Oregano Ground Cover

If you need an all weather, non-toxic, beautiful ground cover that is kid and pet friendly, take a look at Oregano.  I have a four by sixteen foot bed on the east side which was totally covered with Oregano.  Right now my present problem is where to put this Oregano which is busting out of its pot.

These pots have lasted a really long time, more than 10 years.  But the weather, the string trimmer, and the plants themselves put stress on the pots, and they fail eventually.  This Oregano plant is suffering because the pot cant hold water, so time to replant it.

This time I am going to use the Oregano as a ground cover to start to replace the Ivy under my Crepe Myrtle trees.  The Ivy has been growing there around 5 years, so it pretty thick.  I'm going to clear enough space for the Oregano and dig a ten gallon pot sized hole for it.  Again make the hole four or five inches bigger in diameter than the pot.

After I pulled the Oregano out of its pot you can see the erosion in the root ball where the water would flow through the pot.  That soil will be replaced when I fill in the sides of the hole with Compost Soil Mix.

Again I add a couple inches of Compost Soil Mix to the bottom of the hole.  Use a Tine (Fork) to loosen any compacted root, and lower the root ball into the hole.  Then fill in the sides of the hole with the Compost Soil Mix.  Then I'll water it down thoroughly .  This Oregano plant was pretty dehydrated because of the hole in the pot, so I'll let it rehydrate for a few hours before I trim it.  Once it gets to growing vigorously again it will start to takeover the space where the Ivy is, and I'll trim the Ivy back as needed.