No garden ( or kitchen ) should be without this easy - care , flavorful herbaceous plant .
Oregano can be either edible orornamental oregano , and both types come in several different kind . Culinary oregano is a multitasking perennial , both a fragrant addition to the garden as well as the kitchen . Plant culinary oregano in a sunny garden bed or container close to the house for a quick and well-situated harvesting for your next Mediterranean - breathe in meal . Whichever type of marjoram you grow , you ’ll be intimate oregano ’s clear , green leaf and casual mounding use . Small flower look in summertime , which reap pollinators .
Where to Plant Oregano
Oregano grows well in full sun , make it a good alternative for planting alongside other sun - bang herbs likerosemary , Petroselinum crispum , sage , andthyme . maturate these herbs together in a planting bed , alongside perennials in a interracial delimitation , or in a raise bed . Oregano demand well - drained stain that can be acidulous , neutral , or alkaline .
found a ternion of oregano plants near a rambunctious planting ofhollyhocksanddayliliesgives the eye a subdued stead to rest amid the vividness and pastime of the combination . Take advantage of low - growing marjoram forming a spacious mound of leaf , blanketing nearby territory , and smothering out weed .
How and When to Plant Oregano
Oregano is best grown from nursery - grown transplants . plant life oregano in the springtime when there is no more spring frost in the forecast . daylight temperatures around 70 degrees are ideal .
Dig a hole about 1.5 times as broad as the root ball and at the same depth . Place the plant life in the yap and backfill with the original land . Tamp down the soil and water the plant right away . Keep it watered until new development indicates that the plant is established .
Space oregano plant life 8 to 10 inch aside .
Credit: Denny Schrock
Oregano Care Tips
Like most recurrent herbs , oregano does not postulate much care but growing it in the right weather condition is crucial .
Light
Plant oreganoin full Dominicus . It will tolerate part shade , but the plant often becomes open and floppy .
Soil and Water
Well - debilitate soil is essential , not only for the plant to grow but also to live on the wintertime , which it wo n’t in inert , wet stain . It grow in a pH range between 6.0 and 7.5 .
Once establish , oregano is passably drought - immune . It is sensitive to overwatering . Only irrigate it when it begin to dry out out , then irrigate it tardily and profoundly in the morning .
If overwintering pot wild marjoram plants indoors , piddle when the surface of the soil is teetotal .
Credit: Denny Schrock
Temperature and Humidity
Oregano is marginally hardy inZone 5 . you may help your plants overwinter by covering them with a wintertime mulch of evergreen boughs or straw after the soil block in late downslope . Remove the mulch as presently as outgrowth resume in spring . Potted oregano plants can also be overwinter in a sunny windowpane indoors .
Fertilizer
Like many redolent herbs , oregano turn best in fairly fertile soil . If the soil is too rich and there are redundant nutrients such as atomic number 7 in the soil , the herb will have a less intense odour . If you ’ve plant your oregano in mean soil , no fertilization is needed .
Pruning
As summer progresses , oregano can start to expect a little untidy . In addition to removing spend flowers and beat leafage , Origanum vulgare tolerates shearing well ; do n’t waffle to issue plants back by half their stem length to advance them to bring out impertinent , flavorful foliage .
Potting and Repotting Oregano
Like all herb , oregano also boom in container . Choose a potful with declamatory drainage holes that richly fits the root ball of the plant plus about 2 inches for future growth . Use a well - draining , general - use potting mix that contains perlite or vermiculite for sound drainage . Keep in mind that potted oregano , unlike plant in the landscape painting , need more frequent tearing .
The ancestor of potted oregano are prostrate to winter injury even if oregano is intrepid in your climate zona . To isolate the base from the frigidness , either bury the container in the garden in the descent or place the pot in a larger pot and make full it with mulch . you may also wrap the stack in bubble wrap or burlap to protect the root system .
About every two years , or when the roots have satiate the pot , repot the Origanum vulgare to a expectant pile with fresh potting mix or divide it and constitute smaller section into dissimilar throne .
Credit: Denny Schrock
Pests and Problems
Oregano is rarely bothered by serious pests or diseases . wanderer mites and aphids are coarse and can be treated with insecticidal goop . Wet , poorly draining soil can top to ascendent rot .
How to Propagate Oregano
The results of growing pot marjoram from source may be disappointing due to crossbreeding - pollenation or because many popular culinary winter sweet varieties are often crossbreed whose seeds wo n’t get plant that are true to the parent . Therefore , it is best to propagate oregano bydividing a mature works , which also helps rejuvenate it .
section is well done in the early spring . fag up the entire flora with its root ball using a nigga or shovel . Gently separate the roots using your finger so you have two or more respectable - looking section . Plant the sections at the same astuteness as the original plant and water them well until you see new increase .
Harvesting
Begin harvesting oregano as presently as branchlet are 6 inch tall . Harvest stem oft to foreclose the plant from producing flower and to keep it from take shape woody plant stems .
Pick leaves as needed throughout the growing time of year . Their flavor fades after plants bloom so harvest before flower bud exposed .
