17 Stunning Cilantro Companion Plants Boosting Growth

Cilantro is a common culinary herb that grows well in pots or herb gardens. Like other plants in our herb and vegetable gardens, some cilantro companion plants appear to support its growth, and others may slightly hinder it. 

Rather than scientific evidence, the idea of companion planting comes from personal success. Many of us may have fond memories of our parents or grandparents putting particular plants next to other plants. Lots of gardeners still follow these customs. It’s intriguing to test out these techniques to see whether they work or not. That’s because there is some mythology and some practical gardening knowledge associated with them. In the following section, we will have a look at for us the best 17 cilantro companion plants.

Cilantro Companion Plants

• Alyssum
• Anise
• Asparagus
• Beans
• Celery
• Dill
• Leafy vegetables
• Legumes
• Lupines
• Mint
• Onion
• Potatoes
• Sage
• Spinach
• Sunflowers
• Tomato
• Water-loving herbs

Alyssum

This mounding ground cover blooms with dozens of fragrant flowers that pollinators love. Alyssum develops shallow root systems that aid in the retention of moisture and soil. It is a safe addition to your herb garden because the roots are noninvasive. In this way, they won’t compete with other plants.

Removing dead flower heads time by time can help this plant produce more blooms. This attracts ladybugs, parasitic wasps, and hoverflies. They will enjoy assisting you in eliminating those unpleasant insects while keeping your cilantro intact.

Anise

Anise is a lesser-known herb that grows under the same cool-weather circumstances as cilantro. Choosing anise as a cilantro companion plant can help anise seeds develop faster.

Asparagus

Asparagus is an excellent cilantro companion plant because its roots penetrate deep into the earth. There it cannot compete for nutrients with cilantro’s thin root structure. No plant depletes the other’s resources.

Cilantro can also help asparagus grow better. It repels asparagus beetles, preventing them from feeding on the slow-growing asparagus plants. Furthermore, because asparagus takes years to germinate, it’s easy to lose track of where you planted them. Cilantro helps to divide your asparagus plot so you know what you’re looking at when it starts to sprout.

You can find more about asparagus companion plants here: Asparagus Companion Plants – Together Stronger?

Beans

Have you ever observed your cilantro and other vegetables’ leaves going from light green to yellow? This is due to low nitrogen levels. Growing beans between rows of your garden help address the nitrogen deficit. Beans make soil nitrogen simpler for surrounding plants to absorb.

Beans are strong climbers, so make sure you have a trellis or other framework to support them. This has the added benefit of providing shade for cilantro and other little plants in your yard. If you don’t have enough space for climbing plants, cultivate bush beans instead.

Beans as companion for more plants? Take a look at: Beans Companion Plants – Which Ones Should be Chosen?

Celery

Because of its strong odor, insects dislike celery. Growing celery alongside your cilantro plants gives them some extra protection from pests and the environment. Insects will not eat your cilantro if you plant them near scented celery. Furthermore, the plant’s rather long stalks aid in keeping shorter cilantro plants in the shadow, where they thrive.

Growing celery as a cilantro companion has one disadvantage: deer adore it. While celery may be a great cilantro partner, it’s crucial to take precautions to keep deer out of your garden. In this way, both of these plants will stay safe.

Dill

Like cilantro, dill has umbrella-shaped blossoms that attract helpful insects. Combine dill and cilantro in your garden to boost natural insect control.

You can combine dill with far more plants: Dill Companion Plants – Best 11 & Bad 2

Leafy vegetables

The umbrella-shaped blossoms of cilantro attract helpful insects. These are for example ladybugs, hoverflies, parasitoid wasps, and lacewings. They feast on detrimental pests including aphids, potato beetles, spider mites, and cabbage moths. As a result, cilantro is a great companion plant for a wide range of leafy crops. These are spinach, cabbage, lettuce, kale, and kohlrabi, which are susceptible to leaf-eating pests.

Lupines and Legumes

Legumes, which range from sugar snap peas to green beans, are ideal for growing alongside cilantro plants. These plants give much-needed nitrogen to the soil.

Lupines are tall, blooming legumes that provide a good source of pollen and nectar. Because they are so tall and fragrant, they attract friendly pollinators like hummingbirds. When you incorporate lupines in your garden, predatory insects will explore your vegetable plants for worms and larvae.

Lupines, like legumes, increase nitrogen and carbon absorption by making these nutrients more absorbable for neighboring plants. Cilantro, a common component in detoxification green smoothies, serves as a heavy metal magnet according to several studies.¹ They pull harmful chemicals out of the body. The higher the carbon content of your cilantro, the better it will be in neutralizing the negative effects of these metals. Lupines are thus one of the greatest cilantro companion plants.

Mint

Another herb in our cilander companion plants list is mint. Because it grows in similar settings as cilantro, this aromatic, resilient tiny herb is great for companion planting. Mint thrives in wet, shady environments. Many people consider it invasive due to its capacity to take over the ground around it. Yet, this is a positive thing since it avoids erosion and stores moisture for the benefit of nearby plants.

