My Cilantro experiment failed.

[Gary350]

My Cilantro always bolts = goes to seed when it gets hot, this year I planted Cilantro in 2 gallon pots and have them under a shade tree if full shade all day. 2 days ago they were looking good but today plants are making flowers and getting ready to make seeds. I was hoping to have Cilantro all summer with tomatoes for salsa. It is going to be 90 again today. I guess I need the Cilantro in an Air Conditioned mini green house under the shade tree in full shade all day. Oh well at lease I will have a lot of seeds to plant more cilantro. I can make Coriander spice from cilantro seeds. A 30 foot row of cilantro will make a lot of coriander.

[imafan26]

Yep, learned that a long time ago. It is not the sun but the heat it cannot take. I even tried Leisure, Santo, and slo bolt but in summer they still only last about a month and a half. Even grown in partial shade, you would need to mist them to cool them at midday, ice them, and live at a higher elevation. I live at 587 ft, and I am cooler than the coast by about 9 degrees in summer, but it can still get up to 91 here. Slow bolt can take 80, but will bolt in about a month and a half. I have to grow cilantro from November to May. I grow culantro, it tastes similar to cilantro but you would need to use it as a paste and not as a garnish unless you are making Pho. Since it is a plant that comes from the tropics it can take heat, it just does not like the sun.

[pepperhead212]

I still can't figure out how all of those cuisines that are based in tropical areas have used cilantro through the centuries. They weren't importing it, originally, and certainly did not have AC greenhouses! So what are we missing?

[imafan26]

They are not growing the plants year round. It can be grown at higher elevations in partial shade if it is cooler.
In summer it will bolt from the longer day and the heat in a month and a half. Since the seeds are also edible, they will use that for other dishes or like in Puerto Rico they will use culantro or culantro and cilantro together to make recaito and use it like sofrito in their dishes and that can be made in batches.

https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/node/590
https://www.thespruce.com/puerto-rican- ... pe-2138273
https://www.kitchengidget.com/2016/07/30 ... to-recipe/

[Gary350]

I still can't figure out how all of those cuisines that are based in tropical areas have used cilantro through the centuries. They weren't importing it, originally, and certainly did not have AC greenhouses! So what are we missing?

When I lived in Phoenix Arizona area my Cilantro reseeded itself over and over and over as long as the irrigation water was on. I have had cilantro plants make about 500 seeds if they all fall on the ground and get wet then you have 500 cilantro plants big harvest from that and when it bolts you get more seeds. I moved my plant to full sun I want it to grow all the seeds in can grow so I can plan t a 30 foot row of cilantro that should give me 50,000. seeds. LOL