Leisure cilantro is a slow-bolting selection, but it still flowers as weather and plant age advance. The dependable way to keep leaves coming is to sow in a suitable cool season and start small replacement plantings. Grow some plants for leaves and leave others to produce coriander seed.
Planting at a glance
- Crop
- Leisure cilantro, Coriandrum sativum
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Sowing depth
- ¼ inch
- Germination
- Often 7–21 days, depending on conditions
- Spacing
- 6–8 inches for full leafy plants
- Best season
- Cool spring or fall conditions
Use local frost dates and growing conditions to adjust planting and harvest timing.
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Slow bolt does not mean no bolt
Cilantro and coriander come from the same plant: cilantro is the fresh foliage, while coriander commonly means the dry seed in U.S. cooking. Leisure is a slow-bolting cilantro selection. It can extend the useful leaf stage compared with faster-bolting types, but it is not a permanent leafy perennial.
The exact time to flowering depends on day length, temperature, variety and growing conditions. One planting may stay leafy longer than another sown just a few weeks later as the season warms. Watch your plants and keep records of sowing dates and weather.
Use the right seasonal window
In many climates, early spring and late summer into fall provide better conditions than the hottest part of summer. Mild-winter regions may also have a useful winter growing season. Check a local planting calendar instead of waiting automatically until all other summer vegetables go outside.
Full sun suits cool conditions; some afternoon shade can help during warmer periods. Shade may reduce heat stress, but it cannot turn a very hot summer into a cool season or prevent flowering indefinitely. Plan your largest leaf crop for the climate window that suits it.
Direct sow a clearly marked row
Prepare a fine seedbed in soil that drains but retains moisture. Sow around a quarter inch deep and water gently. Keep the surface from drying into a hard crust during emergence. Thin seedlings to roughly six to eight inches for full plants, or use a denser short-lived planting specifically for young leaves.
Direct sowing avoids disturbing the developing taproot. If you need transplants, start in individual cells and move them while young with intact root balls. Do not split apart an old crowded pot and expect every seedling to recover equally well.
If you need a protected start, our indoor cilantro seed-starting guide explains the process.
Sow again before the first planting is finished
Plant a short new row every two or three weeks while the season is suitable. This overlaps young leafy plants with older ones. It also reduces the pressure to keep one bolting plant alive as the only source of cilantro.
Label each row with its date. If a hot spell makes successive plantings flower quickly, adjust the next sowing to a cooler period rather than simply increasing water and fertilizer. In fall, leave enough time for establishment before cold weather and short days slow growth.
Keep roots moist without making mud
Check the root zone and water when it begins to dry. A gentle mulch around larger plants can reduce drying and splashing. Do not keep containers permanently saturated. In garden beds, finished compost can improve structure; adding a little sand to a clay planting hole is not a dependable drainage fix.
Base fertilizer on soil conditions and testing. Container plants may need modest feeding according to their mix and fertilizer label, but routine heavy feeding will not stop the annual plant from flowering. Remove weeds early so the crop is not competing for light and moisture.
Harvest leaves before stems take over
Once plants are established, cut a few outer stems and leave central growth and enough foliage for recovery. Small repeated harvests work well while the plant is in its leafy stage. When a tall central flower stem forms and the new leaves become finer, the plant is changing toward reproduction.
You can still use sound leaves, but removing the flower stem will not reliably restart a long leafy season. Move your kitchen harvest to a younger sowing. Refrigerate clean fresh harvests appropriately or freeze small portions if you have more than you can use promptly.
Collect coriander seed or grow in a pot
Leave selected plants to flower if you want seed. Wait for the seed heads to dry and turn brown, then cut into a paper bag before ripe seed scatters. Finish drying with airflow and store fully dry seed in a labeled container. Kitchen seed and planting seed should be kept separately labeled.
A pot at least around ten to twelve inches deep with drainage gives the roots more room than a shallow herb tray. Sow directly into it and thin. Keep it in good light and check moisture often. For indoor growing, strong supplemental light may be needed; a warm room with weak light rarely sustains a productive leaf crop.
For container setup, see our guide to growing cilantro in a pot.
Growing questions
Is Leisure cilantro different from coriander?
They refer to the same crop grown for different harvests. The leaves are cilantro and the dry seed is coriander.
Can I stop bolting by cutting off flowers?
You may delay the final stage slightly, but you cannot reliably reset a bolting plant. Successive sowings are more useful for continued leaves.
Can I grow cilantro all summer?
That depends on your climate. Slow-bolting types still struggle to remain leafy in prolonged heat and long days.
Ready for another planting? See Slow Bolt Cilantro Seeds for the current packet options.
Sources and photo credits
Prepared with AI assistance using Gardeners Basics product information and horticultural references. This guide does not describe a Gardeners Basics growing trial. Research and license links open in a new tab.
Growing references
Photo credits
Photographs illustrate the crop or growing stage. They are not photographs of a Gardeners Basics growing trial; a specific cultivar is identified only where the source documents it.
- Cover: Koriander (Coriandrum sativum) Frische Bündel, beim Türken in MA--Josef Schlaghecken.jpg, Schlaghecken Josef. CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for display. The Pinterest graphic crops the cover photograph; its photo retains the stated license.
- Article photo 1: Koriander (Coriandrum sativum) Blätter-- Josef Schlaghecken.jpg, Schlaghecken Josef. CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for display. The Pinterest graphic crops the cover photograph; its photo retains the stated license.
