Coriandrum sativum
Coriander, cilantro
- Height × spread
- 0.5m × 0.3m
- Position
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Frost free greenhouse 1C & above (RHS H2)
- Flowers
- Summer
Availability
Please ask in store about availability
Many plants are seasonal. Call 01234 567890 to check current stock.
About this plant
This is a pretty little herb which has rather small, somewhat feathery, green leaves and pretty pink to white flowers held in flat topped sprays on slender stems. The ripe, dried seeds have a spicy smell. The mature foliage, likewise, has an extremely pleasing, light aroma. Grown as a culinary herb of great merit, the name, coriander, derives from the Greek <I>koris</I>, a bed bug because the immature seeds and leaves were thought to resemble their smell.
- Flower colour
- Pink, White
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Fruit colour
- Beige
- Variegated
- No
- Scent
- Yes
- Shape
- Cube
- Height
- 0.5m
- Spread
- 0.3m
- Season of interest
- Summer, Autumn
- Flowers in
- Summer
- Evergreen
- Deciduous
- Garden style
- Scented garden, Mediterranean garden, Herb garden
- Sun or shade
- Likes full sun
- Soil type
- Chalk, Loam (normal), Poor soil
- Soil pH
- All types
- Drainage
- Well drained soil
- Hardiness
- Frost free greenhouse 1C & above (RHS H2)
- Borders & containers
- Borders and containers
- Hazards
- No
- Pet safe
- Yes – listed in our pet-safe plants
Spring
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Water during dry periods
For plants in the ground, when there has been little or no rain for a period of 7-10 days and the soil is dry, give it a deep watering and repeat weekly until there is a downpour of rain. Check plants in pots more frequently, especially in hot weather.
Summer
Summer - early · Outdoors
Apply slow release fertiliser
Apply a slow release fertiliser which is spread around the root area of the plants soon after they have come into growth. (Or apply a liquid feed at regular intervals throughout the growing season.)
This is a simple way to provide a nutrient boost as a single annual procedure.
Planting & general
Planting
Deadhead blooms during flowering season
Remove flowers as they turn brown and fade. Snip the stem just below the bloom. This will keep the plant tidy and encourage more flowers.
The removal of spent flowers encourages the plant to produce fresh ones, rather than spend its energy on the development of seeds.