An herb garden favorite in our area, cilantro is also a familiar and much-used culinary herb in many cultures throughout the world. For a long period of leaf-production, cilantro should be planted in the cool season in our area. As a member of the parsley family, it responds to warm weather by blooming and going to seed very rapidly.

Coriander is native to a large region that spans southwestern Asia to North Africa. The plant grows wild in many regions of the Near East and southern Europe. It has even been found in an ancient cave in Israel.

The plant grows to about 20 inches in height. It thrives in sunny, well-drained soil, but is a little harder to grow in containers. It responds well to a balanced fertilizer applied sparingly. The leaves are slender with little white or pink flowers which will reseed if not harvested. The entire plant is edible, though the leaves and seeds have very different flavors.