Herb · Apiaceae
Cilantro
Coriandrum sativum
Hand it cool weather and steady moisture, and cilantro pays you back with fresh leaves in just a few weeks.
Full sun
Every 2–4 days
50–75°F · 10–24°C
45–70 days
Overview
Cilantro is the quick, cool-weather herb you'll find in all those salsas, curries, and noodle bowls. It's part of the carrot family, and here's the fun bit: one plant gives you two things. The fresh leaves sell as cilantro, and once the seeds dry they become the spice coriander. You go from seed to your first harvest in just 4 to 6 weeks, so it's about as fast as herbs get.
There's a catch, though, and it's the short temper. Cilantro is a cool-season annual, so the moment summer heat and long days roll in, it bolts: up goes a flower stalk, and the leaves turn thin and bitter. The fix is really just good timing. Get seed in during the cool of spring and again in fall, and keep a new patch coming along with a fresh sowing every few weeks.
It's happy in a garden bed or in a pot on a sunny windowsill, growing 8 to 35 inches (20 to 90 cm) by the time it flowers. Give it cool soil, regular water, and a touch of afternoon shade when it's hot, and instead of a plant racing to bolt you'll get a nice long run of leaves.
Care
The short version: full sun with maybe a bit of afternoon shade, soil that stays evenly moist and on the cool side, and a fresh sowing every few weeks so there's always something coming up to replace whatever bolts.
Light
Cilantro does its best in full sun, but where summers run hot, a stretch of afternoon shade genuinely helps: shading the plant keeps it cooler and slows down that dash to bolt. Growing it inside? Give it the brightest window you've got.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist while it's settling in and pushing out leaves, watering every 2 to 4 days as the top dries. That steady moisture and cool soil are exactly what hold the bolt at bay. Just don't let it sit soggy, since cilantro really dislikes waterlogged, humid ground.
Soil
Go with rich, well-drained loam at a pH somewhere between 6.0 and 7.0. Drainage is the big one here, because the taproot will rot if the soil stays cold and wet.
Temperature
This is a cool-season herb that's happiest between 50°F and 75°F (10°C to 24°C). Push past the top of that range and the plant takes it as a cue to flower, and the leaf harvest starts to wind down.
Humidity
Average humidity around 40% to 60% suits it just fine. What you want to dodge is damp, still air, because crowded, humid conditions are what set off leaf spot.
Feeding
Cilantro doesn't ask for much food. A light touch of nitrogen through the growing season is all it needs, and laying it on too thick actually waters down the flavor of the leaves.
Pruning
Begin cutting the outer leaves once plants hit 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) tall, which keeps them bushy and giving. Pinch off flower stalks as soon as they show to drag out the leaf harvest, or leave them be if you'd like the plant to set coriander seed.
Repotting
not_typically_repotted
Size & spacing
Plants range from 8 to 35 inches (20 to 90 cm) tall, low and leafy early on and taller once the flower stalk goes up. Give each one space and good airflow, spaced 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 cm), so the leaves dry off fast and leaf spot keeps its distance.
When to plant
Cilantro lives for cool weather, and it only gets a short stretch before the heat pushes it into flowering. Sow in early spring once the frost is done, sow again come early fall, and instead of leaning on one planting to carry you through, just start a new patch every few weeks to keep the supply steady.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: Late winter to early spring, 4-6 weeks before last frost (transplants carefully due to taproot)
- Plant: Early spring after danger of frost and again in early fall; it is a cool-season crop that bolts in summer heat
- Harvest: Cut leaves young and often for cilantro; for coriander seed, allow plants to flower and set seed, harvesting when seed heads turn brown
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 3–11
Temperature: down to -40°C
Troubleshooting
Pretty much every cilantro headache comes down to one of two things: heat that kicks off bolting, or wet conditions that bring on rot and leaf spot. Spot the early signs and you can usually keep the leaves coming. Find what matches below, then jump on it while there's still time to make a difference.
Seedlings keel over at the soil line, or just never show up
That's damping-off, a fungal rot that loves cold, waterlogged ground. The little stems get pinched and water-soaked right at the base, then flop over, sometimes before they even break the surface. Here's the move: yank the sick ones, back off the watering, and start over in well-drained soil once it's warmed up and dried out a bit.