Mint bushes yield hundreds of fragrant blossoms that bees like. Hoverflies and parasitic wasps also enjoy them. Having more of these predatory insects in your garden will help you keep pest populations under control. This allows you to enjoy the benefits of your effort when harvest time comes around.

Some more mint companion plants: Mint Companion Plants – Do They Even Exist?

Onions

Since we use onion juice in deer and rabbit repellant sprays, planting onions to keep these voracious foragers out of your garden is a great strategy. Onions are high in sulfur, which accounts for their pungent odor. And it’s the sulfurous odor that keeps animals at bay. When grown close, the onion’s high sulfur level can likewise improve the flavor of your cilantro. That’s why we can add onions to the list of the best cilander companion plants!

Gowing onions in a mixed garden? Here are the companions: 6 Onion Companion Plants & 5 Bad Neighbours to Avoid

Potatoes

Do you have a problem with especially colorado potato beetles? Companion planting cilantro along with your potatoes could be the solution. Cilantro will protect your potatoes from these kinds of pests.

Potatoes also help other plants: 8 Best Potato Companion Plants Helping your Crop Growing

Sage

Carrot flies and cabbage moths may do significant harm. By the way, they don’t only destroy the plants that bear their names. They’re content to eat the majority of the veggies in your garden. Growing sage is a simple, all-natural technique to keep these pests at bay.

Sage enjoys hot, dry weather. Grow it along the outside margins of your garden or anywhere else that stays sunny and dry if you use it as a cilantro companion plant. Keeping sage in your garden keeps pests away from your cilantro. However, make sure to place these two plants far enough apart to fulfill their specific growing requirements.

Spinach

Cilantro enjoys spinach, although not as much as spinach enjoy cilantro. Spinach has long been one of the beloved cilantro companion plants. It not only grows better when planted near cilantro, but cilantro also helps keep aphids, worms, and beetles away from spinach’s vulnerable young leaves. Unfortunately, rabbits eat both of these fragile greens, so make sure to rabbit-proof your garden to keep them safe.

Also take a look at: Spinach Companion Plants – 3 Best Members

Sunflowers

Sunflowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies. When you plant sunflowers near cilantro, bees, in particular, like grazing on them. While sunflowers may not be the first thing that springs to mind when thinking about cilantro companion plants, their towering stalks provide wonderful shade. They also attract hungry birds and squirrels, preventing them from eating your crops.

Sunflowers are among the most low-maintenance plants available. Even though they don’t need much water, they won’t become overwatered if planted near cilantro. Cilantro plants are so little that a large amount of water for them is only a modest sip for huge sunflowers.

Also other plants favor sunflowers as companions: Best 13 Sunflower Companion Plants – Everyone’s Favourite

Tomato

While cilantro struggles in hot weather, tomatoes flourish and grow tall during warmer months. They provide crucial shade and support cilantro’s growing season by keeping it cool and delaying the bolting process.

Studies also showed that the number of whiteflies decreased significantly by planting tomatoes and cilander together in a greenhouse.²

Water-loving herbs

Cilantro grows well near other herbs that need comparable amounts of water and full light. These are herbs such as basil, parsley, and chervil. You may even grow all of these herbs in a single herb-garden container for simple watering. Herbs that demand less water (like chives, thyme, yarrow, tansy, and tarragon) or more space (like rosemary) may do better apart from cilantro.

What not to Plant with Cilantro

After talking about 17 cilander companion plants, writing this is kind of funny. But there are also some plants cilander does not like at all! Plants you definitely should not plant near your cilander plants are:

• Oregano
• Carrots
• Fennel

Carrots

Cilantro and carrots need the same nutrients. So growing them too close together might hinder their development. Keep your carrot crop and cilantro plants separate if you want a good harvest. It’s also worth mentioning that cross-pollination between carrot and cilantro plants exists. To avoid this, consider planting cilantro in the spring and carrots in the fall.

Yet, there are plants who like tob e neighbors with carrots. See the full list here: 5 Carrot Companion Plants for More Nutrients (+ 5 Bad Companions)

Oregano

Cilantro and oregano do not grow well together in the garden. They demand different amounts of water and sunlight.

Plants with similar growing conditions like oregano also exist. Choose them as companions for your oregano plants: 10 Fantastic Oregano Companion Plants & 5 Companions to Avoid

Fennel

These two plants are not compatible. Planting fennel and cilantro together does not result very well. Because they compete for the same nutrients, these plants inhibit each other’s development. Grow fennel and cilantro on opposing sides of your yard or in separate pots if you wish to grow them both at the same time.

References

1. Mehrandish, R., Rahimian, A., & Shahriary, A. (2019). Heavy metals detoxification: A review of herbal compounds for chelation therapy in heavy metals toxicity. Journal of Herbmed Pharmacology, 8(2), 69-77. 
2. Tasli, M., Yoldas, Z., Öztekin, G. B., & Tüzel, Y. (2016, April). Effects of some repellent plants on greenhouse whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westw.) in greenhouse tomato production. In III International Symposium on Organic Greenhouse Horticulture 1164(pp. 407-412).