How to grow oregano.

Oregano at a glance

Oregano is one of the easiest herbs to keep going once it is settled. It is a tough Mediterranean perennial that asks for sun and sharp drainage and little else, and it earns its place twice over: in the kitchen, and as a magnet for bees when it flowers.

Sowing and planting

You can raise oregano from seed, or just buy a plant and divide it later, which is quicker and gives you the exact flavour you want. From seed, start indoors in spring:

• Scatter the tiny seeds thinly on the surface of damp peat-free seed compost. Do not cover them, as they are small and need light.
• Keep them warm at around 20C (68F) in a heated propagator or on a bright windowsill. They germinate in one to three weeks.
• Pot seedlings on once they are big enough to handle, then harden them off before planting out.
• Plant out, or buy ready-grown plants, spacing them at least 20-30cm (8-12in) apart, as they spread to make low, bushy mounds.

Sweet marjoram is sown the same way, but because it is tender you grow it as an annual and sow a fresh batch each spring, rather than expecting it to overwinter outdoors like hardy oregano.

Where to grow it

Oregano needs full sun and very well-drained soil. That drainage matters more than almost anything else: on heavy or damp ground the roots are liable to rot, especially over winter. If your soil is heavy, work a handful of grit into the planting hole, raise the bed, or grow it in a pot of free-draining compost instead.

A sunny spot gives you the best flavour and the most flowers. Plants make mounds of 30-60cm (1-2ft) depending on the variety, so give each one room to breathe and keep the air moving around it.

Watering and care

Oregano is drought tolerant once established. Water new plants in dry spells while they settle, but plants growing in the ground should not need extra water after that. The usual mistake is kindness: too much water, and the flavour dulls and the roots suffer.

Plants in pots are the exception and will need watering in dry weather, but let the compost dry a little between waterings and never let it stand waterlogged. There is no need to feed heavily; lean conditions give the best-flavoured leaves.

To keep plants bushy and productive, you can cut them back hard in midsummer to push out a flush of fresh young leaves. Divide clumps every few years to keep them vigorous, in spring, or soon after flowering in late summer or early autumn.

Harvesting

Pick oregano from late spring right through to autumn, snipping or pinching off sprigs as you need them. The flavour is strongest just before the flowers open, so that is the moment to gather bunches for drying if you want a winter store.

It is worth letting some of the plant flower rather than cutting everything. The pink, mauve or white summer flowers are alive with bees and butterflies, and unlike many herbs oregano does not turn bitter the way basil or coriander do once they bolt. Dried oregano actually holds its flavour well, which is unusual among herbs.

Oregano versus marjoram, and types to try

The names tangle because they are close relatives. In short: the hardy perennial sold as oregano is Origanum vulgare, while sweet and pot marjoram are different, milder species of the same genus. The one most cooks mean by oregano, the strong pizza-and-tomato flavour, is Greek oregano. Here are the ones worth knowing:

Common problems

• Winter wet and heavy soil are the main killers, rotting the roots. Sharp drainage, grit or a pot solves nearly every oregano problem before it starts.
• Mint rust can show as orange pustules on the leaves. Remove affected growth and keep plants open and airy.
• Mint moth caterpillars may nibble the foliage; pick them off by hand if numbers build up.
• Sage and Ligurian leafhoppers can cause pale stippling on the leaves, though plants usually shrug this off.

Beyond that, oregano is largely trouble free given sun and drainage. Get the spot right and it mostly looks after itself.

Frequently asked questions