How and When to Harvest Oregano for Dried and Fresh Use

Bursting with flavor, oregano adds a robust dimension to dishes and carries health benefits. Learn when and how to harvest oregano for the best flavor and the plant’s health.

What Is Oregano?

Oregano is an herb often used for cooking and as an antioxidant for health benefits. Its pronounced flavor is often described as herby, peppery, and minty, with an underlying faint bitterness. As a perennial, oregano will continue to grow year after year without replanting.

Oregano’s name is derived from the Greek, and it means “beauty of the mountain.” So, oregano can be grown for its appearance—no need for harvesting. Oregano develops small purple flowers that bloom during summer. Left unharvested, oregano can reach up to three feet high.

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Different Types of Oregano

Oregano has 45 species, but a few types are used most often:

• Common oregano (Origanum vulgare): This popular type of oregano (vulgare roughly means “common”) is frequently used in tomato sauces and on pizza. It pairs well with basil and thyme.
• Golden oregano (Origanum vulgare ‘Aureum’): Golden oregano has a milder taste than common oregano. It is often used as an ornamental plant due to its yellow foliage and pink and purple flowers.
• Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens): Mexican oregano has a more lemony-minty flavor than common oregano, since it’s closely related to the mint family. Though its taste is strong, the bitterness is lessened, making it a staple of Southwest and Mexican dishes.

When to Harvest Oregano

Oregano should be harvested during the growing season, right before or when the flowers have developed.

“I usually harvest oregano just before it starts to flower, as that’s when the leaves have the highest concentration of essential oils, which makes them taste the nicest,” says says Tom Farmer, a blogger who writes Our Country Garden.

The growing season for oregano varies, but in many areas, it is from spring to early summer.

Harvesting Fresh vs. Dried Oregano

While milder herbs like cilantro, basil, and parsley taste better fresh than dried, oregano’s bold flavor carries through into dried form.

“I keep both [fresh and dried oregano] stocked for different reasons,” says Lindsay Etemadipour, a holistic herbalist and the founder of Symbi.

“Fresh oregano is best for dishes where a bright, fresh herb flavor is desired, while dried oregano is fantastic in recipes that benefit from a more intense, concentrated flavor,” she says. “Dried oregano is ideal for soups, stews, and sauces where it has time to rehydrate and infuse its flavor into the dish.”

She adds that fresh oregano works well as a garnish for salads, soups, and pizzas.

Harvesting Oregano for Fresh Use

When harvesting oregano, snip off the tops of the stems. The stems include the leaves that will be removed for use.

Below, leave at least four to six pairs of leaves per stem. This helps the oregano produce more leaves for future harvesting.

“When harvesting oregano, you want to focus on three things: time of day, frequency, and maturity,” Etemadipour says. “First, you want to ensure that you wait until oregano is about to flower, but not after it flowers. Once the plant flowers, the leaves will start to become bitter.”

Choosing the best time of day for harvesting is also critical.

“You want to harvest mid-morning, after any nighttime dew has dried and before the day’s heat,” she says. “The herb’s flavor is most potent at this time due to the oils.”

Farmer has a suggestion for harvesting oregano so you can get another batch.

“I use sharp scissors to cut the stems just above a pair of leaves about one-third of the way down, as this allows the plant to re-shoot so I can harvest it again in a few months,” he says.

Harvesting Oregano for Dried Use

Harvesting oregano for dried use is similar to harvesting for fresh use, but as Farmer points out, there are a couple of differences.

“For drying, I aim to harvest a few more leaves, so I choose stems that are just about to flower and cut above a pair of leaves around two-thirds of the way down the stem,” he says.

he job isn’t finished when you have collected your herbs, Farmer says.

“I then bundle these stems and hang them upside down on a rack in my kitchen as it’s warm and dry. It normally takes about a week for them to dry out completely, depending on how humid it is outside.”

As a final step, Farmer packs the dried oregano in airtight containers until he needs it.

How to Care for Oregano After Harvesting

After harvesting, it’s important to care for oregano to enable regrowth and for the oregano plant’s continued health.

“Regular harvesting helps keep the plant healthy and producing,” Etemadipour says. “I usually harvest when the plant stems are about five inches tall. This will guarantee a few harvests a season.”

Farmer adds that water and fertilizer are important.

“To keep the plant healthy after I’ve harvested it, I give it a really good water and a light feed with some liquid fertilizer. If any stems have already flowered when I come to harvest, I cut them back in the same way, discarding them, as this prevents the plant from putting all of its energy into the flowers.”

Tips for Harvesting Oregano

• Pick the right time of day, usually mid-morning.
• Snip the leaves rather than pulling them off by hand.
• Prune (or harvest) oregano to maintain health, even if you don’t plan to consume the herb.
• Bundle the snipped stems with a rubber band, placing the band on the snipped end.
• If pruning for plant health only, prune aggressively: as low as 2 to 3 inches.
• For cooking use, harvest oregano around two times per year.
• Rinse the oregano right after harvesting to give it time to air-dry before use.