What is Cilantro?

• Cilantro coriander is what is known as a biennial or annual plant, which means that it blooms every 2 years or every year, depending on growing conditions. It is related to parsley. It has pungent-smelling seeds and is often grown to use them for flavoring. The plants can grow to a height of up to 2 feet, and the seeds usually ripen and fall off during the summer. The leaves themselves are what are normally thought of as cilantro, and they taste similar to parsley.
  
  

Growing Cilantro Indoors

• The amount of light that a cilantro coriander plant needs depends on the purpose for which you are growing it. If you are growing it to harvest seeds, it needs the indoor equivalent of full sunlight. If you are just growing it for the smell or for the leaves, then less light is needed. Cilantro coriander plants will grow well under fluorescent lights, especially if these lights are high output. Other kinds of plant growing lights, such as metal halide and high pressure sodium lights also work well.
  
  

Special Conditions for Indoor Growing

• Standard fluorescent lamps should be about 2 to 4 inches above the plants. A higher output fluorescent lamp needs a bit more space, often around 1 foot. Finally, high pressure sodium and metal halide lamps need to be the farthest, usually 2 feet away from the plants. Use a fan 2 hours a day to give the plants a gentle breeze, and water a little each day. The plants are able to be grown in a variety of soils, as long as the soil drains well. Generally, it takes about 6 weeks for a cilantro plant to grow from seed to a plant which could be sold.