We bought some nice cilantro from the supermarket and decided to try cloning it in our AeroGarden planter. That didn't work, presumably because cilanto is an annual and only perennials root from cuttings. Is that right? Are there exceptions? Why, or why not?
But it stayed fresh for a few days longer than it would have just sitting in water. Being a cool weather plant, however, it would have stayed fresh even longer had I put it in a jar of water in the refrigerator with a plastic bag over its head.
Oh, well. I learned something:
The plant in the background is having a hard time staying up, but the one with stems encased in a short length of 1/2" diameter clear tubing is altogether upright. I just cut through the tubing with a scissors to open it up and position around the stems. The slit is visible in this photo slightly to the left of the stems.
So we went to the hardware store and bought other sizes of this tubing, including the 2" size, which I think may encourage the young leaf lettuce to grow vertically instead of horizontally.
What a cool plant support!
If you are a budding AeroGardener or even just thinking about buying an AeroGrow product, there is a great forum called the AeroGarden Growers Community Forum where the members are highly supportive and share information and photos of the plants they have grown:
AeroGarden Growers Forum
If you would like to see more pictures of my AeroGarden plants and other experiments in growing plants without soil, please visit my other blog:
Ann's Air Gardens
UPDATE:
1) The kind of cilantro we usually find in the local markets is Coriandrum sativum and, yes, it is coriander, but in the US the leaves are typically called Cilantro or Chinese Parsley whereas the seeds are called coriander. It grows best in cool temperatures, meaning 70 degrees F or less. Above that temperature the leaves take on a strong bitter flavor so it is going to be rather impractical to try to grow this kind of cilantro where we live. It is NOT easily rooted from cuttings.
2) There is a plant called Vietnamese Coriander that it seems almost impossible to find seeds to grow, but if you are fortunate enough to find it in an Asian market, they sell the bunches for less than $1 and that stuff roots from cuttings. I've never found any, but some say it tastes much like "our" cilantro and some say it doesn't. Some say it is spicier than the Coriandrum sativum. Although it is said to be used interchangeably with sativum, this one, Polygonum odoratum is said to be extremely easy to propagate by cuttings, even from the bunches sold at the market. So far, the only place I have found that sells this plant is Mountain Valley Growers in , and those would be the live plants.
3) Although the name "cilantro" is a Spanish word and Corinadrum sativum is a staple of Mexican cooking, the plant we know as Mexican Cilantro is not coriander. Also called "Culantro" (or Stinkweed!) it is really Eryngium foetidium and one thing it does seem to have in common with coriander leaves is the fact that it seems to taste different to different people. Not all people like the same things but usually they can come to a concensus as to whether a food is spicy or hot or bitter, but two different people who taste eryngium foetidium might describe the taste completely differently.
4) The other herb which is popularly substituted for Coriandrum sativum is Papalo or Porophyllum ruderale, which is said to have a flavor similar to cilantro, and has become popular as an edible table decoration in Mexican restaurants of late.
After studying these three alternatives to the cilantro we know and love, I bought a packet of Papalo to try. A while back, Johnny's Select Seed Co. was about the only place I could find these seeds, but now they are widely available.
