Cuban marjoram is one of those special plants that adds twelvemonth - round beauty to your home and smack to your dishes .
alfresco , it will grow as a perennial only in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 - 11 , which make it an idealistic addition to your indoor kitchen garden if you do n’t take place to live in those parts of the US .
A recurrent semi - succulent herb in the mint family , Lamiaceae , Cuban Origanum vulgare ( Coleus amboinicus ) also plump by the names Mexican mint , Spanish thyme , and Indian borage , to name a few .
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But while it ’s related to to true winter sweet ( Origanum vulgare ) and thyme ( Thymus vulgaris ) , it ’s actually aspecies of flame nettle .
Its strong smell is deep evocative of vernacular oregano , though , hence the name . Except its flavor is about doubly as hard .
Cooks around the world use it in everything from sinister attic soup to pasta sauce to pulled pork dish .
If you ’re prosperous enough to live in a balmy climate , check out ourcomplete guide to growing Cuban oreganoto learn how to raise it outdoors .
Are you quick to learn how to turn this delightful herb in your kitchen garden ?
Here ’s what we ’ll cover :
What You’ll Learn
Getting Started
Cuban oregano is think to have originated in the “ Spice Islands ” in Indonesia – or in India , or perhaps somewhere on the African continent .
It has naturalize in each of the aforesaid places , and in tropical and subtropic areas across the globe .
The semi - succulent grows to between one and three feet tall and spread about two to three foot , although it might not grow as rapidly indoors as it would outside .
C. amboinicusthrives in low lightheaded conditions , preferring just four to six hours of sunlight a day , and tolerating less .
That ’s why it ’s a perfect selection for your kitchen windowsill or countertop .
First , find a plant at your local greenhouse or you’re able to start with a cut from a friend ’s works that you ’ve root .
For a small plant , opt a pot that ’s at least eight to 12 inches wide and inscrutable , with drain holes and a dish to catch excess H2O .
Fill it with an organically full-bodied , well - draining potting mixture . A cactus and succulent mix is a dandy choice . Just verify whatever pot mixture you practice has a pH between 6.0 and 7.5 .
Make a hole in the mix that ’s as mysterious and wide as the root orchis you ’re about to transplant . softly remove the flora from its container and place it inside the wait pot . Backfill with soil , covering the full root word clod .
If the plant is a stock-still cutting , cover all the roots and two to three inches of shank , above where the theme have formed . But if you ’re transplanting an establishedC. amboinicusfrom a glasshouse , only wrap up the root ball , not the stem .
Give the new transplant a abstruse watering , permit the liquid state to drain out of the bottom of the flock .
Find a spot in a windowsill that receives about four to six hour of collateral sunlight , or even a nook on a countertop that gets about the same amount of smart , indirect light .
Then , sit back and gaze at your beautiful new accession to your kitchen garden .
Transplanting from Outdoors
If you do n’t go in Zones 9 - 11 and you are growingC. amboinicusoutdoors as an yearbook , you may transplant it indoors before it die of the cold , to keep it get going through the wintertime months .
replete an eight to 12 - in container that has drain holes and a drain sweetheart with well - draining potting mix .
In the yard or garden , find the central stem of your Cuban oregano industrial plant and differentiate a spot in the soil about six inches away from the stem . With a deal trowel , set a traffic circle in the soil in a six - inch - radius around the plant .
cautiously begin digging down at this six - column inch mark , all the way around the forget me drug and about six inches down , until your plant begin to come slack .
utilize the trowel to hoist the root ball out . It ’s okay if some of the longer origin are severed – this racy industrial plant will keep originate just fine .
Make a muddle in the potting admixture about the size of it of the etymon ball you ’ve dug up . target the plant in the pot , backfill with territory , and water system . But do n’t rush to play it at heart just yet .
rather , leave it outdoors for a full day in its fresh pot . Then , start institute it indoors for an hour in the morning , and then two hours the next Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , and so on until the plant life is drop six or more hours inside .
