Planting Culantro
Culantro is a warm season herb in the Apiaceae family. Getting the timing right is the difference between a strong stand and a disappointing one, so the windows below are given relative to your own last spring frost and first fall frost rather than a generic calendar date. Look up your local frost dates and count back or forward from there.
Culantro is started indoors 6–8 weeks before your last spring frost date, giving seedlings a head start before they move outside.
Transplant young plants outdoors 1–2 weeks after your last frost, once the danger of frost has passed.
Culantro can be grown by starting indoors and transplanting. Starting indoors gives the longest, most controlled season, while direct sowing is simplest where the season is long enough.
Spacing and Planting Depth
Give Culantro room to mature. The figures below come from verified extension and seed-supplier data for typical varieties.
| Spacing in row | 8 inches |
|---|---|
| Row spacing | 12 inches |
| Plants per sq ft | 1.5 |
| Planting depth | 0.125 inches |
| Sun requirement | Partial sun |
Days to Maturity
Culantro reaches maturity in 70–90 days from transplant.
Culantro is ready to harvest after about 80 days. Harvest before the first fall frost, which will end the plant's productive season.
Conditions and Care
As a warm-season herb, Culantro needs warm soil and settled weather to thrive, and is set back or killed by frost. It is frost tender, so wait until all danger of frost has passed before planting out and harvest before the first fall frost.
Culantro grows well in partial sun and tolerates some afternoon shade, which can help slow bolting in warm weather. Sow seed about 0.125 inches deep — small seed is sown shallow and barely covered, then keep the soil evenly moist until seedlings establish.
Culantro belongs to the Apiaceae family; rotating where you grow members of this family each year helps limit the build-up of soil-borne pests and disease. Culantro is generally grown as a single planting each season rather than succession sown.
Growing Notes
Long-leaf cilantro relative; tolerates heat.