Origanum onites
| Origanum onites | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 8 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Width: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Early Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Origanum onites (common name: pot marjoram)
Propagation: Seed - sow early spring at 10 - 13°c and only just cover the seed. Germination usually takes place within 2 weeks. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer.
The seed can also be sown in situ in late spring.
Division in March or October. Very easy, larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is better to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or early summer.
Basal cuttings of young barren shoots in June. Very easy. Harvest the shoots with plenty of underground stem when they are about 8 - 10cm above the ground. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer.
Cultivation: Requires a rather dry, warm, well-drained soil, but is not fussy as to soil type[1][2], thriving on chalk[1]. Prefers slightly alkaline conditions[3].
This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to about -10°c[3].
Sometimes cultivated as a culinary herb.
A good companion plant, improving the flavour of nearby plants[2][4]. The flowers are very attractive to bees[5].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[6].
Range: Europe - Mediterranean
Habitat: Stony hills and rocky slopes, usually on limestone, occasionally in partial shade, to 1400 metres in Turkey[7].
Edibility: Leaves - raw or cooked. They are used as a flavouring for salad dressings, vegetables and legumes and are best added in the final stages of cooking[8][9]. A strong thyme-like aroma, the leaves are used as a substitute for oregano or marjoram, but they are inferior in flavour[8][9]. A slightly bitter flavour, it is not nearly so sweet and delicate as O. majorana or O. vulgare[10]. Its flavour, however, lasts longer in cooked dishes[10].
A herb tea is made from the leaves[8].
Medicinal: The leaves and flowering stems are antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, cholagogue, diaphoretic, emmenagogue, expectorant, stimulant, stomachic and mildly tonic[11][12]. They are harvested in the summer and can be used fresh or dried[9].
Usage: An essential oil from the leaves is used as a food flavouring and in perfumery[13][14][15].
The leaves and flowering stems are added to pot-pourri and scented articles[9].
The plant is often used to disinfect bee hives[16].
Pollinators: Bees
Notes: We could supply this in the next catalogue.
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Wind: Tolerates strong winds
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Philbrick, Helen and Richard Gregg. Companion Plants. Watkins, 1979.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Riotte, Louise. Carrots Love Tomatoes. Garden Way, 1978.
- ↑ International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association, 1981.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ Davis, Peter. Flora of Turkey. Edinburgh University Press, 1965.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Phillips, Roger. Herbs. Pan Books, 1990.
- ↑ Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Schery. Robert. Plants for Man. Prentice Hall, 1972.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Hill, Albert. Economic Botany. The Maple Press, 1952.
- ↑ Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.