Plant · Grow it at home
Coriander.
Coriandrum sativum · cilantro leaves or coriander seed — one plant, two crops
Coriander and cilantro are the same plant at two different moments: pick the young leaves and it is cilantro, let it flower and the dried seed is coriander. It dislikes being moved, so sow it where it will grow. And it bolts in hot, dry weather — which is why the answer is never one big sowing but a pinch of seed every two or three weeks.
What coriander needs
Needs radar
How demanding coriander is on each axis — the shape you learn to read across every plant.
Conditions at a glance
- Light Sun in spring and autumn · out of midday sun in summer
- Warmth Cool-season · runs to seed in hot, dry spells
- Humidity Not fussy
- Water Water in dry spells — drought brings bolting forward
- Pot size A deep pot; it grows a taproot and resents a shallow one
- First harvest Pick lightly from 10–15 cm tall · germinates in 1–3 weeks
Grow it in your space
- Sow direct, into a shallow drill where the plants will stay. Do not start it indoors and do not transplant it — it makes a taproot early and moving it usually triggers early bolting.
- Space seed about 5 cm apart for leaves. Germination takes one to three weeks depending on how warm it is.
- If you want full plants or seed, thin later to about 18–25 cm. For a steady supply of leaves, leave them closer together.
- Sun is right in spring and autumn. Through summer heat, put it somewhere shaded at midday — this is the single biggest lever you have.
- Water in dry spells. Heat and drought together are what send it to flower, not heat alone.
- Sow again every 2–3 weeks. Even a well-treated plant has a short leaf season; overlapping sowings are how you get continuity.
How to tell it's ready
- From about 10–15 cm tall, pick sparingly — take a few outer leaves from each plant rather than cutting one to the ground — it keeps producing from the centre.
- A flower stem is a fork in the road — pinch it out and you extend the leaf harvest a while longer. Leave it and you are now growing coriander seed instead — both are correct, but decide rather than drift.
- For seed: wait for the heads to turn brown — gather them as they ripen. Left alone the plant will often self-seed and come up again on its own next season.
Watch-outs
- Bolting — hot, dry weather and it stops making leaves to concentrate on setting seed. Pinching off the flower stems buys you more picking — but once it is committed, it is committed. Sow again rather than fight it.
- Starting it indoors or transplanting — the most common way to ruin this crop before it begins. The taproot forms in the first couple of weeks; disturb it and the plant bolts early in protest. Direct sow, always.
- One big sowing — a single patch gives you a few weeks of leaves and then a bed full of flowers. This crop is grown in overlapping small batches or not at all.
- Full sun in high summer — the right spot changes with the season. What suits it in April cooks it in July.
Varieties & a little history
One plant, two spice-rack entries, and a great deal of confusion. In British and Indian usage coriander means the whole plant; in American usage the fresh leaf is cilantro and only the dried seed is coriander. They are the same species, Coriandrum sativum, harvested at different stages — and the two crops want opposite things from you. Leaves want cool weather, close spacing and frequent re-sowing, because you are racing the plant's own instinct to flower. Seed wants the opposite: sun, room, and patience while it does exactly that. Knowing which one you are growing settles most of the questions, including whether bolting is a failure or the goal.
Will coriander grow where you are — and when to sow? →
New to this? Start with your first balcony season, check your growing zone, then let the planner turn it into a dated plan for your spot.
Data honesty: the care ranges here (sun hours, temperature, pot size, radar shape) are drawn from reputable horticulture sources and are checked before publish — the radar is only as trustworthy as its underlying numbers. Growing is a conversation with your own space, not a formula.
Sources
Educational guidance, not a guarantee — your own microclimate, soil, light and water have the final say. Last reviewed 2026-08-10. Growmanac makes no edibility or health claims.