This is for informational purposes only. For medical advice or diagnosis, consult a professional.
🐝🦋 Popular pollinator attractor
▷ IDENTIFICATION🔍
Common Name: Oregano
Botanical Name: Origanum vulgare
Family: Mint family (Lamiaceae)
Drought tolerant, herbaceous evergreen perennial for Zones 4 to 10
PRECAUTION: People having allergies is uncommon. May interact with anticoagulant and diabetes medications. Not appropriate for all, consider consulting a doctor first. See section “ADDITIONAL INFORMATION > Animal Toxicity and Medicine Interactions”.
▷ OTHER NAMES & LOOKALIKES 🏷️
Other Names 🏷️
The plant’s name “oregano” comes from the Greek words “oros“, which means “mountain”, and “ganos“, which means “joy” or “bright”.
Lookalikes 🔎
◦ Marjoram: Similar appearance, marjoram leaves are usually smaller and more grey-green than oregano leaves.
◦ Thyme: Many small leaves occurring on delicate branches in contrast to the larger leaves of oregano.
▷ APPEARANCE 🪞
Plant Description🌿🗒️
Fragrant perennial bush with leaves that have a fuzzy surface, are oblong ovate in shape, green, reaching 1.5″ length, arranged in an opposite pattern. Stems are square, woody, branching, and fuzzy, reaching 12″ to 18″ length. Flowers are five-lobed, pink-purple or white, 1⁄8″ to 3⁄16″ length. Seeds are tiny, dark brown to red-brown.
Dimensions, Root Depth, and Spacing 📏↔️
Height: 1′ to 3′
Width: 1′ to 2′
Root Depth: 6″ to 12″ deep; Ideal minimum container size 7 gallon or 8 gallons. Larger containers allow plants to grow taller and wider!
Spacing: 8″ to 10″ apart
Flower Season and Fruit or Seed 🌻🍎🫘
Flower: Small, pink-purple to white flowers from Summer to Fall
Seed: Tiny, dark brown to red-brown
▷ REPRODUCTION🌱
Sexuality: Hermaphroditic
Pollination: Bees, butterflies, and other beneficial pollinators
Growth Rate: Moderate
Propagation:
◦ Layering: Select a thick stem that is long enough to lay in nearby container of soil. Remove leaves from the middle section of the stem, this part of the stem will be planted carefully and directly into the soil while still attached to the plant. Water as is necessary to keep soil consistently moist, especially during the Summer. Roots should form on the buried stem in a month, and may thereafter be cut and replanted into individual pots.
◦ Roots: Carefully dig up plant. Select healthy stems that are connected to roots, divide them in to separate plants, and cut off dead leaves and stems. Make sure there are a few roots for at least 1 stem. If there is excessive foliage, trim back the foliage to have 4″ stems from the root system.
◦ Cuttings: Plant hardwood or softwood cuttings that are ⅜” to ½” diameter (the wider the stem, the higher percentage of success) and 4″ to 6″ tall. Add cuttings to water and change the water every day for 1 month until roots form, later planting in soil in a container, or propagate by planting in soil during the Spring. Protect the new plant by placing it in partial sun or under a grow light until it has matured, avoiding direct sun.
Seed Germination: Soil pH 6.5 to 7.5 at preferably 70°F to 75°F, kept moist, however not wet or dry. Plant seeds ¼” deep, emerges 7 to 14 days after being sown. Germination rate of 80% (depending on producer).
Indoor Planting: Grow plant for 1 year prior to transplanting outside 10 weeks after last frost date.
Outdoor Planting: Plant seed 10 weeks after to last frost date.
▷ REQUIREMENTS❤️
Sunlight, Water, Fertilizer, and Pruning ☀️💧✂️
Sunlight: Prefers 6 to 8 hours full sun
Note: Avoid aerial watering, which encourages fungal growth and disease.
Outdoor Watering: Water regularly during Summer (every 4 to 10 days) and less frequently in the Winter (every 1 to 2 weeks). Tiny pots and K-cup seed starters need water every day during Summer and every 2 days during Winter. Small pots require watering more often, especially if exposed to full sun, while large pots and shaded pots need less water.
Indoor Watering: Deep and infrequent, allowing for soil to dry on the top layer prior to more water.
