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Ornamental Oreganos and Marjorams

© Jojo Sigurgeirson

Origanum... This rather lowly genus has been overshadowed by it's culinary members for many years. There are many species within Origanum that make very nice garden plants, tolerating dry conditions, flower in late summer, and adding some very interesting elements to the garden.

Generalized Growing Needs - Origanums like well-drained, stoney soils on the alkaline side, in lots of sun. Many of them can not be grown in conditions colder than -20 degrees celcius, but they more often die from winter dampness than actual cold.

It's good to cut them back once in early summer to maintain bushiness in many types, although some look better when they've been allowed to go natural. O. laevigatum is best left alone to do it's own thing, for example.

What is a spicule? - This is what you get when you have a flower spike made up of small flowers hidden by bracts.

Origanum vulgare - Wild Marjoram is highly variable, and this species hybridizes readily both in the wild and in cultivation. Wild Marjoram has easily hybridized into many flower and leaf colours, as well as variations in compact selections. You might find it does some hybridizing of its own in your garden if you let it self-seed to maturity.

Origanum officinalis (Oregano)is a little more stable. I like creeping oregano, which makes a very nice, fragrant groundcover for the edges of paths and rocky slopes in sun.

Origanum marjorana - Sweet Marjoram is a nice low grower with thick trusses of white to purple blooms. The flavour is much like Oregano but a but mintier most say. Golden Marjoram make a nice veride addition to pots of at the edges of paths.

Origanum laevigatum is a very woody oregano not unlike hardy fuchsias in it's outward appearance. It can grow to 70 cm (2 feet) tall and has a rapidly suckering rootstock, from which they form thickets. The tiny hot-pink to purple flowers bloom all summer long. It is definately hardy to -15 degrees celcius, perhaps less.

Origanum rotundifolium is an interesting plant from which many of the modern hybrids get at least 1/2 of their genetic heritage. The flowers are very small, and hidden underneath pure-white to green calyxes that form a sheath and hide the blossoms and seeds inside (AKA a spicule). The leaves are an attractive green-grey and very round. This plant is hardy to at least -15 degrees celcius, where it is more likely killed by damp than by cold. If you live in a dry belt this may work for you even if your temperatures are colder in the winter.

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