page_title: Marjoram
section_title: Cultivation
hierarchical_section_title: Marjoram / Cultivation
caption_attribution_description: English: Glass vial containing Marjoram Essential Oil
context_page_description: Marjoram is a somewhat cold-sensitive perennial herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavors. In some Middle Eastern countries, marjoram is synonymous with oregano, and there the names sweet marjoram and knotted marjoram are used to distinguish it from other plants of the genus Origanum. It is also called pot marjoram, although this name is also used for other cultivated species of Origanum.
context_section_description: Considered a tender perennial (USDA Zones 7–9), marjoram can sometimes prove hardy even in zone 5.
  Marjoram is cultivated for its aromatic leaves, either green or dry, for culinary purposes; the tops are cut as the plants begin to flower and are dried slowly in the shade. It is often used in herb combinations such as herbes de Provence and za'atar. The flowering leaves and tops of marjoram are steam-distilled to produce an essential oil that is yellowish in color (darkening to brown as it ages). It has many chemical components, some of which are borneol, camphor, and pinene.
caption: Marjoram (Origanum majorana) essential oil
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