7 Easy Steps to Grow Oregano in Pots

The fragrant and savory oregano plant is incredibly simple to cultivate, making it a fantastic option for novice gardeners. Although it may be cultivated as an annual in zones 7 and 8, this herb is often perennial. Oregano needs extremely little care while being simple to grow both indoors and outdoors. Once this herb is planted, maintaining it simply takes a few minutes a week! Let’s see how to grow oregano in pots.

Steps to grow Oregano in Pots

Make sure you have the correct atmosphere and environment if you want to grow oregano in pots or containers outside your home or apartment. Since oregano is a perennial herb with Mediterranean roots, it favors hot, dry regions.

By following these steps, you will be able to grow oregano in pots:

1. First you have to choose the right pot to grow your oregano in it
2. Also make sure that your soil is well-drained
3. Now, we need to find a spot with enough sunlight. Watering it may not be a problem or if it is outside, it should be placed in a way that there is not much wind and enough water. Wind can destroy your plants easily so be careful with it.
4. It is time to place our oregano plants in a pot with well-drained soil.
5. If you want to grow oregano in pots the right way you must consider another important point. Watering! Oregano does not need much water so be careful. We will talk about this in more detailed in a few sections below.
6. After the planting process, the next step to grow oregano in pots is caring for them. For this, it is very important to use fertilizer to keep your plants healthy! 
7. The last step to grow oregano in pots is my favorite! The feeling of harvesting the plant you cared for is indescribable. Enjoy the last step!

We had a quick overview of the steps to grow oregano in pots. Now let’s get more into detail to grow the best possible oregano ever!

Choosing the Right Pot and the Right Soil

Let’s start with the first step to growing oregano in pots. Pick a pot that is full of soil that drains nicely. A perennial that may be grown year-round in pots, oregano does best when planted in direct daylight and soil that drains properly¹. Because oregano roots require something to hang onto and grow quite deep, make sure your pot is at least 8 inches deep. The bottom of the pot has to have drainage holes.

Additionally, check that the potting mix you buy has a lot of organic matter and slow-release fertilizers so that it can gradually supply nutrients to your plants.

Sometimes it is really hard to maintain good soil and it really can make you a headache. For this case, we also prepared an article about how to soften hard soil. If you have any concerns about this check it out and your soil will be better than ever!

Watering your Oregano Properly

The soil has a direct impact on how frequently oregano has to be watered². You’ll need to water more regularly if your potting soil is sandy or airy and fluffy than if it has a lot of organic content, like peat moss. If you’re using a compost-containing potting mix, which is my preference, then your watering frequency will fall somewhere in the middle of those two ranges. You don’t want the compost to entirely dry up, but you also don’t want it to be soggy for long periods.

How frequently you should water oregano also depends on the weather. If it’s hot and dry outdoors, your small plants will need more regular watering than usual. In Texas, the springtime is when we often see greater herb growth because the temps are cooler, and less regular watering may be necessary for maximum development.

The size of the plant and the pot it is in might also have an impact on how frequently you should water oregano. Larger plants will require more water than smaller ones since they have deeper roots that draw more moisture from the environment. Similar to how larger pots hold more water than smaller ones, whether or not there is enough room inside them for root systems to grow over time depends on what kind of plant needs to be re-potted into something bigger after a while.

Some perennials, like rosemary, tend not to long survive being kept indoors, while others, like mint—which only chooses to live through winter indoors before dying back down again—can remain for as long as they need to until they reach maturity!

Another great way to grow oregano in pots is the technique of companion planting. If you have long pots and grow other plants, you must consider this option. Companion planting is a technique where plants help each other grow by sharing nutrients and much more. We have a huge list of companion plants, also for oregano! Check it out:

Using water-soluble Fertilizers

One of the most important tasks to grow oregano in pots is to use fertilizer. During the spring and summer months fertilize your oregano once a month using a water-soluble fertilizer solution that is half-strength³.

Only fertilize in the autumn and winter if the plant doesn’t seem to be growing. Use a balanced fertilizer that is high in nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium if you decide to feed at this time.

Often it is really hard to find the best fertilizer. In some cases, they can even destroy your plants so make sure to choose the right one. If you want to make your organic fertilizer (which I prefer most) you can follow a few easy steps in the article below:

When to Harvest your Oregano?

Fantastic! We learned how to grow oregano in pots. Now it is time for the harvest. You must cut leaves off oregano sprigs as needed to collect them. It is better to do this before the plant blooms and when it is 6 inches tall. Wait until your oregano begins to blossom before harvesting if it has grown to a height of 6 inches but hasn’t yet flowered.

After harvesting, use kitchen shears or a sharp paring knife to snip off any dead leaves or blooms from the stem by placing them on a cutting board. At this time, you may also get rid of any leaves that have yellowed.

We hope that this article was helpful. Please feel free to add comments and ask questions below!

References

1. Kadoglidou, K., Chatzopoulou, P., Maloupa, E., Kalaitzidis, A., Ghoghoberidze, S., & Katsantonis, D. (2020). Mentha and oregano soil amendment induces enhancement of tomato tolerance against soilborne diseases, yield and quality. Agronomy, 10(3), 406.
2. Magouz, F. I., Amer, A. A., Faisal, A., Sewilam, H., Aboelenin, S. M., & Dawood, M. A. (2022). The effects of dietary oregano essential oil on the growth performance, intestinal health, immune, and antioxidative responses of Nile tilapia under acute heat stress. Aquaculture, 548, 737632.
3. Saath, R., Wenneck, G. S., Rezende, R., Santi, D. C., & Araújo, L. L. D. (2022). Biometry and essential oil of oregano grown under different water depths and organic fertilizer doses in a protected environment. Engenharia Agrícola, 42.