Back when my mother was alive, she was able to take a small pot of
oregano from the nursery and grow it into large perennial shrub that
we could harvest from all year.

Now that I've got a home and garden of my own, I've been trying to do
the same thing. My last several attempts have been pathetic failures,
however. I generally buy a well established pot of oregano, transplant
it into a larger pot, and let the plant grow.

Unfortunately, what generally happens is that rather than sending up
new stems to fill the new pot, the old stems simply get tall, the
lower leaves die off, and the plant gets leggy. Early in summer, the
plant goes to flower, and what was once a robust (if leggy) plant
rapidly dies back.

Lately, it has occurred to me that I really ought to be pruning the
plant if I want it to expand into a large bush. However, I know very
little about pruning techniques. Where and how much should I cut back
and when?

Right now my present oregano plant is fairly tall but leggy and going
into flower. If from this point I want to train it into a large shrub
that will fill the pot I've transplanted it into, what steps do I
take?

Also, are the pruning techniques for oregano generally applicable to
other herbs?

Thanks,
Peter

Pinch it off before it has a chance to flower by cutting the central stem just
immediately above a pair of leaves. I harvest mine with a pair of kitchen
shears at least once a week - once they flower, they lose a lot of flavor, I
think. You can be fairly merciless, but don't cut more than half the stem's
height at one time, or you will over-stress the plant.

If you can't use all that oregano at once, freeze it. I put mine in small cube
storage containers with a little olive oil. They go into the microwave to thaw,
and right into the crock for sauce. (Same goes for basil, too.)


-=epm=-

In matters of truth and justice,
there is no difference between large and small problems,
for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.
- Albert Einstein

Hi Peter,
General rule of thumb with herbs is that you snip it down before it flowers.
The pungency of the herb lessens during flowering. You can snip it
frequently for your culinary requirements, but don't snip it down to the
base.Just take an inch or two off every time. This will also delay it's
flowering
J.Lane
"Peter Werner" wrote in message
om...
Back when my mother was alive, she was able to take a small pot of
oregano from the nursery and grow it into large perennial shrub that
we could harvest from all year.

Now that I've got a home and garden of my own, I've been trying to do
the same thing. My last several attempts have been pathetic failures,
however. I generally buy a well established pot of oregano, transplant
it into a larger pot, and let the plant grow.

Unfortunately, what generally happens is that rather than sending up
new stems to fill the new pot, the old stems simply get tall, the
lower leaves die off, and the plant gets leggy. Early in summer, the
plant goes to flower, and what was once a robust (if leggy) plant
rapidly dies back.

Lately, it has occurred to me that I really ought to be pruning the
plant if I want it to expand into a large bush. However, I know very
little about pruning techniques. Where and how much should I cut back
and when?

Right now my present oregano plant is fairly tall but leggy and going
into flower. If from this point I want to train it into a large shrub
that will fill the pot I've transplanted it into, what steps do I
take?

Also, are the pruning techniques for oregano generally applicable to
other herbs?

Thanks,
Peter

J. Lane wrote:

Hi Peter,
General rule of thumb with herbs is that you snip it down before it flowers.
The pungency of the herb lessens during flowering. You can snip it
frequently for your culinary requirements, but don't snip it down to the
base.Just take an inch or two off every time. This will also delay it's
flowering
J.Lane
"Peter Werner" wrote in message
om...

Back when my mother was alive, she was able to take a small pot of
oregano from the nursery and grow it into large perennial shrub that
we could harvest from all year.

Now that I've got a home and garden of my own, I've been trying to do
the same thing. My last several attempts have been pathetic failures,
however. I generally buy a well established pot of oregano, transplant
it into a larger pot, and let the plant grow.

Unfortunately, what generally happens is that rather than sending up
new stems to fill the new pot, the old stems simply get tall, the
lower leaves die off, and the plant gets leggy. Early in summer, the
plant goes to flower, and what was once a robust (if leggy) plant
rapidly dies back.

Lately, it has occurred to me that I really ought to be pruning the
plant if I want it to expand into a large bush. However, I know very
little about pruning techniques. Where and how much should I cut back
and when?

Right now my present oregano plant is fairly tall but leggy and going
into flower. If from this point I want to train it into a large shrub
that will fill the pot I've transplanted it into, what steps do I
take?

Also, are the pruning techniques for oregano generally applicable to
other herbs?

Thanks,
Peter


I have a Purple Ruffles Basil that I bought more for the garden and than
the kitchen, it just started blooming. Can I just deadhead the flowers?

Janine

I have a Purple Ruffles Basil that I bought more for the garden and than
the kitchen, it just started blooming. Can I just deadhead the flowers?

Deadhead them at the point where the last set of true leaves are attached to
the stem. If you aren't going to use it as an herb, you might want to
selectively remove only some of the stalks; then let them bloom on another stem
of the plant when the first flowers are finished. Most basil will keep
flowering, with some encouragement, once it starts as long as you remove the
spent flower stalks before they go to seed.