Drought Resistance: Drought resistant once established.
Fertilizer: At the start of the growing season, apply fertilizer every 4 weeks to 6 weeks. Scatter evenly at the base of plants, avoiding clumps of fertilizer and preventing contact with stalks and stems. Large clumps of fertilizer won’t evenly supplement nutrients into the entire soil surface after it mixes with water from rain or irrigation. Fertilizer clumps around the base of plants may cause the main stalk to rot or have contact burns, which could damage or kill the plant. Do not throw fertilizer over plant tops, as the clumps of fertilizer caught in between leaf nodes and on foliage may either burn or rot the foliage.
Pruning: Avoid pruning during Winter as it may kill the plant. This same rule applies for the Fall in northern climates. Remove withered flowers, dead leaves, and leggy stems to enhance plant’s appearance. This also promotes new stems to appear with more leaves and flowers.
Soil, Planting, and Environment 🌄🏞️🏜️
Soil: Prefers well-drained, dry to medium, loose, sandy, or rocky soils. Dislikes wet, rich, or compacted soil
pH: 6.5 to 7.5
Planting: When planting a potted plant, dig a hole that’s as deep as the pot and have each side of the plant at least as wide as the pot. For plants with wide roots, dig a hole that is twice the width of the pot and gently space out the root system and then cover with soil to promote healthy growth. Burying tangled roots could cause health issues or stunted growth.
Habitat: Native to the Mediterranean region and western and southwestern Eurasia.
Temperature Preference and Temperature Tolerance🌡️
Temperature: Prefers 70°F to 80°F
Heat Tolerance: 95°F; Drought tolerant once established
Cold Tolerance: 45°F; Sensitive to frost. Mulch roots to retain water and to protect the root system from the cold during Winter in tropical environments. Once cold weather arrives, optionally harvest the entire plant if it won’t be brought indoors before frost kills the plant.
Salt, Wind, and Pollution Tolerance 🧂💨 ☣️
Salt Tolerance: Low tolerance
Wind Tolerance: Moderate tolerance
Pollution Tolerance: Moderate tolerance
▷ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION📚
Description 📝
Oregano is an herbaceous, woody, evergreen shrub that is native to the Mediterranean region and western and southwestern Eurasia. It is commonly grown as a culinary herb in gardens.
Attract and Repel Wildlife🐝🦋🐦🐌🪰🐇🦌
Deer and Rodent Resistant🦌🐇🐁
Attracts: Bees, butterflies, and other beneficial pollinators
Repels: Blowflies, weevils, red flour beetles, cucumber beetles, cabbage butterflies, ticks, mosquitoes, and mice
Diseases and Pests🐜🦠
Note: Proper care keeps plants resilient and healthy, preventing diseases and pests. This list details the potential threats, specific diseases and pests vary depending on environmental climate.
Diseases:
◦ Blight: Bacterial disease that may cause the plant to wither and die, more common in wetter environments and high humidity.
◦ Powdery Mildew: Disease caused by a fungus due to overwatering or overcrowding, making the plant vulnerable to other pests and diseases.
◦ Rust: This fungal disease is caused by more than 7,000 species of fungi. It affects the aerial parts of plants, most commonly the leaves, plus the stems, flowers, and fruit. Each type or plant rust has its own distinctive symptoms, such as bright red, orange, yellow, or brown spots on the leaves. As spores form, the spots turn reddish-orange and eventually black.
Pests:
◦ Aphids: Small, soft-bodied sucking insects which pierce plant tissues and draw out the juices.
◦ Snails and Slugs: They eat a wide variety of plants, including young seedlings, mature plants, and turfgrasses, and may cause damage to gardens and flower beds.
◦ Spider Mites: They feed by bruising plant cells with their small, whiplike mouthparts and ingesting the sap. Spider mites produce a fine silk webbing, often found at leaf nodes or the undersides of leaves, which may kill plants or cause serious stress to them.
◦ Thrips: May spread plant viruses called tospoviruses, which cause diseases such as tomato spotted wilt, impatiens necrotic spot, and iris yellow spot virus. Thrips feed on plants by puncturing the plant’s surface with their mouthparts and sucking the juices.
