Store-bought cilantro can absolutely become a source of new plants, though the method that works best depends on what you bought: a bunch of fresh stems from the produce aisle, a potted “living herb” from the refrigerated section, or whole coriander seeds from the spice rack. Each starting point has different odds of success and different timelines, and the living-herb option is by far the easiest path to a windowsill harvest. The trickier routes still work, but they reward patience more than optimism.
Three Ways to Start, Ranked by Reliability
Not all store-bought cilantro is created equal when it comes to regrowth potential. The differences matter enough to save you weeks of frustration if you pick the right starting material.
- Living potted herbs: These are the small pots sold in the refrigerated produce section of many grocery stores, roots and soil intact. They are already growing plants. You can transplant them directly into a larger container or garden bed and begin harvesting within a week or two.
- Whole coriander seeds from the spice aisle: Coriander is simply cilantro seed. Most whole coriander sold for cooking has not been treated to prevent germination, so a surprising number of those seeds will sprout if planted. Expect about a two- to three-week wait before you see green.
- Cut cilantro stems from a fresh bunch: This is the least reliable method. Cilantro stems can sometimes root in water, but the success rate is low compared to basil or mint. The stems often rot before rooting, and even when they do root, the resulting plant tends to bolt quickly.
The living potted herb is the no-brainer choice when available. If you only have a fresh bunch or a jar of coriander seeds, both can work, but the seed route is more dependable. Below is how to handle each one.
Transplanting a Living Potted Herb
Those small grocery-store herb pots look convenient, but they are designed for short-term use, not long-term growth. The plants inside are usually crammed together in a tiny plastic pot with barely enough soil to keep them alive through shipping. If you just set the pot on your counter and water it, the plants will decline within a week or two.
The fix is to transplant them promptly. Gently slide the root ball out of the store pot and separate it into two or three smaller clumps. Each clump should have its own roots. Plant each clump in a pot at least six inches deep, because cilantro grows a long taproot and resents being confined. Use standard potting mix and water thoroughly after planting. Set the pots in a spot with bright but indirect light for the first few days to ease the transplant shock, then move them into full sun or a bright windowsill.
You will likely lose a few stems in the transition. That is normal. The plants that survive the transplant should start putting out fresh growth within a week, and you can begin harvesting individual leaves once each plant has multiple healthy stems.
Growing Cilantro From Spice-Aisle Coriander Seeds
This is the method that surprises most people, and it works remarkably well. The whole coriander seeds you buy for curry and pickling are the same seeds a garden center would sell you in a seed packet, just without the pretty label. Ground coriander will not work because the seeds have been pulverized, but whole seeds retain their viability for months or even years on a spice rack.
Each round coriander “seed” is technically a dried fruit containing two actual seeds inside. To improve germination, gently crush the outer husk by pressing the seeds under a flat surface or rolling them with a rolling pin. You are not trying to powder them, just crack the shell enough to let water in. Soak the cracked seeds in water for about 24 hours before planting.
Fill a container at least six inches deep with moist potting mix. Scatter the seeds on the surface and cover them with roughly a quarter inch of soil. Keep the soil consistently moist but not waterlogged. Germination typically takes 7 to 14 days, sometimes a bit longer in cooler conditions. Once the seedlings are a couple of inches tall and have their first set of true leaves (the ones that actually look like cilantro rather than the rounded seed leaves), thin them so each plant has about two inches of space.
One advantage of this method is cost. A jar of whole coriander from the spice aisle contains hundreds of seeds for a few dollars. Even if only half germinate, you will have more cilantro than you can use, and you can stagger plantings every two to three weeks for a continuous supply.
Rooting Cut Stems in Water
This method circulates widely on social media, often with time-lapse videos showing cilantro stems sprouting roots in a glass of water. It can work, but the reality is messier than the videos suggest. Cilantro is not a vigorous rooter the way basil or mint is. Many stems will turn slimy and rot before producing any roots, and even those that do root tend to produce small, weak plants.
If you want to try it anyway, select the freshest stems you can find, ideally ones with a small portion of the lower stem still intact and not crushed. Strip the lower leaves so only the top leaves remain above the waterline. Place the stems in a glass with about an inch of water in a bright spot out of direct sun. Change the water every day to prevent bacterial buildup. If roots appear after a week or two, transplant the stems carefully into moist potting soil and keep them shaded for a few days while they adjust.
Honestly, the time and attention you spend babying cut stems into rooting would produce better results if redirected toward planting coriander seeds. But if you have leftover stems and curiosity, there is no harm in trying.
Soil, Containers, and Light
Cilantro is not fussy about soil, but it has one non-negotiable requirement: drainage. Waterlogged roots lead to rot quickly. Any standard potting mix works. If your mix feels dense or heavy, mix in a handful of perlite to improve drainage. Garden soil straight from the yard is a poor choice for containers because it compacts and holds too much moisture.
Container depth matters more than width for cilantro. That long taproot wants at least six inches of soil depth, and eight is better. Wide, shallow planters sold as herb gardens are one of the most common reasons indoor cilantro fails. If you are growing outdoors in a garden bed, depth is less of a concern because the taproot can grow freely.
For light, cilantro likes full sun in cool weather and partial shade in warm weather. On a windowsill, a south-facing window provides enough light in most climates during the cooler months. In summer, an east-facing window works better because it gives morning light without the intense afternoon heat that accelerates bolting. If you are growing under artificial lights, aim for about 12 hours of light per day.
Watering and Feeding
Cilantro prefers consistently moist soil, not soggy and not bone dry. In practice, that means checking the top half inch of soil daily and watering when it feels dry to the touch. Containers dry out faster than garden beds, especially in warm weather or near a sunny window, so daily watering is common for potted cilantro during the growing season.
