Planting guide

When to plant oregano

Peppery leaves for pizza, pasta and Greek salads; a low, spreading perennial. In Melbourne it goes in Feb, Mar, Apr, Sep, Oct, Nov.

Start as: Seedling or Seed, sown in place
Ready in: 9–13 wks
Spacing: 30 cm
Depth: 0.2 cm
Sun: Full sun (6+ hours)
Water: Low
Effort: Easy
Frost-tender: No

When it goes in

● means oregano can go in that month, ○ means wait. Worked out from each town's climate zone and season, the way planting guides do it. Pick your town for the full list for that month.

Australian towns and cities
Town	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sydney	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Melbourne	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Brisbane	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Perth	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Adelaide	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Gold Coast	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Newcastle	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Sunshine Coast	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Canberra	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●
Central Coast	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Geelong	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Wollongong	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Hobart	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●
Townsville	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Cairns	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Toowoomba	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Darwin	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Ballarat	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●
Mandurah	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Bendigo	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Launceston	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●
Mackay	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Rockhampton	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Coffs Harbour	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Blue Mountains	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●
Bunbury	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Bundaberg	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Alice Springs	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Mildura	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Port Macquarie	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○

Around the world
Town	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Auckland	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Wellington	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Christchurch	○	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●
London	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	●	●	○	○	○
Manchester	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	●	●	○	○	○
Edinburgh	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Dublin	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	●	●	○	○	○
New York City	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Los Angeles	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	●	●	●	○	○
Chicago	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Seattle	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	●	●	○	○	○
Austin	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	●	●	●	○	○
Toronto	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Vancouver	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○
Cape Town	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Johannesburg	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○
Singapore	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Mumbai	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●
Paris	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	●	●	○	○	○
Berlin	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○

How to plant oregano

Press seed onto the soil surface, or plant seedlings.
Water only when the soil is dry.
Pick sprigs often to stop it going woody.
Cut back by half after flowering.

Oregano varieties

Classic varieties are the reliable, widely grown ones. Adventurous ones are heirlooms, odd colours and rarities.

Greek Oregano Classicheirloom · pot-friendly · hot · 9–13 wksThe strongest flavour for cooking
Common Oregano Classicpot-friendly · cold-hardy · 9–13 wksHardy, milder oregano for everyday use
Golden Oregano Adventurouscolourful · pot-friendly · mild · 9–13 wksGolden leaves, mild flavour, pretty ground cover