How to Grow Cilantro From Seed

Cilantro is a cool-season herb that races through its life, so timing is everything. Direct-sow it in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked, and again in late summer for a fall crop. Because it bolts quickly once the weather warms, sow a fresh short row every 2 to 3 weeks for a steady supply, and skip the peak of summer heat, when it flowers before making many leaves.

Cilantro has a taproot and hates being transplanted, so always sow it right where it will grow. For faster, more even sprouting, soak the round seeds in warm water overnight and gently crush the husk to split each one into two. Sow about a quarter to half an inch deep in rich, well-drained soil, keep it evenly moist at around 65 to 70F, and seedlings will appear in 7 to 14 days. Thin them to about 4 to 6 inches apart.

Keep cilantro cool and moist and it stays leafy and mild. Water regularly, mulch to keep the roots cool, and give it a little afternoon shade in warm spells, all of which delay bolting. A light feed keeps growth lush, and picking often brings on new leaves. Climate really sets the schedule here: in hot regions like Florida, Texas, or Southern California, treat cilantro as a fall, winter, and early-spring herb, because once daytime highs settle into the mid-70s it bolts within a few weeks. In cooler places like the Midwest or Pacific Northwest, spring and fall are prime, and a shaded, well-watered spot can carry it further into summer.

Cilantro is a great garden neighbor, and once it flowers its lacy blooms pull in hoverflies, lacewings, and parasitic wasps that hunt aphids. These four make especially good companions, and you can add any of them in one click:

Start snipping once plants are 4 to 6 inches tall, taking the outer leaves and stems near the base and leaving the young center to regrow. Cut regularly, never more than about a third at a time. To harvest coriander, let some plants flower and set seed, then cut the seed heads when they turn straw-colored, dry them, and thresh out the round seeds.

Use cilantro fresh and add it right at the end of cooking, since heat quickly dulls its flavor. Stir the leaves into salsa, guacamole, tacos, curries, chutneys, and noodle bowls just before serving, and scatter more over the top. Let a few plants flower and go to seed and the very same plant gives you coriander, the round dried spice for breads, curries, and pickles. One planting, two completely different flavors.

• Bolting: heat makes cilantro flower fast and turn bitter. Grow it cool, mulch, shade it in warm spells, and resow every couple of weeks.
• Slow or patchy germination: soak the seeds overnight and gently crush the husk to split them, then keep the soil evenly moist.
• Aphids: rinse them off with a strong spray of water, and let some cilantro flower to draw in the insects that eat them.
• Leggy, pale seedlings: usually too little light. Grow in full sun to light shade and thin crowded plants for airflow.