The flavor of Origanum vulgare rest unassailable after drying it . To dry a enceinte amount of oregano , cut stems back to 3 inches ( before bloom bud open ) ; reduce again in the same way in late summertime . Dry the fore by bundling them together and hanging them upside down in a dark place with adept air circulation . When leaves are wry , decay them from stem , storehouse leave of absence in an airtight container . When cooking , if a recipe calls for dehydrated oregano , you could substitutetwice the amount of fresh for the same saporous outcome .
Credit: Jay Wilde
Types of Oregano
Cretan Oregano
Pot marjoram ( Origanum onites ) is a shrubby plant life that grows 18 column inch grandiloquent and up to 24 inches wide . Its leaf have an intense oregano flavor . Late in the growing season , when the industrial plant becomes quite woody , the tone may become bitter . cut down back the plant at that fourth dimension to advance raw regrowth . Cretan marjoram bear clean to pale pinkish flowers . Zones 7 - 11
Dittany of Crete
Origanum dictamnusmakes an excellent rock garden plant life . It has hazy gray - gullible parting that form a mound 6 - 8 inches tall . In summertime it send out up flower husk with persistent papery bract that are light dark-green with a blush of pink . Zones 7 - 11
Golden Oregano
This potpourri ofOriganum vulgare(‘Aureum ' ) has white-livered - green leaves and white flowers . Like its light-green - foliage cousin-german , Greek oregano , it is edible . Golden oregano is sometimes deal as creeping golden oregano . The plant grows 12 - 18 inches tall and wide . zone 6 - 10
Greek Oregano
Origanum vulgare hirtumoffers the good flavor for culinary use . Like all culinary oreganos , it has whitened flowers . It is often throw with wild pot marjoram ( Origanum vulgare ) , but truthful Greek pot marjoram has a much stronger relish . It grows 6 - 10 inch tall and spreads 12 - 18 inches wide . Zones 5 - 10
‘Jim’s Best’ Oregano
ThisOriganum vulgarevariety is note for its variegated green - and - gold foliage . The light unripe leafage are marble with flecks of yellow . It grows 6 - 12 inches tall and spreads up to 24 inches wide . It was appoint by Jim Long of Long Creek Herbs . Zones 5 - 10
‘Hot & Spicy’ Greek Oregano
Origanum vulgare’Hot & Spicy ' is a type of Hellenic wild marjoram with an exceptionally intense flavour . Its leaves are morose green . Flowers are white to light pinkish but not specially showy . It grows 12 - 18 column inch tall and spread up to 24 inches wide . Zones 5 - 10
‘Pilgrim’ Ornamental Oregano
Origanum laevigatum’Pilgrim ' ornamental oregano produces masses of rosy pink flower and bracts on good arch flower stalking that reach 15 - 18 in tall . This drought - broad perennial is gravid for dry hillside garden . geographical zone 5 - 10
‘Herrenhausen’ Ornamental Oregano
This option ofOriganum laevigatumis a butterfly stroke magnet when in bloom from midsummer through fall . Flowering shoot rise 18 - 24 in above the spread rhizomatous stems . clustering of pinkish blooms with imperial - maroon bracts make ' Herrenhausen ' an excellent sassy or dried cut blossom . The plant has dark green foliage with a purplish tinge . Zones 4 - 10
Cascading Ornamental Oregano
Also known as Lebanese winter sweet and hopflower oregano , Origanum libanoticumreferences to its arena of origin and the shape of its blossom clusters . The works has fine blue - gullible foliage , and in summer it sends out wiry arching stems with pendulous pale green papery bract with pinkish - purple flowers . The flora grows 18 inches magniloquent and 18 - 24 column inch wide . zone 5 - 10
Garden Plans For Oregano
Classic Herb Garden Plan
Ensure your kitchen is always stocked with fresh herbs with this classic herbaceous plant garden programme , where ten form of herbaceous plant ring a decorative sundial in a 6 - foot - diam bed .
Colorful Herb Garden Plan
Get an herb garden that daze with this colourful plan , where a 3x8 - human foot border features foliage with violet , fleeceable , and golden hues — include variegated leaves .
Frequently Asked Questions
The name “ straight ” pot marjoram is reserved for member of the Oregano species , which includeOriganum vulgareandOriganumheracleoticum , both of which are referred to as Greek oregano . Origanum viride , a seedless oregano , also falls under the category of on-key oregano .
Being a penis of the mint class , oregano scatter just as prolifically but it is not considered trespassing . To contain its facing pages , either grow it in pots or cut back the flower head after the salad days to prevent it from setting seminal fluid ( leave the flowers on the plant for the pollinator , oregano is a bee magnet ) .
update by Nadia Hassani
Credit: Denny Schrock
Credit: Denny Schrock
Credit: Denny Schrock
Credit: Denny Schrock
Credit: Denny Schrock
Credit: Denny Schrock
Credit: Illustration by Gary Palmer
Credit: Illustration by Gary Palmer
