Looking for information on ornamental origanum(s)

[TheOnionMan]

Rudi, seeing your Origanum photos stirs fond memories of these plants; the days when I grew a few species, but in particular O. rotundifolium from Turkey, which is elegant in every respect.  I think it should have been named "rotundibractum", for it is the beautiful rotund & voluminous lime-green bracts on this one, sometimes pink tinged, that make it special.

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Fermi,
Could you post some pics of your hybrids?
Would love to see them.

Helen,
We used to grow Origanum rotundifolium (but not as spectacular a form as Rudi's!) and another species whose name I never remember but still grows and flowers with airy sprays of mauve flowers from tight bracts as pictured here:


When the Origanum rotundifolium died some seedlings came up which were obviously a cross between the two; we call one "Redesdale Rasta" because of the "dreadlocks"!


More seedlings appear with varying degrees of hybridity!


We also have a small furry leafed variety which I thought might be O. amanum but it's probably a hybrid between it and something like O. dictamnus.



As these are in flower now it will be a few weeks before we see any seed. If you get any seed on your O. rotundifolium you could always sling a few this way, Rudi!  
cheers
fermi

[maggiepie]

Thanks for the pics, Fermi, you have some really nice plants.
I like them all!!
Will cross my fingers that you get seeds.

[Lesley Cox]

The original ACW collection in 1966 of O. rotundifolium had entirely green bracts and very tiny, flesh coloured flowers. Yes, the bracts are rotund as Mark says but the foliage is quite round too. I suspect most seedlings which it produces have some degree of hybrid blood in them, along the lines of 'Kent Beauty' and others. I have a nice one which is like KB to look at but it runs about in a large, very hot trough and comes up as much as 80cms away from the centre of the plant, from stolons. True rotundifolium should not have any pink in the bracts, only green. I have to propagate it from cuttings as it has never given me seed but though the cuttings root easily enough, I lose most when I lift them to pot.

[ruweiss]

Dear friends, many thanks for your kind replies. As mentioned before, I was not sure about the true identify of my so called
O. microphyllum and think, that Lesley is right. I bought this plant from a Belgian nurseryman many years before and it is still a
strong grower with a nice performance. Fermi's 'O. rotundifolium' looks to me as a hybrid with strong influence of O.laeviegatum
and the resulting seedlings show all the variety of this fascinating genus.

[zephirine]

What lovely plants! I drool over this pure-green O. rotundifolium!!! 
Apart from O. 'Kent Beauty' which resseeds true here, and expands nicely, I also love a hybrid (selection?) obtained from Ewald Hügin in Germany (the "father" of Sedum 'Matrona'), called O. 'Fritz Kummert'. Tiny flowers, but so many of them, and a delicate arching habit.