dittany of crete and cascading oreganos

Mid-season flowers on Origanum dictamnus

As the season progresses, the bracts become longer and longer.

Bracts are frequently described as hop-like.

Today involved more cleanup, and this included the Dittany of Crete. Most people don't know what Dittany of Crete is, or if they do, they associate it with the Harry Potter books, where Hermione used Essence of Dittany to help heal Ron's splinching injury. But that dittany may have been Dictamnus albus (also known as gas plant) rather than Dittany of Crete which is Origanum dictamnus. There are a number of the cascading type of ornamental oreganos (as opposed to the upright types), and I've grown a number of them, but my favorite is Dittany of Crete. It's not commonly sold in this area, which is unfathomable to me, but it is not as hardy as some other oreganos, and the Sunset Western Garden book does list zone 10 (Albuquerque) as being appropriate for this plant. And yet, it has survived in my gardens for nearly 20 years.

Lantern-like bracts on 'Kent Beauty'

More commonly found here is Origanum rotundifolium 'Kent Beauty' which is indeed a beauty in bloom, with large lime green lantern-like bracts tinted with rose, and a compact cascading form. It is stoloniferous, and will spread in standard rich garden soils. The leaves are smooth and light green,  and cut or crushed smell strongly of oregano. The plant is deciduous, dying to the ground in the winter.  I grew this plant for a number of years in this garden, but it did not survive being neglected in a xeric location. I would happily grow it again though.

Early season Origanum libanoticum looking like earrings

In my climate the bracts quickly turn to brown rattlesnake rattles

Origanum libanoticum (Lebanese oregano) used to be very common here and I was introduced to this plant by High Country Gardens. With olive green smooth leaves, the bracts that are typical of the oreganos are very narrow, and slightly tinted with pink, with true flowers of pink poking out throughout the season. I found the predominantly pale green bracts to be disappointing, and in my garden the bracts tended to fade quickly to brown. The herbaceous plants also die to the ground in the winter.

I also tried twice to grow another oregano with strongly rose colored bracts (was it a Greek oregano?), that I got from Agua Fria nursery, but this plant did not survive my winters. The hybrid oregano 'Amethyst Falls' also primarily featured lime green bracts, not living up to its name.


It's easy to overlook Dittany of Crete for the more showy garden members like roses. What makes Dittany of Crete a favorite is that unlike the other cascading oreganos that I've grown, Dittany of Crete has charming round grey fuzzy leaves that are evergreen. This gives it a winter-long presence. Dittany of Crete also has a long season of bloom, the bracts retaining their color for a few months, and they are much more colorful than the predominantly green bracts of the other oreganos. The plants do need a trimming of the faded bracts at this time of the year for the plant to look its best.

The faded hop-like bracts do have a charm of their own, I suppose. 

After a trim, the leaves show their qualities. I could have also waited until spring, and trimmed all of last year's growth down to where the new growth appears, but I like this neater look.

Not the best photograph, but you can see the color in the bracts. This photograph was also taken in November, but had retained their color that year. When the bracts first appear, they are short, and then get longer and longer as the season goes on. The bracts of 'Kent Beauty' are more like paper lanterns, than these rattlesnake tails.