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Origanum vulgare
Also called Wild marjoram, Winter Sweet
Oregano is a woody perennial herb in the mint family, widely grown as a culinary herb, often treated as an annual in cold climates. The key to growing it is full sun and well-drained, fairly dry soil.
Oregano (US: , UK: ; Origanum vulgare), sometimes called wild marjoram, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region but widely naturalised elsewhere in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, particularly the United States and Mexico.
Oregano is a woody perennial plant, growing up to 90 cm (35 in) tall, with opposite leaves 1–4 cm (0.5–1.5 in) long covered with trichome. Young stems are typically square and hairy and become woody with age. The flowers, which can be white, pink or light purple, are 3–4 mm (0.12–0.18 in) long and produced in clustered, erect spikes in summer.
Oregano is planted in early spring, the plants being spaced 30 cm (12 in) apart in fairly dry soil, with full sun. It will grow in a pH range between 6.0 (mildly acidic) and 9.0 (strongly alkaline), with a preferred range between 6.0 and 8.0. It prefers a hot, relatively dry climate, but does well in other environments.
Origanum amanum · Origanum laevigatum · Marjoram · Pot marjoram · Origanum rotundifolium · Biblical-hyssop
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Oregano by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
