Plant Finder

Moana Nursery High Desert Plant Finder & Guide

Description:

Highly aromatic with a mounded growth habit making this variety superb in patio containers, gardens and borders; fragrant green leaves turn purple in the fall; wonderful savory flavor, great addition to sauces, meat, vegetables and dressings

Ornamental Features

Hopley's Oregano features tiny clusters of violet trumpet-shaped flowers rising above the foliage from mid summer to mid fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its small fragrant oval leaves are forest green in color. As an added bonus, the foliage turns a gorgeous purple in the fall.

Landscape Attributes

Hopley's Oregano is an herbaceous perennial with a mounded form. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Hopley's Oregano is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Hopley's Oregano will grow to be about 30 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 30 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 24 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 5 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Hopley's Oregano is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It can be used either as 'filler' or as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, depending on the height and form of the other plants used in the container planting. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.