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Cilantro Companion Plants: What to Grow with Cilantro? 

 May 7, 2022

By  admin

Enjoy the benefits of cilantro in your garden with these companion plants. Cilantro is well-known as a herb that goes great with many different dishes and will add flavor to any meal. These simple care tips for planting alongside cilantro will help you grow healthy, flavorful herbs for use year-round in your kitchen or patio!

Cilantro is a herb that can be grown with other herbs. Cilantro is often used as a companion plant to grow plants like tomatoes, beans, and eggplant. Read more in detail here: cilantro companion herbs.

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Cilantro is a popular herb all around the globe. It’s no wonder, therefore, that you want to plant and cultivate it at home. But first, you need learn how to do it properly.

It grows well in warm, high-nitrogen soil and is also known as coriander and Mexican parsley. More crucially, it is highly reliant on effective pest management.

How can you be certain about these aspects? You just grow cilantro companion plants beside it.

Cilantro

These plants will have a variety of advantages, ranging from faster growth to better pest management and even enhanced flavor, thanks to the optimal habitat.

Because the advantages of companion planting differ depending on the plant, we’ve compiled a list and divided them into categories. You’ll discover why and how these various plants may aid in the growth of cilantro.

Why Combine Cilantro and Companions?

Cilantro

Instead of diving right into the meat of the matter, let’s focus on the advantages of cilantro companion planting. If you still have reservations, they will persuade you.

There is one nutrient that cilantro requires: nitrogen. Nitrogen is essential for the development of all plants. However, cilantro, like many other herbs, is always in search of it. The plant is likely to suffer in low-nitrogen soils.

That’s why nitrogen-releasing plants may be so beneficial. This will ensure that the cilantro never goes hungry due to a lack of nitrogen.

Even while cilantro is a flavorful herb on its own, it may be enhanced by the addition of the correct ingredients. Some plants generate compounds that cilantro absorbs, resulting in a more complex composition with a stronger aroma and taste.  

If repellent plants are present, many of the cilantro-eating insects will be deterred from visiting the plant. Similarly, pests that feed on other plants, such as potato beetles, spider mites, and aphids, are repelled by cilantro.

Another advantage of pest control is that you will encounter fewer infections over time. Planting cilantro with the correct companions can improve their general health.

This occurs, however, because diseases spread more quickly across plants of the same species. Diseases are less likely to spread when numerous species are present in the same location (or at least not as quick).

Weed is cilantro’s number one enemy. Many herbs are harmed by invasive species like weeds that take nitrogen from the soil. Fortunately, you can keep weeds at bay by planting soil-covering plants around your coriander.

Alongside all of these advantages, it’s safe to conclude that growing cilantro with other plants is all about boosting their development. Consider the plants below for faster, healthier, and all-around superior cilantro yields.

Vegetables & Fruits to Plant with Cilantro

Let’s start with fruits and veggies. Vegetables, like herbs like cilantro, have many of the same requirements. However, depending on the vegetable you grow, you may get a variety of advantages, including insect repellency, greater shade, and more. Take a look at the following:

Vegetables with Leaves

cilantro companion plants

Any edible leafy vegetable will benefit from being grown alongside cilantro. They would also be beneficial to cilantro.

One explanation is that cilantro attracts pest-eating insects, which are distracted by green vegetables. The second reason is that by ingesting a little quantity of nutrients and being space-conscious, these veggies have no effect on cilantro’s development.

Melons

cilantro companion plants

Watermelons, cantaloupes, muskmelon, and even pumpkins are great for keeping weeds away from cilantro. Because the varied insects they attract feed on each other, planting melons near cilantro, or even close to it, results in less pests on both plants.

Watermelon Companion Plants: What to Plant and What Not to Plant

Potatoes

cilantro companion plants

The Colorado beetle is one of potatoes’ main pests. The green potato top is its favorite food. These beetles will not grow if cilantro is present, since cilantro attracts predatory insects that eat on these beetles.

Also see: What to Plant With Potatoes: Companion Plants

Tomato

cilantro companion plants

Cilantro requires warm soil and cool weather to thrive. However, when the earth heats up and temperatures increase, it begins to fade away. Too much heat and light exposure may sometimes kill cilantro plants.

You may shelter the cilantro from the summer sun beams and heat by planting a tall tomato beside it.

Tomato Companion Plants: What to Grow With Tomatoes

Other Fruits & Vegetables to Consider

None of these fruits and veggies seem appealing? You may also consider fruit plants to be beneficial. Alternatively, species like these will suffice:

Fruits & Vegetables to Avoid

In the wild, cilantro has no natural enemies. However, vegetables that utilize too much nitrogen, such as cucumber and carrot, should be avoided. While they won’t necessarily harm the plant, they may obstruct growth if planted too close together.

Cilantro Flower Combinations

Most plants benefit from the presence of flowers because they either repel pests or attract pollinators. When planted beside cilantro, they assist to attract pest-eating insects. Here are some flowers to think about:

Coreopsis

cilantro companion plants

Coreopsis is a simple and easy-to-grow flower that attracts insects that feed on pests that might harm cilantro. The lady beetles and lacewings that are attracted to coreopsis will keep aphids away from the coriander.

