What climate and care does oregano need and is it a perennial worth keeping for years?

Oregano is a hardy perennial herb that, once established, gives repeated harvests for a few years, which makes it attractive because you plant once and keep cutting. It likes warm, mild conditions, full sun, and light well drained soil with pH around 6 to 8, and like other Mediterranean herbs it dislikes waterlogging and heavy clay. In the plains it does best in the cooler, drier months and can struggle in peak monsoon humidity; in milder and hill climates it does well over a longer season. Propagate from cuttings or division for true-to-type plants, since seed can be variable. Space plants about 30 cm apart, water moderately, and avoid keeping the soil constantly wet. Harvest by cutting stems just before or at flowering when the aroma (the oil content) is strongest, and the plant will branch and regrow for further cuttings. For dried oregano, that pre-flowering cut gives the best flavour. Pinch off flowers if you want continued tender leaf growth. Its perennial nature and tolerance of dryness make it one of the lower-input culinary herbs, but airflow and drainage are key to getting it through humid spells.