Common thyme
Western Mediterranean thyme grown in gardens and fields; its flowers are busily worked by honey bees and contribute to thyme honey in Spain and France.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Crystallisation
- Medium
- Height
- 0,2-0,4 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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It grows wild on the dry, limy slopes of Spain, southern France and Italy and is the most widely cultivated thyme in the world. It is a good nectar plant with a moderate pollen contribution; large plantings give a worthwhile honey yield per apiary.
Flowering
Small white to pale pink flowers open from May to July and last about 4-6 weeks. Secretion rises markedly on sunny, hot and windless days; in cool, wet weather bee visits drop.
Honey and pollen
Thyme honey is amber, strongly aromatic and has a slightly bitter finish; it crystallises with a medium grain within a few months. Spanish thyme honey also includes Thymus zygis and other wild species.
Note for the beekeeper
It does not grow wild in Turkey, but it is increasingly planted in fields of medicinal and aromatic plants. Harvesting is often done at the start of flowering, so agreeing the harvest date with the grower is decisive when placing an apiary. Even a small thyme border in the garden helps bees in early summer.