Animal Toxicity and Medicine Interactions ☠️❤️🩹
Oregano has very low, safe levels of thujone. Thujone is a chemical compound found in specific herbs and is toxic in high amounts. Pregnant, breastfeeding mothers, and young children should avoid consuming thujone. Consuming excessive thujone may cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, dizziness, seizures, damage to the liver and nervous system, coma, or death. Thujone toxicity is higher with concentrated forms like teas, extracts, and oils. Thujone consumed from common culinary use of these herbs now and then is considered safe for consumption.
High Thujone Content: Wormwood (do not eat) and Mugwort
Moderate Thujone Content: Holy Basil, Sage, and Yarrow
Low Thujone Content: Thai Basil, Sweet Basil, Thyme, and Oregano
Animal Toxicity: Toxic to dogs, cats, and horses.
ASPCA Website – Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants “Oregano”
Medicine Interactions:
Individuals may have a sensitivity or allergies to oregano, consult a healthcare professional first and proceed at own risk.
◦ Anticoagulant and antiplatelet medicine (Blood thinners): Oregano may slow blood clotting. Taking oregano with medications intended to slow blood clotting may increase the risk of bruising and bleeding.
◦ Diabetes medication: Taking oregano along with diabetes medications might cause blood sugar to drop too low. Monitor blood sugar closely.
WebMD Website – Oregano “Interactions”
Use and Harvest⚕️🌾
❗Never ingest essential oils, instead use organic fresh or dried herbs.
Use:
◦ Leaves: Excellent in sauces, marinades, stir-fry, soup, salad, flavored salt, flavored oil, dressings, garnishes, desserts, and beverages. Externally applied in the form of herbal oil, poultice, salve, cream, or therapeutic tea soak.
Essential Oil: Click Here for Precautions, Instructions, and Dilution Ratios
Benefits: Blood thinner (anticoagulant, reduces blood clots), antimicrobial, antifungal, antioxidant (protects cells), antiradical, anti-inflammatory (reduces internal and external swelling), improves digestion, respiratory problems, kidney health, wound recovery rate, radiation recovery, and helps weight. External application helps skin conditions (cuts, insect bites, minor injuries, dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, open sores, burns).
Dosing: ¾ teaspoon to 1½ teaspoons each day for adults. 1 teaspoon of dried oregano contains 6.2 mcg (5% suggested day’s value percentage) of vitamin K, which supports blood health and bone strength.
Click Here for How To Harvest, Dry, and Properly Store Herbs and Seeds
Harvest: Never harvest more than 20% of a plant’s leaves or roots!
◦ Leaves: Harvest any time, the best time to harvest is late Spring to Early Summer.
◦ Seeds: Harvest the dry, brown, crunchy flowers from Summer to Fall. Follow harvesting techniques in the link above to extract and properly store the seeds.
Aroma, Flavor, and Culinary Combinations🧼🍴
Flowering stage impacts leaf flavor, making leaves bitter.
Aroma: Strong and camphoraceous
Flavor: Spicy and peppery, stronger than basil and thyme
Culinary Combinations: Oregano compliments herbs and spices (thyme, rosemary, nutmeg, cinnamon, mint, cilantro, parsley, sage, chamomile, goldenseal, lavender, elderberry, cardamom, coriander, tarragon, chives, lemongrass, and ginger), quinoa, whole wheat enriched pasta, wild rice, beans (sugar snap peas, green beans, chickpeas [garbanzos], black, pinto), legumes (lentils, mung beans), tofu, tempeh, mushrooms, nuts (roasted cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans, and pine nuts), vegetables (arugula, cabbage, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, Winter squash [pumpkin, butternut squash, acorn squash], Summer squash [zucchini, straightneck, and crookneck], sweet potato, red potato, white potato, eggplant, zucchini, garlic, lemongrass, bell pepper, carrot, beet, asparagus, brussels sprouts, radish, tomato, and cucumber), and fruits (avocado, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, cranberries, apricot, peaches, mango, citrus [lemon and lime], and figs)
Click Here to explore a comprehensive list of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients with function explanations, deficiency or excess symptoms, and vegan food source rankings (high, medium, low)
History 📜
Oregano was a common herb in ancient Greece, used for medicine, cooking, marriage ceremonies, and funerals.
Lifespan⏳
5 to 10 years longevity for life expectancy.
Vegan Botany 