Have you noticed recently that your cilantro is not at its best? Simply put, it’s no longer producing large and healthy leaves?
This kind of growing problem should not be neglected because when not treated, it may soon be a cause of your plant’s absolute demise.
What’s the best thing about cilantro, you may ask? It’s the fact that all parts of it are edible. From the seeds to the leaves, all can be used as a flavorful spice for your dish. So, once your cilantro shows signs of small leaf production, make sure to immediately fix this by following these remedies mentioned below.
Your cilantro plant is growing small leaves because of inadequate sun exposure, soil is too warm, too much water, the plant has bolted, or other cilantro diseases such as Bacterial leaf spot, Powdery Mildew, Galls or Aphids.
Causes of small cilantro leaves
- Inadequate sun exposure
What to look out for:
Leaf discoloration, leaf wilting; stunted growth
What to do:
One of the very reasons why your cilantro performs poorly, production of cilantro leaves included, is because it does not receive the ample amount of sunlight that it needs. Essentially, cilantro needs at least 6 hours of full sun exposure everyday to reach its maximum growth capacity. But, avoid exposing it to too much heat to prevent it from bolting quickly.
- Soil is too warm
What to look out for:
Wilting leaves, dried soil, yellowing leaves
What to do:
Cilantro is known to be a cool-season crop which is why high temperatures can greatly affect the overall growth and performance of the herb. Especially if you are growing your cilantro in a pot, there’s a huge tendency that the soil becomes too warm.
To fix this, try putting your potted cilantro under full sun exposure in the morning and give it some shade from midday to afternoon.
- Too much water
What to look out for:
Moldy soil, leaf discoloration, root rot
What to do:
While cilantro thrives better on cold temperatures, a regulated watering schedule is still a must to avoid your cilantro from being soaked with too much water. Ideally, cilantro needs about an inch of water per week for optimal growth and just enough to keep the soil moist without overwatering. In this case, a pot with good drainage or a well-draining soil is also required.
- The plant has bolted
What to look out for:
Small, narrow leaves; Poor leaf production; visible flowers
What to do:
Once your cilantro has bolted, you can no longer expect it to produce broad, dark green leaves but rather its energy is more focused on producing new seeds for the next growing season. Thus, if you prefer to have more and larger leaves instead of new seeds, make it a point to delay your cilantro’s bolting by keeping it away from high temperatures.
Other growing problems and diseases
Depending on its current growing conditions and the way the plant is being managed, various kinds of pests and other diseases can be encountered when growing your own cilantro. In this section, each of them are discussed one by one from the causes, symptoms, and to the possible ways on how to treat them.
- Bacterial leaf spot
Some of the symptoms of bacterial leaf spot are tiny water-soaked patches in between the leaf veins that eventually turns from dark brown to black. Water-soaked lesions are also found in the plant’s fruits and some elongated dark slashes are visible along the stems.
Bacterial leaf spot is caused by a plant pathogen called Pseudomonas syringae that highly infests a wide range of plant species which is typically transmitted through infected seeds and splashing water or rain. This type of disease is easily formed in cool and moist conditions.
- Powdery Mildew
Powdery mildew in coriander plant or cilantro leaves is heavily influenced by fungus called Erysiphe heraclei that easily spreads from one plant to another especially when there is a lack in adequate air circulation. Wet weather is also one of the biggest factors of the rapid spreading of this fungal disease.
Powdery mildew is initially manifested by pale yellow leaf spots which eventually turn to white powdery lesions that form on the surface and underside of the leaf until they rapidly spread and form into large clusters and cover the entire leaf.
To prevent powdery mildew from infecting your cilantro, avoid over fertilizing your plant; provide adequate amount of sunlight; avoid too much moisture; and apply some fungicide from rapid protection.
- Wilting
Commonly, you will only notice that your cilantro is suffering from wilt disease when the leaves actually start to wilt. However, unbeknown to many, symptoms of wilting initially show when there are visible yellow spots on the surface of the leaves which later on turn dry.
