Knowledgebase
ornamental oregano #762912
Asked July 20, 2021, 9:10 PM EDT
A friend of mine has and established ornamental oregano plant that is established but has stopped blooming this year. She lives in Highlands Ranch.
Arapahoe County Colorado
Expert Response
She has 3 oregano plants. They are planted on the West side of the house and receive sun from about 11:00 a.m. until sunset.
There is a lot of clay in the soil.
They've been in the ground approximately 3 years. They have bloomed every year but this one.
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On Jul 20, 2021, at 7:10 PM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
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YOUR QUESTION #0032843:
ornamental oregano
A friend of mine has and established ornamental oregano plant that is established but has stopped blooming this year. She lives in Highlands Ranch.
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Thank you for your question and for sending photos,
There are a number of reasons that a plant is not blooming as usual. Overwatering or not enough water, heat, cold, soil type and sun exposure are just a few of the factors.
Does it look like there are any buds on the plants? Ornamental and culinary oreganos are hardy plants, however we had some really cold weather (down into the lower 30s) just as many perennials were emerging from dormancy. A delay in flowering can occur because the plants were damaged during the cold.
On the other hand, we went from low temperatures to very high temperatures in a short period of time. Another stress factor for plant growth. We have continued to have very hot temperatures. The plant will want to conserve energy by not producing flowers.
Does this plant get adequate moisture? Or too much moisture? Both factors will alter the growth habit of plants. You can check the moisture level of the soil by taking a thin screwdriver and pushing it into the soil. Does it penetrate easily--moist soil or does it not go into the ground easily--dry soil. You can also dig down with a trowel to check if the moisture is adequate.
The sun exposure should be adequate for these sun loving plants. Most oreganos do well in our clayey soils.
I think our weather this late winter, spring and early summer has changed the growth habit of many plants. Since this is happening to all three of the oregano plants it may be just one of those years when blooming may be delayed or not happen at all. Unless there are insects, such as aphids, or other signs of disease I would just wait and see what happens. Continue to water the plants adequately for the heat we are having. You may find you need to water more frequently with the temperatures in the consistently in the 90s.
If you see insect activity and/or signs of disease, please respond to this email and we can discuss these issues.
