[VikingKvinna]

Gahhh!

This is the second year in a row I've planted cilantro and had this problem. Alls I want is some flavorin' for my salsa!

What happens is that the cilantro plant seems to put all its energy into growing UP, and no energy into growing its actual leaves. The plants are all very tall, and wavy, and have flowers on the top, and spindly scrawny little leaves. How can I get them to be short and fat and bushy and full of cilantro-y goodness?

Can anyone help me? Puhhhlleeeeease?

TIA!
~Nick

Oh, just FYI, if it matters, I live in Upstate NY, where we've had weird schizo weather this year -- super hot, then super cold, then super hot. No rain, then TONS of rain, then no rain....etc. But the same thing happened last year and our weather was relatively normal, sooo...

 

[crunchymamatobe]

This happens to me too - the plants only get about five or six inches high and then they bolt. I am thinking that it's maybe because I didn't then them soon enough? It says on the package to thin them to 12 inches apart, but I only thinned mine to about an inch apart.

: I just planted another batch, so perhaps I will try the recommended spacing when those come up.

My bigger problem is timing cilantro that's ready to be picked with ripe tomatoes!

 

[JaysMama]

Hi, I wonder if you could try pinching it back as it's growing. I have no experience with cilantro but that popped into my head as I read about how tall they get. It seems to me if they are using up all their energy to grow tall they won't grow out. I remember hearing that the more you use from your herbs (pinch off) the bigger they will bush out. I am a novice first year gardener so take my advice only for what it's worth!

 

[Chanley]

Cilantro bolts when temps are high. I have found that my cilantro in my garden is never around long enough for my own salsa....Bummer too.

Try planting it earlier.

My step mom freezes her cilantro after she chops it. But it does get darker.

Mine is currently going to seed in my garden, I will collect the seed and use it as coriander and save some for next year. I try!

My parsley is bolting to bitterness now as well. I need more shade!

 

[shaywyn]

You can sow seeds of cilantro every 3 weeks. When it's hotter out, sow them in a partially shaded area

That's what I do, I sow very small spots of it, probably three times a season and my climate is similar to yours. If you sow some right now, it should be ready for your tomatoes, as it grows quickly

And, if your plants seem a bit small when they start to send up that flower stalk, don't worry, a little cilantro packs a big punch, you can dice up the stems and roots very small and use them in your salsa, too. Also, like a pp mentioned, the seeds are coriander, and very easy to harvest. I just pull up the whole plant once the seeds are mature and shake them onto some newspaper.

I sow my basil seeds right when I put my tomato plants in the ground so that it will be ready for the big tomato harvest, too

 

[VikingKvinna]

So there's nothing I can do to save the current plants, then?

We don't have tomatoes in the garden this year, so I'm not necessarily trying to coordinate. I just like to have fresh cilantro on hand, although I do also freeze it, too. It seems like I never got the chance to do anything with it before it went crazy on me.

Thanks, y'all!

~nick

 

[shaywyn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VikingKvinna So there's nothing I can do to save the current plants, then? We don't have tomatoes in the garden this year, so I'm not necessarily trying to coordinate. I just like to have fresh cilantro on hand, although I do also freeze it, too. It seems like I never got the chance to do anything with it before it went crazy on me. Thanks, y'all! ~nick

Well, you could try cutting off the entire flower stalk. Plants want to live, see what happens

I've done it with parsley in the past (parsley is a biennial and bolts the second year) and am able to stretch a bit more out of them. Good Luck!!

 

[Yin Yang]

I had the same problem this year. Pinching it back does not help. I had the same problem with my oregano too.

:
Good to know it does not like heat so much for next year.

 

[shaywyn]

Hey, it just ocurred to me, if you are wanting something similar to those lovely large bunches at the market, I don't think that really happens. Those are a bunch of plants together. Sometimes you can find them with the roots still attached around here (which are very edible, btw), then you can see just how many plants make a bunch. My cilantro never looks like that, but growing it at home (and maybe because my soil is sandy) the flavor is even more intense so you just don't need as much. That's true for every herb, when you grow them at home, they are so much better than store bought, which have usually been over fertilized which directly affects flavor.

 

[mwherbs]

maybe it is the wrong variety
maybe it is too cool for the variety you are growing here in Tucson where it is consistently hot it looks like the stuff in the store-- or even better.

 

[Mama Lori]

I never got around to planting cilantro this year but mine did very well last year, and we get some pretty hot temps around here, but cool nights. I used a "slow bolt" variety from Seeds of Change. I planted a lot of plants, maybe 12 plants, and I reseeded every few weeks or so. I always had more than enough cilantro. The plants were pretty tall, not bushy.

 

[Lucky]

I ended up growing a good patch of cilantro, this year, by planting an entire seed packet in one area. I let it grow without thinning it out and it has produced a great amount of leaves.

Since you already have flowers, I'd let the flowers go to seed. You'll then have corriander...that's what I ended up doing in past year, anyways.

 

[cyncyn]

I was just going to post about this too! I only have one cilantro plant and have been pinching it back relentlessly and it just keeps bolting. It was one I bought as a 4" start so perhaps I will try the seeds if it's not too late already.

 

[zoooteacher]

We go with a slow bolt variety but even that goes to flower very quickly here in Jersey summers....I get my best crops in EARLY fall and spring, and just keep putting a row in every few weeks.

 

[cyncyn]

So at what size can I start harvesting? Like at 6" or so? I think my plant was too old already when I bought it.