Oregano Heirloom Italian

Origanum vulgare

Characteristics

Culture

This Oregano Heirloom Italian was grown using seeds from Renee’s Garden. This aromatic oregano comes from their best traditional Italian grower near Bologna. The leaves are slightly milder and sweeter than Greek oregano. They are perfect in marinara sauce, pizza, pasta, soups, casseroles and salads. An ornamental as well as a tasty kitchen garden essential, this hardy perennial forms cascading mounds of little leaves with purple flowers appearing the second season. Use it lavishly fresh or hang bunches of the leafy sprigs to dry for year-round enjoyment.  For best leafy growth, cut sprays of purple blossom to enjoy in the kitchen. Given good drainage, this carefree Mediterranean native is hardy and long-lived.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Origanum vulgare, commonly known as oregano, is a bushy, rhizomatous, woody-branched perennial which typically grows to 1-3’ tall and to 2’ wide on square stems clad with aromatic, glandular-spotted, rounded to ovate leaves which are usually entire but sometimes have slightly toothed margins. Tiny, two-lipped, pinkish-purple or white flowers, each with 4 protruding stamens and leafy purple-toned bracts, bloom in axillary or terminal corymb-like spikelets which rise above the foliage in summer. Plants are native from Europe to central Asia, but have escaped gardens and naturalized in parts of the eastern and far western U.S. and Canada.

Problems

No serious insect or disease problems. Root rot may occur in wet, poorly drained soils. Watch for fungal diseases. Aphids, leaf miners and spider mites may appear.

Garden Uses

Group or mass in herb gardens, border fronts, cottage gardens or rock gardens. Also effective as an edger or ground cover. Pots, window boxes, and containers. Cultivars with attractive foliage are used as ornamentals.

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Courtesy of Renee’s Garden