Last edited by shiny on November 12, 2026. View history
Marjoram
A variety of oregano
How to sow marjoram: Direct seed. If planting indoors, harden off before transplanting seedlings outside.
Sun requirement for marjoram: Plant in Full Sun
Marjoram is a somewhat cold-sensitive annual or perennial herb that is a sub-species of oregano and a member of the Mint family (Lamiaceae). Marjoram is often confused with oregano, but it has slightly more pointed leaves that tend to fold inwards a bit. Marjoram has a mild, floral, woodsy flavor, while oregano is more pungent and spicy. The two herbs should not be substituted for one another in recipes. Marjoram can be grown in containers and brought indoors to protect it from frosts.
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Marjoram facts
Lifespan
Height × spread
30cm × 15cmRow Spacing
20cmCrop cycle
Optimal light
What are growing degree days?
A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.
Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.
For marjoram, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 10°C and a shortest growing cycle of 90 days at its best temperature, about 1170 growing degree days to a first harvest.
Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your marjoram will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.
Growing marjoram
- Sow seeds in trays 8 weeks before planting out
- Water until established at planting out every week
- Pick sprigs at first harvest every 2 weeks
- Trim after flowering 8 weeks after first harvest
- Divide the clumps 24 months after planting out
How members grow marjoram
Sunniness
Planted from
Plant marjoram with
corn
potato
zucchini
pumpkin
sweet potato
Photos
Photos
Marjoram crops
Marjoram plantings
Video
Where marjoram grow
Only plantings by members who have set their locations are shown.
What people are saying about marjoram
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Who's planted marjoram
- amy Containers · Durham, NC
- piranha Front Garden · East Coast, Central...
- iain Back Garden · Carrickfergus
- shiny South garden · Wellington, NZ
- FedericoMenaQuintero Back garden · Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
amy
Marjoram harvests
Nobody has harvested this crop yet.
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Time to harvest
If sown now, expect a first harvest in about 90 to 180 days.
From the growing cycle in the FAO EcoCrop database, which is the same wherever it is grown.
Ecological requirements
Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Origanum majorana L.
| Family / Taxonomy | Magnoliopsida Asteridae Lamiales Labiatae |
|---|---|
| Killing temperature | growth: 0 °C, rest: -2 °C |
| Life form | herb, sub-shrub |
| Life span | annual, perennial |
| Habit | erect |
| Optimal soil depth | shallow (20-50 cm) |
| Optimal soil texture | medium |
| Optimal soil fertility | high |
| Optimal soil drainage | well (dry spells) |
| Optimal soil salinity | low (<4 dS/m) |
Learn more about marjoram
Resources outside Growstuff.
