On 2 May 2003 08:52:49 -0700, (George Bray)
wrote:

I've had moderate success in growing coriander from seeds, both in my
UK garden and in pots indoors. But the plants are not even 10% as
'dense' in terms of leaves and stems as the bunches you can buy from
Indian grocers, amongst other places. I've noticed from the grocers'
boxes that one of the sources of their coriander is sunny Cyprus. I'm
already using seeds marked as appropriate 'for leaves'.

Any ideas on how one can increase the density? Is frequent pruning the
answer, like a hedge, or is a Mediterranean climate the more likely
reason for the Cypriot supplier's success?

I know what you mean grocery bundles. Pruning isn't going to help.
Successive planting to insure a decent supply is the best I've been
able to do. Note: bundles that come with roots attached are composed
of many plants. To have a bunch, you must grow a bunch. :-)

i have had this problem with corrinader as well. Apparently they like poor soil which is well drained. I planted a load in a big wooden box that i made which was filled with pure potting compost.

They came up really well to about 3 inches high with lots of bushy leaf growth and then just withered dont know why.

Now i have dug a round patch on my lawn and planted some there, in full sun exposure and there are really bushy, lush growth, and really scented. i put them out last year, used them up and they went thru winter with the frost and snow and this year they are still growing. that has never happned to my corrinander before but they are still growing. I try not to let them go to seed, so keep using/pinching the leaves once they get too high

Frogleg
Thank you for your observation on bunches. The roots are certainly
substantial on the coriander from Indian grocers. I'll experiment, by
planting about six seeds close together and hope it somehow increases
the total yield.

Dommy
Thank you for your suggestions, too. I'll try pinching out the
coriander before it goes to seed. I'll also try using a
mini-greenhouse, so I can raise the temperature and experiment with
different soil types, like your box idea.

If I have any success, I'll report back in due course.

Regards
George