I have CILANTRO in my herb garden now blooming and eatable leaves are to a minimum WHAT TO DO ? Cut it all off or what else I want it to grow more eatable parts . Did not know Cilantro can bolt ?
Hi, I grow and use a lot of cilantro (here in Portugal "Coentros"). It always bolts! Cutting the flowering heads does not work for me - all I get is more flower heads. It bolts more slowly in a shadier area. I now grow an Italian strain which is slower to bolt, but it still does it too soon for me. To keep a steady supply of leaves, I just repeat sow perhaps once every month or three weeks. However, I use the seeds in cooking as well, so I want some plants to bolt anyway. Boa Sorte, BrianO
I am a big fan of the leaves and the seeds, I have always had problems with it bolting, especially if you start them in a planter and then try to transplant them outdoors. This year has been the best for me so far, I have them planted in partly shaded area's of my garden in rich composted soil, they are bushy almost three feet tall and produced a bounty of broad tasty leaves, they have now flowered and are producing an equall amount of seeds, my best year ever. The place in my garden where I also planted them last year, is a bit less protected and sunny, and the soil is much more sandy, they are doing very poorly there, small spindly with only a few broad leaves and are already starting to flower. So I know well where I will officially be designating the coriander in my garden from now on. :-)
Cilantro's bolting is triggered by long photoperiods. At northern latitudes, a long day is awfully hard to avoid. Some seed varieties will produce more leaves before flowering but I've also had some produce as few as 3 or 4 leaves, then bolt.
So that must be why mine hardly ever bolts - it gets an even 12 hours daylight followed by 12 hours darkness. I say, let it bolt and re-seed itself, or collect the seed for use in curries and vindaloos.
I have mine FULL south along a wall in the center of my Herb Garden. But I made sure it has a little shade from a tree above. I guess is not enough but now I have to plant some new one . My partner is Chinese and we looove cilantro on many things. So now I have nearly nothing left I am anxious to get it growing so I can't wait for the seed to form so will sew somewhere else .