Magic Carpet': purple flowers
- ‘Pink Chintz’: forms dense carpets, flowers purple
- 'Purple Beauty': Blooms purple
- 'Wild Magic': Purple flowers
Plant thyme
Burgundy thyme looks good in rock gardens and is suitable for planting in pavement joints. Quendel is also a real feast for the eyes as a green roof and of course in herb and scented beds. In the following section we will explain when and where to plant wild thyme and how to do it correctly.
When do you plant wild thyme?
- Moving forward on the windowsill in March
- Plant out at the end of May
Where is thyme planted?
- As sunny and warm as possible
- Loves sandy soil
- Prefers nutrient-poor and dry soil
- Avoid calcareous soils
Tip: Wild thyme is also ideal for planting on dry stone walls.
If you don't want to buy plants, you can sow wild thyme. It is worth growing the herb on the windowsill in spring, as the very small and fine seeds make it difficult to sow directly in the bed. Quendel is also a light germinator and should be covered with a maximum of one centimeter of soil. For sowing, we recommend our Plantura organic herb & seed soil, which should be thinned down a bit with sand for the wild thyme.
From the end of May you can plant the plants you have brought forward or bought outside in the bed or in the pot. In the bed, too, it is important to thin out too heavy, loamy soil with sand in order to create good growth conditions for the field thyme. For planting, dig planting holes that are twice as wide in diameter as the plant pots. Now the wild thyme plants are only placed as deep in the ground as they were in the pot. The planting distance in the bed should be 20 to 30 centimeters. Fill the planting holes with soil and water well.
For planting in pots, first create a drainage layer of potsherds or expanded clay so that the water has a chance to drain off well and notWaterlogging occurs. Now fill the pot with good herbal soil, which you mix with sand. Our Plantura organic herb and seed soil offers the best growing conditions for herbs of all kinds. After planting, water the thyme well, but remove all excess water from the cachepot.
Overview of thyme plants:
- Loosen the bed and remove weeds
- Lean heavy soils with sand
- Dig planting holes
- Planting distance: 20 - 30 cm
- Put the plants as deep in the holes as they were in the pot
- Cast on
Tip: Quendel gets along well in the bed in mixed cultivation with savory (Satureja), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis ), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and sage (Salvia). He doesn't like standing next to marjoram (Origanum majorana) or peppermint (Mentha x piperita). You can see which herbs go well together in our overview table.
Caring for Wild Thyme
Quendel is an extremely easy-care and undemanding plant. Once planted, it grows by itself and you hardly have to worry about it.
Water and fertilize wild thyme
The wild thyme tolerates drought without any problems. Even prolonged periods of drought do not bother him. That's why you basically never have to water the herb. Quendel will thank you for occasional doses of compost or a fertilizer with an organic long-term effect with lush growth. Our Plantura organic universal fertilizer contains all the important nutrients that field thyme needs and releases them gently and slowly to the plant. So there is no risk of over-fertilization.
Quendel care at a glance:
- Tolerates longer periods of drought without any problems
- No watering needed
- Fertilize occasionally with compost or a slow release organic fertilizer
- Plantura organic universal fertilizer is ideal for fertilizing field thyme
Cut Wild Thyme
Burgundy thyme tolerates pruning and should be cut back radically once a year. This stimulates strong growth and prevents lignification. In the spring, before new shoots appear, cut back the subshrub vigorously down to the woody part. You can also cut off the shoot tips after flowering.
Winter wild thyme
Being in Central Europeis native, wild thyme is hardy and can overwinter in the garden without special protection. Only potted plants need frost protection, as the soil in the pot can easily freeze through. To do this, protect the pot from below by placing it on a wooden board. The pot is insulated with coconut mats, bubble wrap or jute bags. From above, the plant can be protected with brushwood. It is important to place the wild thyme in a pot in a sheltered place where it cannot get water. Alternatively, your Quendel in a pot can survive the winter well in a frost-free shed or in a cool stairwell.
Increase quenelle
Field thyme is easily propagated using three different methods.
Ways to propagate Wild Thyme:
- Division
- Self Seeding
- Head cuttings
Quendel reliably self-seeds. All you have to do is leave the plants flowering undisturbed.
Tip: If you don't want the wild thyme to spread uncontrollably in the garden, cut it back before it blooms. He can't seed himself that way.
Quendel can be divided and thus multiplied every three years. To do this, take a spade and dig up the plant. Then use the spade to pierce the root ball into two equal parts. For vegetative propagation using head cuttings, cut woody side shoots about ten centimeters long in early summer. In potting soil, the cuttings root best in a self-made mini greenhouse.
Harvest & store wild thyme
Quendel is mainly harvested before it starts to bloom, i.e. from spring to June. Wild thyme that blooms between June and September can also be harvested and used in the kitchen or as a medicinal herb. However, the flowering herb has significantly less aroma. To harvest, hand-pick a few shoots from the plant as needed, or cut entire clumps with sharp scissors.
Field thyme only stays fresh for a few days. The most common storage method is drying. The harvested stalks are bundled together and hung upside down in a dry place with a temperature of at least 20 °C until the leaves can be easily rubbed with a finger. Alternatively, the herb can also be dried in the oven. Quendel can also be preserved by freezing, placing in oil or s alt.
Use of wild thyme asmedicinal plant
Is wild thyme edible? Yes, wild thyme can be eaten just like its “real” relative. The aromatic herb is mainly used to flavor Mediterranean dishes. It goes well with meat, soups, hearty stews or potato dishes.
Quendel was already used as a medicinal herb in antiquity and in the Middle Ages. Even Hildegard von Bingen used field thyme to relieve cold symptoms and coughs. Field thyme can be used as a medicinal herb in a similar way to common thyme. The herb is said to help with respiratory problems, the common cold, stomach and intestinal disorders, flatulence and heartburn. In addition, Quendel is said to have an antibacterial effect; thus it also strengthens the immune system.
See our feature article for another 11 herbs that boost the immune system.