-=epm=-

In matters of truth and justice,
there is no difference between large and small problems,
for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.
- Albert Einstein

HI Janine,
Been my experience that once it flowers, it's too late to get the full
essence of the herb. You can still prune or harvest it, but the strength of
the flavour won't be as good.
I've mass harvested flowering and non flowering herbs. Cut them down to 4 or
5" from the base of the plant and snip off any flowers, tie the stems
together, hang them upside-down to dry, and remove the dried leaves from the
stems over a cookie sheet. Put in a labelled jar for winter use.
Cool huh?
J.Lane

"jrstark" wrote in message
news:0FlUa.146836$ye4.101419@sccrnsc01...
J. Lane wrote:

Hi Peter,
General rule of thumb with herbs is that you snip it down before it
flowers.
The pungency of the herb lessens during flowering. You can snip it
frequently for your culinary requirements, but don't snip it down to the
base.Just take an inch or two off every time. This will also delay it's
flowering
J.Lane
"Peter Werner" wrote in message
om...

Back when my mother was alive, she was able to take a small pot of
oregano from the nursery and grow it into large perennial shrub that
we could harvest from all year.

Now that I've got a home and garden of my own, I've been trying to do
the same thing. My last several attempts have been pathetic failures,
however. I generally buy a well established pot of oregano, transplant
it into a larger pot, and let the plant grow.

Unfortunately, what generally happens is that rather than sending up
new stems to fill the new pot, the old stems simply get tall, the
lower leaves die off, and the plant gets leggy. Early in summer, the
plant goes to flower, and what was once a robust (if leggy) plant
rapidly dies back.

Lately, it has occurred to me that I really ought to be pruning the
plant if I want it to expand into a large bush. However, I know very
little about pruning techniques. Where and how much should I cut back
and when?

Right now my present oregano plant is fairly tall but leggy and going
into flower. If from this point I want to train it into a large shrub
that will fill the pot I've transplanted it into, what steps do I
take?

Also, are the pruning techniques for oregano generally applicable to
other herbs?

Thanks,
Peter


I have a Purple Ruffles Basil that I bought more for the garden and than
the kitchen, it just started blooming. Can I just deadhead the flowers?

Janine

On Sat, 26 Jul 2003 02:26:04 GMT, jrstark wrote:


I have a Purple Ruffles Basil that I bought more for the garden and than
the kitchen, it just started blooming. Can I just deadhead the flowers?

The preferred method for maximum basil leaf production is to pinch
back/trim/clip the tips of stems, incl 1-2 pair of small leaves, as
soon as they look as if they're even *thinking* of flowering -- that
is, the tiniest little bundle of buds getting ready to spring up. By
the time the stem flowers, "deadheading" is likely to just produce 2
more flower stems, and you must prune lower to try and encourage leaf
growth.

On 25 Jul 2003 04:30:55 GMT, (EvelynMcH)
wrote:

Pinch it off before it has a chance to flower by cutting the central stem just
immediately above a pair of leaves. I harvest mine with a pair of kitchen
shears at least once a week - once they flower, they lose a lot of flavor, I
think. You can be fairly merciless, but don't cut more than half the stem's
height at one time, or you will over-stress the plant.

If you can't use all that oregano at once, freeze it. I put mine in small cube
storage containers with a little olive oil. They go into the microwave to thaw,
and right into the crock for sauce. (Same goes for basil, too.)


IMO, this needs a little nuance. First, where do you live? Farther
south, where even the annual herbs will grow late into the year, they
can flower, be cut, flower again and again be cut. Around here
(Central Texas) I am starting to see volunteers from the spring basils
sprouting.

Second, which herb? Annuals (Basil, dill, cilantro etc) lose more
when they flower than perennials. (oregano, marjoram, rosemary,
sage...) These recover from flowering very quickly and are as
aromatic as always in a few days. To be completely contrary, my
marjoram's flower/seed pods are among the most intensely aromatic and
flavorful parts of the plant. I cut and save them separately from the
rest of the leaves. They are the herb of choice for braises and other
slow cooking.

IMO, this needs a little nuance. First, where do you live? Farther
south, where even the annual herbs will grow late into the year, they
can flower, be cut, flower again and again be cut.

I don't know where the original poster lives, but if you cut them once a week
at less than half the height, they aren't going to flower - anywhere. Unless
you have some super-duper speedy growing Audrey (little shop od horrors)
version of an herb. If that is the case, you have far more important problems
than flowers to worry about....[g]

Second, which herb?

The original poster was asking about oregano. Says so right up ^ there.
-=epm=-

In matters of truth and justice,
there is no difference between large and small problems,
for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.
- Albert Einstein