Cosmos

cilantro companion plants

Butterflies are one of the top pollinators for most plants. The cosmos flower is one of the finest butterfly magnets. It also attracts insects that eat cilantro’s main predators.

Sunflowers

cilantro companion plants

Sunflowers, like cosmos, are a terrific pollinator attractor that cilantro might benefit from. They also give a little amount of shade, which cilantro likes in the summer and late spring.

Alyssum dulce

cilantro companion plants

Probably the most attractive to lady beetles and lacewing that love eating aphids. You can keep pests away from your cilantro with Alyssum dulce planted around.

Zinnias

cilantro companion plants

Few flowers can compete with zinnias when it comes to attracting a large number of pollinators. The blooms, interestingly, grow wide and tall enough to produce a light yet useful shade. Zinnias will be appreciated by your cilantro.

Consider Other Flowers

If you want to grow a different kind of flower, any of the following may be suitable:

  • Borage
  • Calendula
  • Nasturtiums

Avoiding Flowers

Even while lavender will not harm your cilantro directly, they are unlikely to grow well together. This is because to the fact that lavender needs a completely different soil than cilantro. It also requires less humidity and grows in warmer climates where cilantro does not.

Cilantro-Friendly Plants

What better herb to grow with your coriander? Herbs may absorb one other’s compounds and other qualities when grown together, sweetening and increasing their overall taste. Apart from that, they usually have comparable requirements, allowing them to coexist. Consider the following herbs:  

Anise

cilantro companion plants

Cilantro and anise both like chilly weather. If your cilantro is doing well, consider adding anise to the mix as well. Both herbs will grow faster and bigger when planted together than if they were planted individually.

Chervil 

cilantro companion plants

Chervil’s strong aroma is often employed to keep pests away from other plants. It accomplishes just that when combined with cilantro.

Dill

cilantro companion plants

Dill not only flourishes in an environment comparable to cilantro, but it also produces blooms that attract beneficial insects. These insects not only aid in pollination, but they also eat pests, allowing cilantro to flourish.

Other Herbs to Think About

Cilantro flourishes when grown near herbs that have comparable environmental requirements. Fortunately, there are several herbs that have similar watering, sun, and temperature requirements, such as:

  • Basil
  • Chamomile
  • Cumin
  • Mint
  • Parsley

Avoiding Herbs

While certain herbs complement cilantro well, others do not. Fennel is one of them, and it’s one of the worst plants to grow with cilantro and other herbs. Fennel may be hazardous to cilantro and vegetables since it releases a somewhat poisonous toxin.

Other herbs, such as thyme, yarrow, tansy, and chives, need varying amounts of water. If you water them the same way you would cilantro, they can perish. Similarly, if you water cilantro too little to suit its demands, it will die.

Finally, you’ll come upon rosemary. While it won’t directly impact cilantro, it may reduce the amount of area available for planting. Coriander’s growth may be slowed as a result of this.

Grains & Legumes to Plant with Cilantro

A legume is the most helpful sort of plant to grow near your cilantro. Legumes and grains provide a large quantity of nitrogen, which helps cilantro grow faster and healthier. It will never go hungry if you sow beans and grains alongside your cilantro.

Beans

cilantro companion plants

Most beans create a lot of nitrogen, which they secrete into the soil. This nitrogen is later used as nourishment by the cilantro. For this, you may use any sort of bean, including pole beans, string beans, wax beans, and even runner beans.

Lupines 

cilantro companion plants

This is due to the nitrogen-inducing properties of the plant as well as the blooms it produces. While the nitrogen aids the coriander by feeding it, the blossoms attract pollinating insects such as butterflies.

Peas

cilantro companion plants

Peas, like beans, contribute to increased nitrogen levels in the soil. They do, however, have one added benefit: they warm the earth. Because cilantro prefers warm soil, it thrives when planted with peas (preferably after the peas have grown already).

Other Grains & Legumes to Consider

You may produce a variety of grains and legumes alongside cilantro, and they all have comparable advantages. Other possibilities include:

Grains & Legumes to Avoid

Coriander buddies that grow too huge and spread too quickly may not be the best option. Wheat and oats are examples of such plants. These are unlikely to cause immediate harm. However, once they reach a certain height, they will outgrow cilantro.

Conclusion

Do you think these cilantro companion plants will benefit your garden? Plant them immediately now without hesitation.

But don’t expect anything amazing. They won’t make your cilantro grow directly, whether it’s because of the nitrogen-inducing advantages or the capacity to keep pests away.  

With that in mind, there’s nothing preventing you from giving these friends a go. If you do everything correctly, your coriander will flourish like never before.

Check out these other excellent resources:

Cilantro is a herb that is commonly used in Mexican cuisine. It can be planted with other herbs and vegetables to create unique flavors. This article will tell you about the best plants to grow with cilantro. Reference: can you plant cilantro with peppers.

Related Tags

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  • what not to plant near cilantro

Emil Schoene


Born and raised in Austin, TX I come from a background of home renovation. By helping my family in my younger years with their construction business, I learned the ropes quickly and as I grew it became my passion that I still do today. Looking to share my knowledge with others. I invite you to leave comments on any post as I know you will have questions that you are not finding anywhere else.

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