Useful information

Decorative oregano

Oregano ordinary (Origanum vulgare) - a well-known spicy-aromatic plant that is ubiquitous in European Russian nature. As a decorative one, it is grown quite rarely in our country, although it is an excellent addition to mixborders in a natural style, it can fill the spaces between shrubs. Honey plant, attracts pollinators to the garden.

Oregano ordinaryOregano ordinary

This is a plant of the family of lacustrine, 30-70 cm tall, with tetrahedral straight stems, branched in the upper part. It grows due to the creeping branchy rhizome. The plant is low-leafed, the leaves are opposite, small, ovoid, pointed at the end, short-petiolate, dark green above, grayish below, have a strong aroma. The whole plant is covered with bristly hairs. The flowers are small, double-lipped, light pink, fragrant, collected in dense branched paniculate inflorescences at the ends of the stems. Long bloom, from mid-June to late September.

The plant is useful not only as a spicy-aromatic (see Oregano ordinary), used mainly as a sweetish spice for meat and fish, but also as a medicinal one. In Europe, it is widespread up to the Mediterranean, and is most often used as a fragrant seasoning in Greece. Translated from Greek, the word Origanum means "joy of the mountains." In Holland, it is called Maggi Plant, as it is part of the popular spices of this brand.

Oregano has a beneficial effect on the body for diseases of the nervous system, digestive tract, respiratory tract. It has antioxidant properties. Helpful for diabetes, lowers blood sugar. To do this, simply add the medicinal herb (plant tops harvested during flowering) to the tea.

Ornamental varieties of oregano are little known to our gardeners, which can be used in garden design much more widely - in ornamental gardens, rocky gardens, in flower beds and container compositions.

Compact variety of oregano
  • Compactum - the name of this variety speaks for itself. Compact, no more than 15-20 cm high, plant shape with closely spaced internodes and dense small foliage. Forms charming rugs, covered with shields of pink flowers from July to September. A good plant for rock gardens and other rocky gardens, growing well in both acidic and slightly alkaline soils. Winter hardy.
  • Aureum - golden form 30 cm high (sometimes more) with yellow leaves. It blooms with white-pink or lavender flowers. Winter hardiness.
  • Aureum crispum - variety 15-30 cm tall, with fancy wrinkled golden foliage. It blooms from the middle of summer with purple-pink flowers. It is winter-hardy only up to -23 degrees, so it is most suitable for containers, from which it hangs beautifully with growth. Foliage aroma is weaker.
Oregano AureumOregano Aureum Crispum
  • Acorn bank - English variety up to 35-45 cm in height, with leaf blades up to 2.5 cm in length, half golden colored, slightly wavy at the edges and curled inward. It blooms with white flowers with pink stamens. The cultivar is named after the famous Acorn Bank House herb garden in the north of Great Britain. Winter-hardy.
  • Golden shine - similar in color to the previous variety, but the leaf blades are even. Height - up to 20-30 cm, flowers are pale pink. Winter hardiness is low, up to -17 degrees, so it is most suitable for containers.
Oregano Acorn BankOregano ordinary Golden Shine
  • Variegata - 15-30 cm high, with dark green, white-bordered foliage and lavender flowers. Winter-hardy up to -28 degrees.
  • Country Cream Is another variegated variety with creamy leaf edging. It blooms with pink flowers. Height -10-45 cm. Winter hardiness is lower than that of the previous variety, up to -23 degrees.
Oregano vulgaris VariegataOregano Country Cream

There is also a natural variety

Origanumvulgare subsp. hirtum (hairy)with more strongly pubescent leaves and compact growth, 10-20 cm tall. It grows in Greece and Turkey, has a bright aroma, known as Greek oregano or Winter sweet marjoram.Winter hardiness up to -28 degrees.

Features of growing varietal oregano

Varieties cannot be propagated by seeds, only vegetatively - by dividing rhizomes (preferably in spring) or by cuttings (tops of young shoots).

All of them have compact growth, growing at the expense of rhizomes, forming clumps that exceed the width of the height of plants. All that is needed for this is loose, fertilized soil (preferably neutral to alkaline) and an open location. In the shade, golden and variegated varieties lose their elegant color and turn green.

The main decorative value of the varieties lies in the leaves, therefore, to preserve the bright color of the foliage (it is most pronounced at the beginning of the season), the peduncles are removed. Or pruned after flowering.

It must be borne in mind that the content of nutrients in the herb of golden and variegated varieties is lower than that of the original form of oregano, although they are not useless. But for medicinal use, it is still better to choose the species form of the plant.

Given the low winter hardiness of some varieties, it is advisable to preserve them in winter in a cold greenhouse or cool room. Although the latter option is fraught with some difficulties - it is not easy to find a cool and sufficiently bright place in the apartment. Typically, plants require 14 hours of light a day during the dark winter months.

Read more in the article Spicy herbs on the windowsill.

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