Growth Stages of Oregano

Seed to Sprout

• Oregano seeds are tiny, about the size of a grain of salt, making it difficult to plant just a few seeds. When planting, spread a pinch of seeds over the top of the soil and cover them with only a sprinkling of dirt. Start the seeds about two months before your region's last frost date and keep them moist but not wet. Oregano seeds take two weeks or more to sprout. As the seed absorb water, chemical signals inside the seed tell it to begin producing seed leaves and a primary root. The root extends downwards and the seed leaves grow towards light.

Sprout to Seedling

• As a sprout, oregano plant is less than an 1/8 inch. However, this is enough for the seed leaves to photosynthesize and produce energy for the root grow and true leaves emerge. After six to eight weeks, the seedlings are a couple inches and put on several leaves along the stem. Because several seeds were planted, there are many seedlings. Now is the time to divide them into individual pots.

Seedling to Plant

• Once the seedlings are strong and placed outside for increasing hours each day for acclimation to the outdoors, plant them in your garden. During the next few months, the seedling grow into a vigorous plants with several stems covered in leaves. If conditions are right, oregano flowers sometime in late summer. The leaves have the best flavor if harvested before the plant blooms.

Plant to Dormancy

• After oregano flowers, it slowly dies back. The leaves wither and the stems die. In areas with long bouts of freezing temperatures in the winter, dig up your oregano plant and pot it inside where it will stay cold but not freezing during the winter. In milder climates, leave oregano in the ground and place a layer of mulch over it. In the spring, small leaves emerge and then stems as the lifecycle starts again.