How to look after Oregano

As the weather warms up, your Oreganowill come back to life.

But wait until you've got lots of lush growth before you start picking again.

And remember, the more you pick, the more you'll be able to pick (if that makes sense...)

Keep on picking leaves as you need them to use fresh in the kitchen.

Oregano dries well if you want to pick some and use later.

As long as your Oregano keeps producing leaves, keep on picking.

As the weather cools in autumn you'll see growth slowing down. This is normal as your plant starts preparing for winter.

Keep Oregano in pots well-watered over summer.

If you've got a plant in the ground, you can afford to be a bit more negligent, only watering if it gets really dry and hot.

If your Oregano is in the ground there's really no need to feed it. After a few years if it's starting to suffer, give it a feed of Growmore in spring.

Give plants in pots a feed with a slow release fertiliser in spring and late summer. This will give your plant a little boost to keep you in stock with fresh leaves throughout the growing season.

Cut plants back by about one third after flowering to prevent plants getting too woody and straggly.

Avoid cutting into the non-productive wood at the base. It won't come back if you do that.

And don't compost your prunings, hang them upside down in a cold shed or garage (or spare room) and dry the leaves to use in cooking.

One thing Oregano hates is cold and wet roots in winter, and this is a combination that can kill plants. So, when planting Oregano choose a spot that is well-drained and as sunny as possible.

If your garden is shady and/or your soil gets waterlogged in winter, then your best bet is to grow plants in a pot. You can then move pots to a more sheltered spot in winter.