any tip for growing coriander/cilantro?

urmaniac46

New member
I tried to grow a shrub of coriander leaves (cilantro) twice in the past few years, on the first try nothing came out at all except for 2 sorry looking attempt which grew to about 2cm (1 inch), then the second try last year went slightly better, we collected some leaves for our meals but didn't last very long, after one storm they just died.
I don't have such problems with flat leaved parsleys and basils which always last for a whole season, until the winter hits. Do the coriander plants require special care? The climate of Rome is pretty mild with four seasons, the summer is pretty humid, rainfall isn't much particularly during the summer but occasionally we have an attack of heavy rain. I would appreciate some advices....
 

joec

New member
Gold Site Supporter
My problems with cilantro is not growing it but it turns to seed so fast (about 2 weeks after maturity). Now I have bottles of dried coriander seeds though I don't really care for cilantro (leaves) as I find them a bit to bitter for my tastes. I actually have stopped growing it because of this and have gone to buying dried when needed in a recipe.
 

High Cheese

Saucier
You have to keep trimming the tops off so the plants groww fuller and don't go to seed. It's a PITA because it grows so fast. I wound up with a sorry ass plant this year.
 

urmaniac46

New member
You have to keep trimming the tops off so the plants groww fuller and don't go to seed. It's a PITA because it grows so fast. I wound up with a sorry ass plant this year.

what, really???:shock: I don't know maybe they are a different kind of coriander that they sell here? They took a long time to grow, much slower than parsley and basil, I don't know fresh coriander leaves are not so well known in the kitchen in italy...
 

Deelady

New member
I just planted my own for the first time a few weeks ago and just when I was starting to give up hope I started to see tiny sprouts......so my knowledge is still in the experimental stage :)
 

pugger

New member
Mine all burned up about a month ago, same as Italian parsley. Grew like weeds until May. Of course, a lot more has burned up down here, grass is looking bad :neutral:
 

urmaniac46

New member
I hope you will have much better luck Deanna, keep us posted how it goes!!

Puggers, did the parsley grow tiny white flowers? When you see those flowers sprouting out they need to be snipped out quickly, they really kill the leaves.
 

GotGarlic

New member
I think cilantro is a cooler-weather plant. When it gets warm, and especially when it's hot, it bolts to flower and then seed really fast. You can keep it going a little longer by pinching the flowers, but it's hard to keep up with.
 
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