Herb · Lamiaceae
When to plant oregano
A Mediterranean perennial that needs sharp drainage far more than it needs warmth.
Start seed indoors
8 weeks before
Counted from your last spring frost.
Plant out
0 weeks after
Counted from your last spring frost.
Frost tolerance
Hardy
How much cold the plant itself will take.
Those weeks become real dates once you name a place.
Timing, in frost-relative terms
Seed packets rarely give calendar dates, because a date that suits one latitude is wrong at another. They give offsets from the last spring frost instead, and those offsets are what make oregano plantable anywhere.
- Start seed indoors 8 weeks before the last frost.
- Plant out 0 weeks after the last frost.
Getting the timing right
Slow from seed. Start indoors eight weeks before last frost, or take cuttings from an established plant.
Frost tolerance
Hardy to -18C in well-drained soil. Winter wet, not winter cold, is what kills oregano.
Classified as hardy, with damage expected below -18°C (-0.4°F)-0.4°F (-18°C).