Feeding is straightforward. Cilantro is a light feeder and does not need heavy fertilization. A diluted liquid fertilizer applied every two to three weeks is plenty. Over-fertilizing, especially with high-nitrogen formulas, can actually encourage the plant to bolt faster. If your potting mix already contains slow-release fertilizer (many commercial mixes do), you can skip additional feeding for the first month.
Why Cilantro Bolts So Quickly and What You Can Do About It
The single biggest frustration with growing cilantro is bolting, the moment the plant decides to stop making leaves and start making flowers and seeds instead. When cilantro bolts, the leaves change shape dramatically: the broad, flat leaves you want for salsa give way to thin, feathery leaves that taste increasingly bitter. Once a flower stalk appears, the plant’s leaf-producing days are essentially over.
Bolting is triggered primarily by heat and long days. When temperatures consistently stay above roughly 75°F (24°C), cilantro reads that as a signal to reproduce. Long daylight hours compound the effect. This is why cilantro grows beautifully in spring and fall but barely lasts a few weeks in midsummer.
You cannot fully prevent bolting, but you can delay it:
- Choose slow-bolt varieties: If you are buying seeds (including from the spice aisle), look for varieties bred for bolt resistance. “Santo” and “Calypso” are two widely available cultivars that hold off bolting longer than generic cilantro. Spice-aisle coriander is usually an unspecified variety, so results vary.
- Keep it cool: Grow cilantro in partial shade during warm months, or indoors where temperatures stay moderate. A spot that gets morning sun and afternoon shade is ideal in summer.
- Harvest aggressively: Regular harvesting encourages the plant to keep producing leaves rather than shifting energy to flowers. Pinch off the outermost stems first and leave the center to continue growing.
- Succession plant: Instead of trying to keep one planting alive all season, start new seeds every two to three weeks. By the time one batch bolts, the next is ready to harvest. This is the most reliable strategy for a continuous supply.
If your cilantro does bolt, all is not lost. The flowers attract beneficial insects, and if you let the seeds mature and dry on the plant, you have free coriander seeds for cooking and for planting your next crop.
Harvesting Without Killing the Plant
One common mistake is shearing cilantro like grass, cutting the whole plant down to a stub and expecting it to regrow. Cilantro is not a cut-and-come-again herb in the same way that basil or chives can be. If you cut the main growing point too aggressively, the plant may never recover, or it may bolt in response to the stress.
Instead, harvest from the outside in. Snip individual outer stems at their base, leaving the inner, younger stems to keep growing. Never take more than about a third of the plant at once. This approach keeps the plant producing new growth from the center while you enjoy a steady trickle of fresh leaves.
You can start harvesting once the plant is about six inches tall and has several sets of true leaves. Earlier than that, and you are removing leaf area the plant needs to fuel its growth.
Indoor Growing vs. Outdoor Growing
Cilantro grows in both settings, but each comes with tradeoffs. Indoors, you have more control over temperature, which helps delay bolting. But most windowsills do not provide quite enough light for truly robust cilantro, so plants tend to grow leggy and produce fewer leaves. A small grow light makes a significant difference if you are serious about indoor cilantro.
Outdoors, cilantro gets the light intensity it prefers, but you are at the mercy of temperature. In mild climates, fall and early spring are the prime cilantro seasons. In hot-summer areas, you can grow cilantro through winter if temperatures stay above about 20°F (-6°C); the plant tolerates light frost surprisingly well. In truly cold climates, a cold frame or unheated greenhouse extends the outdoor season by weeks.
Container growing on a balcony or patio splits the difference. Move pots into shade when heat waves hit, bring them inside during hard freezes, and you get the light benefits of outdoors with some of the control of indoors.
Saving Seeds and Closing the Loop
Once you have cilantro growing from store-bought material, you never need to buy cilantro or coriander again. When a plant bolts and flowers, let some of the seed heads remain on the plant until they turn brown and dry. Snip the seed heads into a paper bag and shake them gently to release the seeds. Store the dried seeds in an airtight jar. They keep their viability for at least two to three years, and you can use them both for cooking and for planting your next round of cilantro.
This self-sustaining cycle is one of the quiet pleasures of growing cilantro. A two-dollar bunch from the grocery store or a three-dollar jar of coriander can become years of fresh herbs, as long as you let the occasional plant go to seed and save what it produces. The initial investment pays for itself many times over, and each generation of seeds is already adapted to whatever microclimate you are growing in.
Common Mistakes That Stall Store-Bought Cilantro
A few pitfalls come up repeatedly for people trying this for the first time. Shallow containers are the most frequent offender. That taproot really does need depth, and a two-inch herb pot will stunt growth and accelerate bolting. Overwatering is the second most common problem, especially indoors where evaporation is slower. If the soil stays soggy for more than a day, root rot follows fast.
Another mistake is expecting grocery-store cilantro to behave like a houseplant. Cilantro has a finite lifespan even under ideal conditions. It is an annual that germinates, grows leaves, flowers, sets seed, and dies, all within a matter of weeks to a few months depending on conditions. No amount of careful watering will make a single cilantro plant last a year. The goal is not to keep one plant alive indefinitely but to keep a rotation going so fresh cilantro is always available.
Finally, people sometimes assume that organic or “locally grown” store cilantro roots better than conventional. There is no meaningful difference in rooting potential based on the organic label. What matters far more is freshness. Wilted stems with yellowing leaves have been off the plant too long to root reliably, organic or not. Buy the freshest bunch you can find, check the cut ends for firmness, and get it into water or soil the same day.