Herbal Lawn of Creeping Oregano
Answered by: Conrad Richter
Question from: Trish Langford
Posted on: November 25, 2005

I’m in Melbourne, Australia, and I’ve been searching everywhere for seeds for a herbal lawn. I’m looking for creeping oregano, Origanum vulgare ssp hirtum ‘Humile’, which is apparently also called Compact Oregano. I see that you sell a plant called Compact Oregano, but it has a different latin name. Also you seem to sell the plant and not the seeds.

I would be interested to know whether it is the same plant, whether you can sell a quantity of seed, or whether you could suggest somewhere I might get some.


I am not familiar with Origanum vulgare ssp hirtum ‘Humile’, so I cannot say if it is the same as, or similar to, our compact oregano. Our variety is a low creeper that could easily work well as a lawn in certain situations. Unfortunately, it does not come in seed form; it is only propagated asexually. Some of the reasons for that are:

1. Does not produce viable seeds
2. Does not produce seeds that are true to type; or
3. It is not commercially feasible to produce seeds (yet).

For other ideas for herbal lawns from seeds, please see my article "Ground Cover Herbs from Seed".

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