GardenTender Perennial Herb · zones 9–10 · 3 varieties
Sweet Marjoram
Origanum majorana (syn. Majorana hortensis)
Lamiaceae — the same plant family as english lavender, basil, bee balm, mint and 11 more here. Relatives share pests and diseases, which is why rotation plans group by family.
Sweet Marjoram (Origanum majorana (syn. Majorana hortensis)) is a tender perennial herb for USDA zones 9–10. It wants full sun and pH 6–8 soil, with about 0.5–1 in of water weekly. It matures in about 70–90 days from sowing, or 45–60 days from setting out a transplant. Watch for aphids and root rot. Below: its full sourced profile from 9 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.
Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. This calendar assumes the crop is started indoors. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow.
What we will not put a number on
We do not give a feeding rate for this crop, and that is deliberate rather than a gap. The figures published by extension services are pounds of nitrogen per acre for a production field — they do not convert safely to a raised bed or a pot without knowing your soil test and your fertilizer's analysis, and guessing errs toward burning roots. It is also why every chart you find online disagrees with the next one.
We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.
We do not give a direct-sowing date for this crop, and that is a decision rather than a gap. Extension services do publish one, but it is a date for sowing under row covers or cloches — and on its own, next to the fact that frost kills this plant, it reads as an instruction to sow outdoors before your last frost. That is how you lose a crop. Start this one indoors and plant it out once frost is past; the indoor start date is on this page.
Site & soil
- Hardiness zones
- 9–10
- This is the winter-survival line, not a growing limit. Colder than zone 9, marjoram is simply grown as an annual and replanted each spring.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 6–8
- Soil texture
- Sandy loam, Loam, Sandy, Well drained
- Frost tolerance
- Tender
No published figure for the temperature frost starts to hurt it and the temperature that would kill it. We looked — where a number is missing here it is missing from the research, not skipped. The crop’s frost and heat tolerance above still applies.
The plant
- Mature height
- 0.7–2 ft
- Mature spread
- 1–2 ft
- Growth rate
- Moderateest
- Spacing in row
- 12 in
- Between rows
- 18 in
- Planting depth
- 0–0.25 inest
- Container size
- 2–3 gal — low end is the minimum, high end is better
- Support
- Self-supportingest
- Grown from
- Seed, Transplant, Direct sow, Cutting, Division
Water & feeding
- Water needs
- Low
- Water per week
- 0.5–1 in/wkest
- Critical water
- Establishmentest
- Feeding
- Low
Timing & fruiting
- Days to maturity
- 70–90 days from seed · 45–60 days from transplantest
- Harvest cues
- Flower buds
Planted again for autumn
- Set plants out by
- early Sep typical · zone 6b
45 days to maturity from setting a plant out — that is what our sources measure for this crop, so this is a date for planting out and not a sowing date, counted back from the first frost above. Not published for anywhere in particular: it is your own frost date and this crop's own figure, which is why it works wherever you are. A days-to-maturity figure is a catalog number for a good season rather than a promise, and a cold month moves it.
Edible parts per source: leaf, flower.
Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.
Different parts differ — the edible part is the leaf and flower; the notes below flag other parts or preparations.
Petsdogs, cats
Recorded exactly as the source states it — not medical or veterinary advice. If a person or animal may have eaten a toxic part, call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) or your vet / the ASPCA line (888-426-4435).
| Variety | Type | Habit | Days | Color | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compact Marjoram | Compact | Compact | 45–60 | Green | Jackson's Nurseries describes this assmaller than most |
| Hardy Marjoram | Hardy | Bush | 45–60 | Green | St. Louis Herb Society describes this astakes the cold |
| Heirloom | Sweet | Spreading | 80–95 | Green | Botanical Interests describes this asthe flowers are edible · gets by on less water · happy in a pot |
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
- Missouri Botanical Garden
- NC State Extension
- UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County (UC ANR)
- University of Florida IFAS Extension (Pasco County)
- University of Illinois Extension
- University of Maryland Extension
We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 14 of the 20 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.
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