This summer I put two small plants of oregano in a hanging planter along with some basil, on my deck railing. We've had more than several freezes now but the oregano is alive and well! It's not even a southern exposure but the opposite. Not much sun. I've never grown oregano before so I ask, is this normal for this herb?
I've only had oregano one year, it was spicy oregano...so good! I think mine died because I was away in the hot summer and it didn't get water...a problem I have. I did find this though, seems pretty hearty... Perennial or annual? Although oregano thrives in a warm climate, it is a hardy perennial that returns year after year, without much work. A couple of my oregano plants are almost 10 years old, and they have withstood many a snowstorm and still continue to produce healthy, vibrantly colored leaves. Older plants still yield delicious leaves, but their potency decreases once they reach three or four years in age.
Thanks Chrissy. I take the article you gave as, the plant will resume growing after winter die back as a perennial does but I'm still amazed that the frost hasn't killed it yet. I don't even like it. I don't care much for dried oregano but a long time ago, someone gave me some fresh from their garden and it was great. What I have now isn't the same. Oh well, at least it's a spot of green out there for the time being. Thanks again.
When I lived in Idaho, I had three little oregano plants in a planter. They started to spread, and I planted them in the ground the next spring. They continued to grow and spread, and I harvested 2-3 crops of the oregano tops. You are supposed to cut them back just as they start to make a bud, and before they bloom. I dried and saved the tops to use that winter after the fresh oregano had died back. The next spring, my oregano came back up and had spread even more, so I divided it and planted more plants. By the time that I left Idaho, I had oregano plants all long the back yard fence, and harvested bunches and bunches each year. I think that if a person had some where it did not die back in the cold, it might live year around, and keep spreading. For some reason , the oregano that I have started since I lived in Alabama does not do as well as that which I was growing in Idaho. Of course, up there, I had horses, rabbits, and the llama; so I had a whole lot of fertilizer rototilled into the garden areas.
We had oregano before but not in hanging fashion. I actually had plans of buying hanging pots for our mint but I am so busy because of the season so it will be for January maybe. As with the oregano, I know it is a sturdy herb like mint that even just little water will satisfy it. With too much sun, I don't think it will die but I cannot say the same for winter because we have no winter here. For sure, the leaves will become brittle with the snow.