🌱✗ Tested and false“Letting oregano flower doesn't affect its flavour”
An RHS Wisley trial of Origanum found leaves become measurably more bitter once plants start to flower.
What to do: Harvest for cooking earlier in the season, before flowering starts, for the best flavour. If a plant has already flowered, chop it back afterwards rather than continuing to pick from it: this refreshes the plant with new, less bitter growth as well.
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- RHS Plant TrialsFlavour becomes more bitter after plants start to flower; use early in the season or chop back after flowering
“Oregano needs regular feeding to grow well”
Oregano grown in the ground doesn't need feeding at all. Only container plants over a year old benefit from an occasional general-purpose feed.
What to do: Skip feeding entirely for oregano grown in a border or bed. Reserve a light spring or early-summer feed for container-grown plants only.
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- RHSGround plants need no additional feeding; container plants over a year old benefit from a general-purpose granular feed in late spring/early summer
“Oregano is too tender to survive outdoors in a Scottish garden”
Common oregano (Origanum vulgare) is reliably hardy. What actually threatens it over a Scottish winter is waterlogged soil, not cold, the same pattern already established for other Mediterranean herbs.
What to do: Grow it in free-draining soil or a gritty container, and it should survive an ordinary Scottish winter without protection. In a cold, wet region specifically, a well-ventilated cloche over ground plants is a reasonable extra step, but it's a defence against wet, not frost.
In Scotland: Less common ornamental Origanum species do genuinely need winter protection, so this only holds for the reliably hardy common oregano varieties, not every plant sold under the name.
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- RHSOriganum vulgare varieties are reliably hardy; less common species may need protection; waterlogging causes root rot
“Any oregano sold at the garden centre is fine to cook with, including the pretty flowering ones”
Garden centres commonly sell ornamental oregano cultivars (bred for trailing flowers and foliage colour, e.g. 'Kent Beauty') alongside culinary Origanum vulgare. These ornamental types are bred for appearance, not flavour, and are a poor substitute in the kitchen.
What to do: Buy from the herb section specifically, or check the plant label states it's a culinary variety, if you want oregano for cooking rather than as a rockery/hanging-basket plant.
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- RHS: How to grow oreganoSome varieties have been bred for their ornamental appeal rather than for flavour, such as 'Kent Beauty'.
“Oregano and marjoram are the same plant, just different names for it”
RHS maintains separate growing guides for oregano (Origanum vulgare) and marjoram (Origanum majorana), naming real differences: marjoram's leaves are more delicate and sweet and usually used fresh, while oregano's are more pungent, usually dried, and the hardier of the two. A secondary source describes oregano as "also known as marjoram," in contrast with RHS's own separate treatment.
What to do: Treat them as related but distinct plants. If a recipe or seed packet says marjoram, expect a sweeter, more tender herb than the oregano grown here; the two aren't simply interchangeable names for the same crop.
In Scotland: The hardiness difference RHS names between the two is the more practical Scottish angle: marjoram is the more tender of the pair, so a Scottish grower choosing between them for reliable overwintering has a real reason to prefer oregano.
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