Cilantro / Coriander Companion Plants
Coriandrum sativum · carrot family family · rotation group: other
The best companion plants for cilantro / coriander are Cabbage, Tomato, Spinach, Lettuce, and Pepper. Avoid planting cilantro / coriander near Fennel, Carrot. Of the 8 pairings recorded here, 1 is supported by published research and 7 are traditional practice with no controlled evidence behind them.
What to plant with cilantro / coriander
| Plant | Claimed benefit | Evidence | What the evidence actually shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cabbage | Flowering cilantro feeds parasitoid wasps that attack cabbage aphids and caterpillars. | Research-backed | Cilantro nectar measurably extended parasitoid wasp survival in lab feeding trials (median +3.5 days vs water), but no trial has measured reduced cabbage damage from a cilantro interplanting. |
| Bush Bean | Beans are said to benefit from the beneficial insects cilantro flowers attract. | Traditional | Widely repeated in companion charts; no controlled evidence located. |
| Lettuce | Lettuce shades the soil and helps keep cilantro from bolting in early heat. | Traditional | Cilantro genuinely bolts above 85F, but no trial shows a lettuce neighbour delays it; afternoon shade of any kind is the verified fix. |
| Pepper | Cilantro flowers attract aphid predators that also patrol peppers. | Traditional | Plausible via general conservation biological control; no pepper-specific trial found. |
| Spinach | Both are cool-season crops that share timing and bed space efficiently. | Traditional | This is a scheduling convenience rather than a tested biological interaction. |
| Tomato | Cilantro allowed to bolt draws hoverflies and parasitic wasps into the tomato patch. | Traditional | Clemson lists cilantro among small-flowered plants that attract parasitic flies and wasps; the tomato pairing itself has not been trialled. |
What not to plant with cilantro / coriander
| Plant | Claimed problem | Evidence | What the evidence actually shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrot | Same-family neighbour that shares pests and diseases. | Traditional | Both are Apiaceae and host carrot weevil and leaf-spot pathogens, so rotation logic argues against pairing; not a tested antagonism. |
| Fennel | Fennel is said to inhibit nearby cilantro. | Traditional | Extension herb guides advise keeping fennel apart from other umbellifers, but the inhibition itself is not documented by trial. |
The honest verdict
Of everything gardeners recommend planting alongside cilantro / coriander, 1 pairing has been tested properly: Cabbage. Those are the ones worth planning your bed around.
The remaining 5 pairings on this page are traditional practice. They circulate on every companion planting chart online, but we could not find controlled evidence testing them. They are not wrong so much as unverified — most cost nothing to try, and interplanting flowers and herbs has its own well-documented benefit of pulling pollinators and predatory insects into the garden.
Every row above links to the publication it came from. See how we grade evidence.
Growing cilantro / coriander: the numbers
| Sun | Full sun (6+ hours) |
|---|---|
| Water | Moderate |
| Spacing | 6 in apart · 12 in between rows · 9 per square foot |
| Mature size | about 20 in tall |
| Soil pH | 6–7.5 |
| Days to maturity | 45–70 days |
| Frost tolerance | Half-hardy — takes a light frost |
| Containers | Yes — 2 gallon minimum |
| Common pests | green peach aphid, beet armyworm, cabbage looper, cutworms |
| Common diseases | bacterial leaf spot, damping off |
When to plant cilantro / coriander
Zone 6b shownDirect sow outdoors: Apr 10 – Apr 23 — around your last frost date
Expected harvest: May 25 – Jun 19 — 45–70 days from planting
Fall planting: Sep 1 – Sep 14 — 8 weeks before your first fall frost
Those dates are for zone 6b. Get your own dates by ZIP code →
Varieties worth knowing
seeds- Santo — slow-bolting industry standard for leaf production
- Calypso — slowest of the common types to bolt
- Leisure — heat tolerant, 28-40 days to cutting
- Confetti — fern-like foliage, grown for baby-leaf cuts
Variety names link to seeds on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. These are the varieties named in the extension sources for this crop, not a paid placement — where a source recommended a variety for a specific reason, that reason is the note beside it.
Put it in a bed
The garden planner checks every square against this ledger as you place crops — if you drop cilantro / coriander next to something recorded as a bad neighbour, the square turns red and tells you why.
Records for the plants named above:
Same rotation group (other) — don't follow one with another:
Cilantro / Coriander companion planting questions
What should not be planted next to cilantro / coriander?
How far apart should cilantro / coriander be planted?
Does companion planting with cilantro / coriander actually work?
When should I plant cilantro / coriander?
Sources for this record
- Cilantro, a Unique Culinary Herb, Penn State Extension
- Easy Gardening: Cilantro, E-277, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
- Cilantro, Illinois Extension Herbs
- Coriandrum sativum, NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Herbs in Southern Gardens, B1170, UGA Extension
Record compiled 2026-07. Spot an error or a study we missed? Tell us and we'll correct the entry.