On Sun, 22 Jun 2003 08:50:19 -0500, "Rona Yuthasastrakosol"
wrote:

A little shade, not all shade.

Soooo...what is a little shade? I had the plants on the north side of the
house, which gets sun pretty much all day. The east side gets sun most of
the day, but shade in the afternoon. If I keep the cilantro outside, would
it be better to keep it on the east side or the north side? There is an
area right next to the house on the north side, which does not get as much
sun because it is shaded by the house.

A little shade is like "keep moist but don't over-water" or "plant in
well-drained soil." :-) I lack, and so am crazy for, "full sun." The
minimum for "full sun" is 6hrs/day. Dawn to dusk (i.e., in the middle
of an open field) is better. "Partial shade" is like "partly cloudy"
-- that is, mostly sunny. I've sure seen a lot of different cilantro
advice here and elsewhere. Around here, whether from sun or heat, or
my ineptitude, it does best in cooler weather -- otherwise makes a
happy little plant that quickly bolts (blooms and goes to seed) before
I can gather more than 3 leaves for cooking. My expert opinion would
be to try keeping one planting of cilantro on the east; one on the
north; and see what happens. This site had some reasonable-looking
advice.

http://www.umassvegetable.org/soil_c..._cilantro.html

So much of gardening has to do with experience. For every mention of
"full sun" there'll be anectodal accounts of growing something in the
bottom of a closet. You have to weigh hints & tips with care. Make
your own experiments. Check with neighbors in your own area. There are
very few formulas that are followed by guaranteed success.

I Always Say the first rule of gardening is "Plants die." And the 2nd
is "There's always next year." Perhaps rule 1a is that plants *want*
to grow and most will tolerate a large range of conditions. And
sometimes they just seem to turn their toes up for no reason at all.
Just keep at it. :-)