Check the plant for insects each meter you move it into the house to ensure you are n’t fetch in any unwanted pests .
This reverse hardening - off will help oneself ensure that yourC. amboinicusdoesn’t receive a blow with the sudden change in its grow spot and status .
Caring for Your Plant
If you have kids or grandkids who want to get into indoor horticulture , C. amboinicusis an ideal starter flora because it ’s soeasy to care for .
Plus , whether it ’s grow indoors or out , its potent crude avail to protect it from many pestis and diseases .
Keep in head thatC. amboinicuslikes the temperature to stay between 65 and 95 ° F , so if your window sills get spare cold in the winter at night , see a spot for your plants in a warm area , like a countertop that get four to six hours of indirect sunlight .
Once a week , you ’ll want to slowly water your plant , until liquid run out the bottom of the pot . Allow the top column inch of soil to dry out between waterings , and you ’ll have a glad industrial plant .
In the fountain and summer , which is Cuban oregano ’s typical active growing season when spring up outdoors , summate a 5 - 5 - 5 NPK slow - going fertilizer every three to four weeks according to package direction .
Take cutting from the central stem whenever you feel like adding this flavorful herbaceous plant to your saucer .
A respectable universal normal of thumb is to cut about half of the main base off , bask those leaves in your cooking . This will promote bushy growth instead of marvellous , leggy , potentially fluid growth .
As lateral radical farm , you’re able to switch off off one - third to one - one-half of each stem at a sentence , shoot care not to take away too many bow portions at once . Always leave a good two - thirds of the flora intact and permit it grow unfettered for two weeks in between major cuttings .
If after a year or more you notice that the ascendant begin to poke out of the drain hollow in the bottom of your container , it ’s time to repot into a large container .
Choose one that ’s at least two sizes expectant than whatever you ’re presently growing it in . Alternatively , you may dress the roots back a bit and repot the herb in the same container .
The latter pick might be a better choice since a kitchen garden only has so much room . Unless you are one of those prosperous citizenry blessed with scads of counter blank space !
Why do you have to repot it ? A very potbound plant may not apply water and nutrients as efficiently , resulting in poor health and accent .
To trim the etymon ball , take out the herbaceous plant from its container . Over your swallow hole or a few layers of newspaper , remove as much potting mix as you may , exhibit the root ball . Using a sharp pair of pruning shear , cut away the bottom third of base tissue paper .
you may also trim down the slope by cutting the root word Lucille Ball from the bottom to about one - third of the agency up toward the plant .
fill again your original pot with fresh potting mixing , make a hole for your fresh sheared root orb , and replace it . Backfill with soil and pee slowly until swimming campaign out of the drainage holes .
Keep an middle out for crowd together - looking roots every class or two , and repot or clip roots as necessary .
Growing Tips
Recipes and Cooking Ideas
Whenever you ’re in motivation of some pungent , oregano - similar flavor , nip off a slip from the Cuban oregano in your kitchen garden to use fresh in any recipe that call for oregano .
Just keep in judgement that sinceC. amboinicushas a stronger smell thanO. vulgare , you ’ll need to go sparkle on this herbaceous plant , taste - examination along the way to check that it does n’t overpower your dish .
I love to chop up a few leaf to scatter over top of spaghetti ravisher , like this yummy spaghetti bolognese recipefrom our sister site , Foodal .
you may also replace the oregano in this recipe with chopped invigorated or driedC. amboinicus .
apply about half the amount the recipe calls for , and then do a taste test before deciding whether to supply more !
Or , test it at half strength in space of the Origanum vulgare in this recipe for slow cooker beef short rib , also from Foodal .
Move Aside, Regular Oregano
Are you grow this delicious , perennial , semi - succulent herb in your kitchen garden ? If not , now ’s the time to start .
In the meantime , break out these articles for more suggestion ofherbsthat will make unadulterated additions to your kitchen garden :
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Laura Ojeda Melchor
