How to grow marjoram

Origanum majorana · sweet marjoram, knotted marjoram

Marjoram (Origanum majorana) — a tender, sun-loving Mediterranean herb with soft, pale green leaves that taste sweeter and milder than oregano. It forms a mound about 30 cm tall and wide with small white flowers in summer. Marjoram grows best in full sun and soil with pH 6–8. Water it about every 7 days while it grows.

Updated: November 4, 2026

When to sow marjoram?

Sow for seedlings about 9 weeks before planting out.

Plant out in open ground about a week after your last spring frost, once the soil is warm.

The first harvest comes about 75 days after the shoots appear.

Frost dates · When to plant

Quick facts

Type	Herb
Latin name	Origanum majorana
Family	Lamiaceae
Also called	sweet marjoram, knotted marjoram
Planted as	seed
How it is started	from seedlings
Life span	perennial
Planting season	spring
Light	Full sun
Soil pH	6–8
Frost	does not tolerate frost
Soil for sowing	from 18 °C
Germination	10 days
Pricking out	14 days after the shoots appear
Seedlings ready	50 days
Shoots to harvest	75 days
Grown in	Open ground, At home

Marjoram care by growth stage

Open ground

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Germination	every 2 days	18…21 °C	—
Growth	every 7 days	—	—
Harvest	every 7 days	—	—

At home

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Germination	every 2 days	18…21 °C	—
Growth	every 4 days	—	—
Harvest	every 4 days	—	—

Growing notes

Light

Full sun, at least 6 hours of direct light a day, in a warm spot.

Soil

Light, free-draining soil of average fertility, pH 6–8. Poor drainage rots the roots, so on soil that waterlogs grow it in a container or raised bed; mix up to 25% horticultural grit into potting compost.

Care

Sow indoors in spring on the surface of moist compost, uncovered because the seed needs light, at about 20 °C; seedlings appear in one to three weeks. Prick out into 7.5 cm pots and pinch out the tips for bushy plants. Plant out after the last frost and hardening off, 20 cm apart. Water new plants in dry spells; once established in the ground it needs little water, but pots dry out fast in hot weather, and the compost must never be waterlogged. Plants kept in the same pot for over a year benefit from a sprinkling of granular general-purpose feed in late spring or early summer. Cut shoots as needed, best before the flowers open; trim established plants in late spring and cut back the flower stems after blooming. It is not fully hardy: bring pots to a sunny windowsill or frost-free greenhouse for winter. Mint rust can affect it.

Pests and diseases of Marjoram

1 problem is recorded for marjoram; it has a page with symptoms, treatment and prevention.

Diseases

Rust

Other plants of the Lamiaceae family

Marjoram belongs to Lamiaceae; 11 other plants of this family have a guide here.

Plant lists it is in

What to grow on a windowsill or balcony

Sources

Figures checked against these sources.