The Main Plant entry for Oreganos (Origanum vulgare)

This database entry exists to show plant data and photos that apply generically to all Oreganos.

General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit:	Herb/Forb
Life cycle:	Perennial
Sun Requirements:	Full Sun
Water Preferences:	Mesic Dry Mesic Dry
Minimum cold hardiness:	Zone 4a -34.4 °C (-30 °F) to -31.7 °C (-25 °F)
Maximum recommended zone:	Zone 9b
Leaves:	Fragrant
Flowers:	Showy
Flower Color:	Pink White Other: Tiny, white to rosy pink flowers
Flower Time:	Summer Late summer or early fall Other: July - October
Suitable Locations:	Xeriscapic
Uses:	Erosion control Groundcover Culinary Herb Medicinal Herb Will Naturalize Suitable as Annual
Wildlife Attractant:	Bees Butterflies
Propagation: Seeds:	Depth to plant seed: cover the seeds very thin Suitable for wintersowing Sow in situ Start indoors Can handle transplanting
Propagation: Other methods:	Layering Division
Pollinators:	Moths and Butterflies Bees
Containers:	Suitable in 3 gallon or larger Needs excellent drainage in pots
Miscellaneous:	Tolerates poor soil

Common names

Oregano
Wild Marjoram
Creeping Marjoram

Photo Gallery

Location: Bayerische Alpen
Date: 2018-07-29
In the wild

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Location: Bayerische Alpen
Date: 2018-07-29

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Location: My garden in Belgium
Date: 2009-10-05

Uploaded by JonnaSudenius

Location: Aberdeen, NC (my garden 2022)
Date: July 7, 2022
Oregano #4vg; LHB p.860, 176-25-1, "Ancient Greek name, said to m

Uploaded by WebTucker

Location: My Northeastern Indiana Gardens - Zone 5b
Date: 2012-06-23

Uploaded by chelle

Location: Aberdeen, NC
Date: April 30, 2022
Oregano #4vg; LHB p.860, 176-25-1, "Ancient Greek name, said to m

Uploaded by WebTucker

Location: Ghent, Belgium
Date: 2014-06-20

Uploaded by bonitin

Location: San Antonio, TX
Date: 2019-10-16

Uploaded by christinereid54

Location: Gardenfish garden
Date: April 2020
Spring growth

Uploaded by gardenfish

Location: Southern Pines, NC (Boyd House garden)
Date: June 17, 2023
Oregano #4vg; LHB p.860, 176-25-1, "Ancient Greek name Said to me

Uploaded by WebTucker

Location: Indiana zone 5
Date: 2015-04-07

Uploaded by gardengus

Location: Brownstown Pennsylvania
Date: 2016-06-18

Uploaded by nativeplantlover

Location: Botanical book
Date: 14.07.2018
Botanical illustration of Origanum vulgare

Uploaded by ZGadev

Location: My Northeastern Indiana Gardens
Date: 2011-09-28

Uploaded by chelle

Location: My Northeastern Indiana Gardens - Zone 5b
Date: 2012-03-28

Uploaded by chelle

Location: Jacksonville, TX
Date: 2015-04-01

Uploaded by dave

Location: My Northeastern Indiana Gardens - Zone 5b
Date: 2012-07-09

Uploaded by chelle

Photo courtesy of Annie's Annuals and Perennials

Uploaded by Calif_Sue

Location: Gent, Belgium
Date: 2014-06-20

Uploaded by bonitin

Location: My garden, Gent, Belgium
Date: 2013-07-26

Uploaded by bonitin

Location: In my garden in Kalama, Wa.
Date: 2001-09-02

Uploaded by Joy

Photo Courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Used with permissio

Uploaded by Joy

Uploaded by Hamwild

Location: Northeastern, Texas
Date: 2010-12-02

Uploaded by wildflowers

Location: Cedarhome, Washington
Date: 2009-08-12

Uploaded by Bonehead

Location: My garden in Belgium
Date: 2009-09-30

Uploaded by JonnaSudenius

Location: Humala, Estonia.
Date: June
credit: Ivar Leidus

Uploaded by robertduval14

Location: My Northeastern Indiana Gardens - Zone 5b
Date: 2012-08-11
Developing seed heads.

