I received my ordered plants of Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) yesterday. I plan on growing it in a pot since it won't survive our winters. The plants I received look healthy although a bit crowded in their individual pots so appears they need to be put into a bigger pot very soon. I've never grown this before and, to me, the plants seem a little leggy with most of the leaves at the top. Can these plants be trimmed back a bit to encourage more side shoots? I don't want to make a mistake by pruning too much or at the wrong time.

Cindy--I'm not aware of any specific pruning for mexican oregano, but a good rule of thumb is to never prune more than 1/3 of the height of the plant. You might want to do a little less and see if you are getting branching from your cuts.

Thanks for that tip. I didn't want to prune too far down on the more woody part of the stem. Since these plants were grown in OH, I'm assuming they spent the winter indoors, perhaps resulting in the leggier growth. Maybe?

My Mexican oregano has been happily growing outside in a pot all summer. I've even managed to harvest and dry some leaves. It has grown to about a foot tall and I've moved it inside already. I did put it in a small pot when I first received it and I know it will grow into a small shrub. It's probably about the size to now require a bigger pot. Should I transplant it now or wait until spring? It probably will drop some leaves over winter due to reduced sunlight.

In s Tx the mexican oregano overwinters and starts growing its best. I usually lop ours back with hedge trimmers about Dec and like rosemary, that thickens the lower parts. It slows down after June or July, depending mostly on seasonal rains, heat.

Thanks, kitt. Golly, I would have thought that it would like the heat. I'm hesitant to transplant/trim mine as it's still young and I don't get the best sunlight in the winter.

Indiana is the coldest, windiest, iciest state in the USA. Flat. Pure miserable.
That said, Your summers arent even close to our winters. Dont think my dau said it got below 65-70* last winter. My oregano grows abt 18" above ground level in a raised bed that gets rain only. Too wet in the sandy area for growing in ground. It loves to cuddle up next to a cement block, or stone, and drape and creep itself all over.
Your conditions are so very different. Treat it like a basil tho- wait til creepers are maybe 5" long before you snip the xtra length back. Good luck!

kitt - last year our summer was wetter and cooler - tomatoes came in late. This summer, it's been hotter and drier for extended periods of time. Tomatoes started producing early.

I have a friend from Anderson- I know about your weather. EVERYTIME I roll into Indiana I am getting rain this year. Doesn't change my mind, Texas is supposed to have all 4 seasons happen everyday, chuckl, but Indiana would be hard for me to live in with winters like you have. I love my herbs I grow.

Yep, Anderson and the southern part of the state have gotten a lot more rain than we have up here in the NW corner. A lot of weather systems split apart just as they're crossing the state line south of Chicago and we get zero rain. Lake Michigan has a weird effect on weather systems.