Yes, cilantro grows back after cutting as long as you leave most of the plant standing. The short version is that cilantro grow back happens fast when you trim by no more than a third. A plant cut that way pushes fresh leaves out from the center within a few days. One sheared down to the ground rarely recovers, since you cut away the part that does the growing.
This makes cilantro a classic cut and come again cilantro plant. When you snip the upper leaves and stems, you leave the lowest leaves and the crown untouched. Those spots hold the growing points. The growing points are the tiny buds that fire off brand new stems. So the plant keeps making leaves for you, batch after batch. That steady return is the whole reason harvesting cilantro stays so generous through the cool part of the season.
The science here is simple once you picture it. Each leaf you see grows from a node, and the lowest nodes sit close to the soil. Cut above those low leaves and you leave the nodes alone, so the plant has plenty of intact spots to grow from. Cut below them and there is nothing left to regrow. This is why your blade placement matters more than how often you harvest. A clean cut just above a leaf joint heals fast and the plant reads it as a signal to send up more shoots.
Timing of your first cut matters too. Wait until the plant reaches about six inches (15 cm) tall before you start. At that point the roots are strong enough to feed steady regrowth. Cut too early and you stall a young plant that has not built the reserves to bounce back. A little patience at the start pays off for weeks.
Here is the simple rule most extension offices give. Take about one-third of the plant at a time, and never more than that. Then you can harvest leaves over and over until the plant flowers and dies. Stick to that ratio and a single planting feeds you again and again. Push past it and you set the plant back each time. Many gardeners harvest a third every five to seven days through the cool months and keep a plant going strong for a month or more.
Cut the outer stems first and leave the small center leaves alone. The center holds the new growth, so trimming around it keeps the plant producing.
Always work from the outside in. The outer stems are the oldest and the most ready to use. The small leaves in the middle are the engine for the next flush of growth. Snip the outer stems near the base with clean scissors and the plant fills back in fast. Strip it bare and you remove every growing point at once. That single mistake is how most people kill a plant that would have kept giving for a month.
There is one limit you cannot beat. Once warm weather hits, cilantro bolts. It sends up a tall flower stalk and the leaves turn thin and bitter. After that the fresh leaves stop coming and the plant winds down for good. So does cilantro regrow forever? No. Regrowth stops at flowering, and no amount of careful cutting brings it back once the flowers open.
The fix is to plan ahead. You cannot make a cilantro grow back after it flowers, so the move is to keep new plants ready. Sow a small new batch every two to three weeks so a fresh plant is always coming up behind the one that is about to bolt. Once your current plant flowers, pull it and move to the next batch. That steady rotation keeps fresh leaves on your counter long after the first planting has finished its run. Do this through spring and fall and you will rarely run out.
Read the full article: Cilantro Plant: Complete Growing Guide