Eventually, when left untreated, the plant starts to wilt and the roots show vascular discoloration. To rescue your cilantro from wilting, water your plant regularly, apply fertilizers on schedule, or treat your plant with fungicide as deemed necessary.
- Galls
Galls in cilantro are caused by the fungus Protomyces macrosporus L. that commonly affect the roots, stems, and leaves. Galls are identified as the swelling in the infected parts of the plant that when not treated immediately may disrupt the overall growth of the plant and affect the shape and quality of the cilantro seeds.
Unfortunately, there is cure for galls and it somehow leaves permanent damage to the infected plant. Once the bumps have built up, the only best way to do is get rid of the infected stem or the plant itself. As the old saying goes, prevention is better than cure and in the case of cilantro, it is easier to do ways that will prevent galls from forming in your cilantro such as avoiding it from having wounds, provide it with a good growing condition, and if possible grow a variety that is more disease resistant.
- Aphids
Aphid infestation can be easily spotted when your cilantro exhibits symptoms like leaf discoloration and distortion, visible streaks of sticky substance excreted by the insects, and stunted shoots.
Aphids are soft-bodied, pear-shaped insects that normally attack on the underside of the leaves or tender young foliages. While cilantro can withstand the presence of a few aphids, high infestation can greatly affect the plant’s performance and may eventually result in demise.
If aphid infestation is just minimal, you can easily fix this problem by pruning the infected parts of the plant and rinse of the rest of the cilantro with water. In any case that the number of aphids feeding on your cilantro is way too high, you may opt for some insecticidal soaps or oils.
Tips on growing cilantro properly
Cilantro is considerably easy to grow especially if you have the best growing conditions and you are equipped with proper knowledge and resources on how to take care of a cilantro plant. To help you get started, below are some of the pointers that you can consider when growing a cilantro.
- Avoid planting your cilantro during the summer heat
Proper timing is one of the important things to consider when growing your own cilantro. Of course, the last thing you want to happen is to harvest a bitter-tasting cilantro and for that to be prevented, you have to avoid growing your cilantro during the summer heat. Similarly, cilantro will not also thrive well in frosty conditions, thus, the best time to plant your cilantro is in the late spring or early fall.
You may also opt to initially grow your cilantro indoors and then just transfer it outdoors when the temperature is more favorable.
- Keep your cilantro plant away from the weeds
Weeds are bad news to your cilantro; they contribute to overcrowding and they compete for the nutrients that are supposed to be keeping the herb healthy. If you are willing to dedicate more time in keeping your garden at its best, you may just simply cut any visible weeds sprouting from the soil, or use some weed killers.
More conveniently, you can mulch around your cilantro plants as soon as it starts showing on the surface of the soil; this should prevent the weeds from growing.
- Test your soil prior to planting
While Cilantro is considerably tolerant and can thrive in any rich soil, for better quality, it is recommended that you grow it in neutral soil with pH between 6.2 and 6.8. So, before planting your cilantro, perform a soil test first to determine its pH level. If the results are all good and the planting has started, make sure that you keep the soil moist and well-drained.
- Choose appropriate companion plants
Knowledge in companion planting is essential in growing your cilantro as it can make or break your plant. For instance, cilantro is best planted with legumes, dill, anise, tomatoes, basil,and potatoes. Meanwhile, avoid planting fennel near cilantro.
Benefits of cilantro leaves
Cilantro is commonly used to add flavors in soups and green salads, either fresh or dried, and are typically seen in asian and middle eastern cuisine.
Like any other herbs, cilantro is also known for its many health benefits which are as follows:
- Cilantro is rich in antioxidants
Do you ever feel so fresh and healthy evertime to you add cilantro on your food? That is because this herb contains a lot of antioxidants that help flush out bad toxins off of your body.
- Avoids brain ailments
Consuming cilantro regularly is also a good way to protect our brains from possible ailments such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and multiple sclerosis.
- Treats skin diseases
Aside from ingesting it, the extracts coming cilantro can also be used as a natural ointment to treat skin conditions like rashes, acne, pigmentation, dryness, oiliness, etc.
