Oregano
Origanum vulgare · Perennial
A Mediterranean perennial that concentrates its flavour when slightly underwatered. Overwatering is the usual cause of failure.
What it needs indoors
- Light
- Full sun6+ hours direct sun
- Water
- Let it dry outLet the soil dry between waterings
- Temperature
- 65–75°F
- Growing medium
- Well-draining, on the lean side
- Native range
- Dry Mediterranean hillsides
- Difficulty
- Beginner
What usually goes wrong
Big handsome leaves that taste of almost nothing
Too rich, too wet, too generous. Oregano builds its oils under stress, and the lean stony hillside is where the flavour comes from. A well-fed plant in damp compost puts the lot into leaf instead.
Fix: Stop feeding it. Let the pot dry out properly between waterings, cut the plant back by a third, and move it to the brightest window in the house. The regrowth will smell like the plant should.
Wilting, and the soil is wet
Root rot. Wilt reads as thirst, so the instinctive response is more water, which finishes the job.
Fix: Tip the plant out and look at the roots. Healthy ones are pale and firm; rotted ones are brown and come away between your fingers. Trim the dead off, repot into a gritty mix in a smaller pot, and water sparingly until it shows new growth.
Bare woody middle with all the growth around the outside
Ordinary ageing in a sub-shrub, brought on faster by never being pruned.
Fix: Cut it back hard in early spring, down to a few inches but leaving some leaf on every stem. Take a few cuttings at the same time as insurance.