Fix:
- Remove affected seedlings
- Improve drainage and reduce watering frequency
- Re-sow in well-drained soil once conditions allow
Suddenly there's a flower stalk and no more leaves
Welcome to bolting, far and away the thing cilantro growers run into most. When the weather warms and the days stretch out, the plant quits making leaves and starts making flowers instead, the foliage goes wispy, and the taste drops off. So what now? Grab whatever leaves remain, or just let it bloom and go to seed for coriander, then start a new batch when it cools down or somewhere shadier.
Fix:
- Harvest remaining leaves promptly before flavor declines
- Allow plant to flower and set seed for coriander harvest
- Sow a fresh succession of seed in a cooler period or shaded spot
Dark angular spots showing up on the leaves you'd rather eat
That's bacterial leaf spot, and it moves quickly when the leaves stay wet and the plants sit too close together. You'll see tiny dark marks on the foliage that merge into bigger patches when it's humid. Pick off anything spotted, water down at the base rather than from above, and thin things out so the air can actually get through.
Fix:
- Remove and discard affected foliage
- Avoid overhead watering and wetting leaves
- Improve spacing and air movement
Speckled, yellowing leaves and critters on the new shoots
Usually that's leafhoppers and aphids, gathering on the soft new growth and leaving the leaves yellow or curled up. Leafhoppers can carry aster yellows too, so if a plant looks stunted and off-color, just pull it. For the rest, blast them off with a strong jet of water, and let cilantro's flowers bring in the good bugs that eat them.
Fix:
- Dislodge pests with a strong spray of water
- Remove heavily infested foliage
- Encourage beneficial insects, which cilantro flowers attract
Toxicity
Honestly, cilantro is about as safe as plants come. The ASPCA marks it non-toxic to cats, dogs, and horses, and it's a kitchen herb people happily eat by the handful. A pet that nibbles the leaves has nothing to worry about, though a really big mouthful of any greenery can upset a stomach for a day.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Totally fine around cats. Since the ASPCA puts cilantro on the non-toxic list, a curious nibble won't hurt them one bit.
Dogs None
Dogs are in the clear too. A few leaves chewed up is no problem, though a big mouthful of any greens can leave the stomach loose for a day.
Horses Safe
Horses can graze on it with zero trouble. There's nothing in it that affects them.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits love the fresh leaves, and a small handful makes a nice treat to go with their hay.
Livestock Safe
Goats, sheep, and cattle can all munch the foliage without any harm.
Birds Safe
Pet birds and backyard hens are welcome to the leaves and the seeds, no risk at all.
People Safe
This one's a kitchen herb top to bottom. Both the leaves and the seeds are good eating, whether raw or cooked.
Generally regarded as safe; as with any plant, ingesting large amounts of foliage may cause mild, transient gastrointestinal upset in pets.
Varieties
Most of the named cilantro varieties are bred with one goal front and center: putting off the bolt that cuts the leaf harvest short. Here are a few that are worth knowing by name.
Santo
A popular slow-bolting kind that hangs onto its leaf production a bit longer before flowering takes over.
Caribe
Said to bolt a little less eagerly than the everyday types when the weather turns warm.
Leisure
A slow-to-bolt pick that gardeners like for drawing out the leaf harvest.
Delfino
A fern-leaf type whose finely cut, feathery foliage stands out next to the usual flat leaves.
How to propagate
There's really just one way to grow cilantro, and that's straight from seed, since it doesn't like being moved. The upside? Seed is cheap and fast, so keeping a supply going mostly comes down to sowing often.
SeedEasy
Early spring and early fall; succession-sow every few weeks because it bolts quickly · Germinates in about 7-21 days; leaves ready to harvest in roughly 4-6 weeks
You grow cilantro from seed dropped right where it'll stay, because that long taproot really doesn't like being shifted around. Seed pops up in 7 to 21 days, and you'll be snipping leaves in 4 to 6 weeks. Since it bolts in a hurry, drop a fresh patch every few weeks to keep things coming. Want it for leaves? Thin the seedlings out. Growing it on for coriander seed instead? Give them more elbow room.
Myths
Cilantro and coriander are actually two separate plants.
Nope, they're the very same plant, Coriandrum sativum. You call the fresh leaves cilantro, or coriander leaf, and the dried seeds get sold as coriander. Two names, two parts, one herb.