What is happening to my....Cilantro?

Cropper2 6/3/2010, 8:32 pm

This past weekend, there were tall shoots in the center with flowers at the top, so I cut those off. But the plants as a whole are looking pretty ill. The flash is making the brown leave appear yellow, but hopefully you can see the problem. Can anyone help?

What is happening to my....Cilantro? 100_0924

What is happening to my....Cilantro? 100_0924

What is happening to my....Cilantro? 100_0925

**camprn** 6/3/2010, 8:50 pm

Root bound? It appears to be sill in it's pot. Have you fed it? I would take it out of the pot, mix in some compost to the garden mix and plant in the garden.

Megan 6/3/2010, 8:56 pm

Is that a pot? I thought maybe it was a soaker hose.

**camprn** 6/3/2010, 8:57 pm

Ok from looking at your photos of sunflowers I can see what looks like a hose not a pot. The plant certainly looks stressed. Maybe too much water and not enough nutrition. Give the plant some liquid plant food and see what happens.

chocolatepop 6/3/2010, 9:16 pm

Camp, I'm with you again, overwatering?

martha 6/3/2010, 9:55 pm

but when cilantro is preparing to make its coriander seeds, do the leaves continue to look healthy? Mine doesn't, but maybe I just don't take correct care of it after that stage.

Megan 6/3/2010, 10:02 pm

Were they just the beginnings of flower buds, or was the cilantro in full flower?

Patty from Yorktown 6/4/2010, 7:22 am

Your cilantro has turned into a coriander plant. You did not do anything wrong. Mine did the same thing. I never got any cilantro off of it. I think the weather might has been too hot this spring. We are the same zone. Collect the seeds and try again.

Patty in Yorktown

Retired Member 1 6/4/2010, 7:40 am

If your cilantro put up a seed stalk, then it has fulfilled it's destiny (to make babies) and it is dying. That is what cilantro does. I seed cilantro three times in the spring a month apart so I have a longer harvest. Cilantro is a very short-lived plant. But it reseeds freely, so in my herb garden I let it go to seed and later this year will have volunteers.

Cropper2 6/4/2010, 7:52 am

Thanks everyone for your feedback.

I am now going to pout.

Both of my cilantro plants are doing the same thing. I never got cilantro, but I guess I should be happy that I will have coriander.

Yes, those are drip lines, so could it also be overwatering? They only get 15 minutes before sunrise, then nothing else.

Retired Member 1 6/4/2010, 9:15 am

Cropper2 wrote:Thanks everyone for your feedback.

I am now going to pout.

Both of my cilantro plants are doing the same thing. I never got cilantro, but I guess I should be happy that I will have coriander.

Yes, those are drip lines, so could it also be overwatering? They only get 15 minutes before sunrise, then nothing else.

Did you plant from seed or store bought transplants? I have never had any luck with cilantro from transplants unless I grow them myself. The trick to keeping cilantro going is to pick when they are about 6" tall. I basically trim off the top half the plant every week. And then when they bolt, you can choose to cut off the stalk or let it grow and harvest the seeds. If not in a SFG where you want to plant something else, let some of the seeds fall and they will sprout.

Here's a pic of my cilantro that is bolting (along with a rather confused swallow tail caterpillar - "well, duh, this looks like parsley"). I moved him to the sacrificial dill right after taking this pic.

What is happening to my....Cilantro? Cilant10

What is happening to my....Cilantro? Cilant10

Icemaiden 6/4/2010, 9:43 am

I'm trying a variety called Delfino this year because it claims it is slow to bolt. Bit early to say if it is any better or not - as in only about two leaves so far! The leaves are different, more like dill or perhaps a delphinium leaf which may be where they got the name. The packet says sow at 2-3 week intervals so I don't suppose it hangs around for ever either.

Cropper2 6/4/2010, 10:11 am

Mine were from store-bought plants. I didn't get them in until early May and I thought I was too late to plant from seed. I will harvest the seeds this year and see if I can plant them that way next year.

coot 6/4/2010, 10:19 am

My store-bought cilantro bolted quickly too. I never knew they were short-lived plants, but thank God we can grow new ones.

Cropper2 6/4/2010, 4:29 pm

Do you suppose I could still plant seeds now and have it be OK for the summer? I'm in Zone 7.

Retired Member 1 6/4/2010, 11:52 pm

Cropper2 wrote:Do you suppose I could still plant seeds now and have it be OK for the summer? I'm in Zone 7.

Yes. It might bolt rather quickly, but you should get some to harvest.

Megan 6/5/2010, 7:28 am

How does cilantro do as a fall crop? I love to make chimichurri with it.

coot 6/5/2010, 7:35 am

I was gonna try growing it indoors under a shop light since I read that cilantro likes cooler temps. Anyone have success growing it indoors?

Chopper 6/5/2010, 11:07 pm

Having dealt with cilantro before, I was prepared with a succession planting. Once the first group is big enough I am putting in seeds for the second. Cilantro is the fastest bolting plant I have ever seen so I just planned on it only being productive a short while. That's why I planted it every 2 weeks or so. Oddly, it has lasted the longest ever for me! Just when you think you know a plant...

Gardenfor8 6/25/2010, 3:52 pm

Any suggestions on how many cilantro plants in 1 SF?

Lavender Debs 6/25/2010, 4:00 pm

I should take a look-see at the SFG plant guide, but I'll just say that I do 4x4 (16 per square) and use it all the time.

Deborah.... whose 1st cilantro is just starting to get feathery and whose 3rd planting is making "peek-a-boo arches out of the soil

Cropper2 6/25/2010, 6:17 pm

One per square foot worked for me. It took over the whole area.

Lavender Debs 6/25/2010, 7:06 pm

Wow cropper! I don't know if I just used mine too often or if our cold wet PNW spring was the problem, but I was always waiting for there to be enough for the next ________ (what ever I happened to need cilantro for)

One was enough? You must have perfect weather or maybe better seed or... Than again, you are one of the gardeners who constantly impress me, so maybe it is the shade of green that describes your thumb. What is happening to my....Cilantro? 53366

What is happening to my....Cilantro? 53366

dmpower 6/25/2010, 10:02 pm

From my experience, and from readings, cilantro has to be planted in succession - WEEKLY!! It is only cilantro for a very short time. Once it decides to flower you are done. I stopped growing it because it was too labor intensive and I always missed my opportunities to pick it before it became coriander. It may be my favorite flavor of all, but weekly plantings are not in my schedule.

Megan 6/25/2010, 10:17 pm

Based on mine... maybe nine a square. Not all sprouted, and they are getting shaded, but... given their size that is probably what I will do again. And mine must be dead slow -- par for the course with the rest of my garden -- because it's still not bolting. Though one is looking extra-feathery, so I guess that is starting.

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