How to Plant and Grow Cilantro

Few herbs are as flavor-controversial as cilantro but for those who love it, there is nothing better than a freshly cut bundle of fragrant cilantro. This annual herb holds its own in beds or pots. Every part of cilantro promises a taste treat: spicy leaves, pungent seeds (known as coriander), and tangy roots. Most gardeners grow cilantro for the foliage, which boasts a citrusy bite that enlivens Mexican and Thai cooking. If you let the plant flower and then allow the to seeds dry, you get your own coriander. Cilantro thrives in cool weather and grows best in spring and fall. It is easy to grow but for a constant supply of the fresh herb, repeated plantings are needed.

Where to Plant Cilantro

Plant cilantro in full sun or partial shade in well-drained, light, slightly acidic soil. You don’t have to plant it in a fenced-in vegetable garden—because of its intense flavor, deer, rabbits, and other herbivores tend to leave it alone but will still munch on it if there is no other food around.

With its bright green clusters of flat leaves, cilantro mixes well with other herbs such as basil or annual flowers such as sweet alyssum. It is also a great companion plant for lettuce, Swiss chard, and other vegetable crops.

In hot summer weather, it quickly sends up white flowers. If you don’t pull the plant or remove the seed heads, it might spread vigorously in your garden.

How and When to Plant Cilantro

Because of its deep taproot, which makes it difficult to transplant, cilantro is best started from seed in its final planting location in a garden bed or a pot.

Plant cilantro in midspring after there is no more danger of frost and the soil has reached a temperature of 65 to 70 degrees F. Sow seeds ¼ to ½ inch deep and ½ apart, in rows 12 to 18 inches apart. Cilantro that is grown for its foliage can be seeded densely without the need for thinning the plants.

Keep the soil consistently moist until the seedlings emerge. Germination may take anywhere from 10 to 20 days.

To ensure a constant supply of fresh cilantro, sow seeds every two to three weeks. If your summers are very hot and temperatures above 85 degrees F are the norm, take a break and restart with another planting in September as it gets cooler. Alternatively, plant cilantro in a spot where it is protected against the hot summer sun by other taller crops such as pole beans.

If your winters are mild, you can continue planting seeds every few weeks in the fall.

Thinning the seedlings 3 to 4 inches apart is only required if you plan to let the plants grow to full maturity to harvest the seeds for dried coriander.

Cilantro Care Tips

It is easy to grow but for a constant supply of cilantro, repeated plantings are needed.

Light

In the spring, plant cilantro in full sun. For consecutive plantings in the summer, a location in partial shade is often better to prevent bolting. Alternatively, protect the plant with a 30 to 50% shade cloth or select bolt-resistant varieties.

Soil and Water

Cilantro grows best in rich yet light, well-drained soil with a pH between 6.2 and 6.8. 

Unlike other herbs that are able to survive and are more aromatic when grown in dry conditions, cilantro needs moisture. Watering regularly in the absence of rain also extends the leafy stage of the plant.

Temperature and Humidity

Cilantro is a cool-season plant that does best at temperatures between 50 and 85 degrees F. It tolerates light frost, which makes it an excellent herb to grow in the fall. Extreme heat in the summer causes bolting.

Fertilizer

Cilantro requires good soil fertility; otherwise, the leaves may turn pale or yellow. Planting cilantro in rich soil amended with organic matter usually provides sufficient nutrition, even for consecutive plantings. Too much fertilizer may dilute the flavor of the leaves. At the most, scatter a slow-release all-purpose organic vegetable garden fertilizer around the plants as you start harvesting.

Pruning

Crowded plants and those growing in dry soil are more likely to send up flower stalks. When they appear, the flavor is past its peak. Harvest the leaves or pinch plants frequently to keep flowers at bay.

Potting and Repotting Cilantro

Cilantro is just as easy to grow in a container as it is in garden soil, and it is even possible to grow it indoors. Give cilantro its own container or plant it alongside basil, sage, thyme, oregano, parsley, and dill in a larger container. 

Whichever you choose, select a pot with large drainage holes and fill it with a quality potting mix about 1 inch under the rim. Water the potting mix so it’s damp but not soaking wet.

Place three to five seeds 1 inch apart on top of the soil and cover them with ¼ inch of potting mix. Keep the soil evenly moist.

Potted cilantro outdoors needs frequent watering, up to daily in hot summer weather.

Pests and Problems

Generally, cilantro is not affected by serious pests or diseases. Aphids may appear, especially when cilantro is grown indoors. Potential fungal diseases include powdery mildew, Fusarium wilt, and Pythium root rot. Bacterial leaf spot, which manifests itself as brown spots on the leaves, occurs especially in wet conditions.

How to Propagate Cilantro

Cilantro is propagated from seed and you can save the seeds to start new plants later in the season or the next year. Follow the instructions for planting cilantro above. Most popular cilantro varieties are open-pollinated so the seeds will produce plants that are true to the parent.

Harvesting

Cut the stems before they begin to flower. The feathery leaves that appear on the plant as it flowers (which are different from cilantro varieties with inherently feathery leaves), the plant flowers, as well as the leaves from the flower stalks tend to be bitter.

Always start on the outside of the plant. Lower leaves offer the most pungent flavor. If you only cut a few sprigs each time, it is possible to harvest repeatedly but if you cut a big bunch at once, take no more than two cuts from a plant, about two weeks apart.

Grasp a bunch of stems and cut them about a couple of inches above the soil line. Instead of a second and final cutting, pull the entire plant out of the ground to make room for the next seeding.

Flowers are edible too, and if allowed to set seed will produce coriander. Harvest seed heads when the color changes from green to brown. Hang seed stems upside down in paper bags to dry so the bags will catch the seeds. Store seeds in airtight containers.

Types of Cilantro

'Delfino'

Coriandrum sativum 'Delfino' has fernlike foliage on a high-yielding branched plant. This variety has a delicate flavor. It tolerates warm weather and is slow to bolt.

‘Santo’

Its slow bolting and mild cilantro flavor have made this one of the most popular cilantro varieties. If you do let it flower, there is no reason to throw out the flowers—they are edible too, and best used raw.

‘Calypso’

Cilantro has the tendency to look a bit spindly sometimes, but this variety has a full, bulky growth habit. And, another plus, it is slow to bolt.

'Confetti'

It is the fern-like, feathery leaves that make this variety stand out from the rest. The flavor of ‘Confetti’ is best when the leaves are young so they should be harvested at the baby leaf stage.

Culantro

The flavor of culantro (Eryngium foetidum) is like cilantro but stronger, and it holds up well in cooking. The long leaves are widely used in Central American, Caribbean, and South East Asian cuisines. It grows best in partial shade. The plant reaches up to 1 foot in height. It is a perennial in its native habitat in continental tropical America and the West Indies but grown as an annual on northern climates.

Garden Plan for Cilantro

Fall Harvest Vegetable Garden Plan

This fall bounty garden plan for a four-foot-square raised bed in full sun that includes crops that will grow quickly while the soil is still warm but won't mind when temperatures drop in autumn. This plan is designed to follow the summer vegetable garden plan, so it includes previously planted tomatoes, peppers, and green beans. Of course, you can also start with this plan and leave the spaces for the warm-season crops empty or fill them with more of your preferred leafy greens.