Uploaded by chelle

Location: Jacksonville, TX
Date: 2013-09-26

Uploaded by dave

Location: My Northeastern Indiana Gardens - Zone 5b
Date: 2013-07-31
Close-up

Uploaded by chelle

Uploaded by bonitin

Location: Botanical Garden Meise (Belgium)
Date: 2017-02-11

Uploaded by RuuddeBlock

Photo courtesy of Santa Rosa Gardens. Used with permission.

Uploaded by Lalambchop1

Location: Mercer Botanical Garden Houston, Tx
Date: 2014-05-19

Uploaded by jmorth

Uploaded by Calif_Sue

Uploaded by jmorth

Location: Brownstown Pennsylvania
Date: 2016-06-30

Uploaded by nativeplantlover

Location: western Oregon
Date: 2016-01-04

Uploaded by duane456

Photo Courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Used with permissi

Uploaded by Joy

Uploaded by Joy

This plant is tagged in:

Comments:

Posted by Mindy03 (Delta KY) on May 9, 2012 5:21 PM concerning plant:

Valuable source of nectar and pollen for honey bees.

Reply to this comment
Posted by Catmint20906 (PNW WA half hour south of Olympia - Zone 8a) on Aug 1, 2014 9:05 PM concerning plant:

Origanum vulgare serves as a useful companion plant in the garden by reportedly helping to repel the Cabbage White butterfly.

Reply to this comment
Posted by ZGadev (Varna,Bulgaria) on Jul 14, 2018 8:23 AM concerning plant:

In bulgarian риган.
Perennial herbaceous plant with a bony, usually creeping branching rhizome. The stems are upright, 30-60 (90) cm high, four-legged, branched. Leaves opposite to short stems, oblong or oblong ovate, top green, bottom pale green. Single and bipolar flowers in the bristles of large overlapping dark-purple bracts collected in elongated classes forming crowned branches at the branches. Twill, twill-purple to light-purple, less common white. Fruit dry, falling into 4 nuts. Blooms June-August (September).
Grows out of bushes, thin forests and forest meadows. Spread across the country (Bulgaria), from the plains up to 2000 m above sea level. The herb is found throughout Europe.
Main action - Expectorant, stimulating digestion. Removes cramps in stomach and intestine pains and in flatulence. The herb also has a nervous appetite.

Reply to this comment
Posted by Bonehead (Planet Earth - Zone 8b) on Oct 28, 2012 2:38 PM concerning plant:

Name means 'joy of the mountains.' Can spread rather aggressively unless kept in check.

Reply to this comment
Posted by BookerC1 (Mackinaw, IL - Zone 5a) on Aug 23, 2014 7:01 PM concerning plant:

The little pot of oregano I bought almost 20 years ago has now provided starts of oregano to many of my friends, neighbors, and family members! This is a reliable, easy-to-grow perennial. It is very drought-tolerant, thriving and growing prolifically even in hot, humid years. I actually have to be fairly aggressive myself in keeping it pruned back and thinned, or it would overtake the entire area I've set aside for herbs.

The fragrance of oregano is very pleasant, and it forms an attractive, sprawling mound covered with small purple flowers. It is a butterfly and bee magnet in my garden, and I've found that the bees are so focused and intent on diving into each bloom that they don't even notice if I am working nearby.

The flavor is fairly strong, so a little goes a long way. if your recipe calls for dried oregano, you can substitute 3 times the amount of fresh oregano (i.e., if it says one teaspoon of dried, use three teaspoons of fresh), as the dried is more concentrated.

This is one of the easier herbs to dry: Just bundle some clean, dry branches together and hang upside down in a cool, dry place. When thoroughly dried, the leaves crumble easily. Store the dried oregano in a cool, dark place.

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Plant Events from our members
gwenmason	On September 3, 2016	Transplanted
NikkiGerena	On June 12, 2017	Seeds sown
NikkiGerena	On June 1, 2017	Plant Ended (Removed, Died, Discarded, etc)
NikkiGerena	On May 21, 2017	Plant emerged
thepurplebug	On June 11, 2019	Seeds germinated
thepurplebug	On June 3, 2019	Seeds sown Seeds planted in a container in front of the house.
lovesblooms	On February 16, 2020	Seeds sown winter sown
paleohunter	On April 11, 2022	Obtained plant
WebTucker	On May 14, 2022	Obtained plant

» Post your own event for this plant

Discussion Threads about this plant

Thread Title	Last Reply	Replies
Maybe Origanum species? by NMoasis	Sep 20, 2021 7:55 PM	2

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