What Are the Best Companion Plants for Cilantro?
Cilantro grows best with peppers, lettuce, kale, cabbage and broccoli. 6 plants in our chart pair well with cilantro, mostly by attracting pollinators and beneficial insects and using space and time efficiently; 5 of those pairings are research-supported.
| Plant | Why | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| PeppersPollinators & beneficials | Cilantro bolts in the heat just as peppers grow, and its small flowers feed hoverflies and parasitic wasps that control aphids. | Research-supported |
| LettucePollinators & beneficials | Bolting cilantro's small white flowers feed hoverflies whose larvae eat lettuce aphids. | Research-supported |
| KalePollinators & beneficials | Flowering cilantro feeds parasitic wasps and hoverflies that attack cabbage worms and aphids on kale. | Research-supported |
| CabbagePollinators & beneficials | Flowering cilantro feeds the parasitic wasps that attack cabbageworm caterpillars. | Research-supported |
| BroccoliPollinators & beneficials | Flowering cilantro feeds hoverflies and parasitic wasps that attack aphids and caterpillars in broccoli heads. | Research-supported |
| SpinachSpace & timing | Spinach and cilantro both grow in cool spring and fall weather and bolt in heat, so they can be sown and cleared together. | Practical |
Good companion plants for cilantro, strongest evidence first.
What Should You Not Plant With Cilantro?
Don't plant cilantro near fennel. The conflicts come mainly from allelopathy (plant chemicals that suppress growth); none of the 1 are research-supported and the rest are practical or traditional rules.
| Plant | Why | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| FennelAllelopathy | Fennel is reported to suppress cilantro growth; the claim hasn't been tested in gardens. | Traditional |
Plants to keep away from cilantro.
Which Cilantro Companion Claims Are Backed by Research?
5 of the 7 cilantro pairings in our data are research-supported: peppers, lettuce, kale, cabbage and broccoli. Of the rest, 1 rests on practical horticulture and 1 is a traditional claim.
Research-supported pairings rest on documented biology: shared pathogens, pollination, nematode suppression or insects that feed on specific flowers. Practical pairings are plain logic about space, shade and timing. None of the good companions for cilantro rely on folklore alone.
How Should You Plant Cilantro With Companions?
Sow cilantro in short rows every two to three weeks near lettuce, peppers and brassicas, and leave some bolting plants to flower.
Companions still need room of their own, so work out how many cilantro and partner plants fit in a bed with the plant spacing calculator. Planting dates for cilantro and its companions follow your local spring and fall frost dates, so cool-season partners can be sown together in early spring or late summer for a fall crop.
Which Crops Share Companions With Cilantro?
Dill, parsley and lettuce share companion plants or growing conditions with cilantro, so their companion guides help plan the same bed or rotation.
- The guide to companion plants for dill overlaps with this one: both crops grow well with lettuce, kale and cabbage; as members of the same plant family, the two should rotate together.
- The guide to companion plants for parsley covers a crop grown in similar conditions; as members of the same plant family, the two should rotate together.
- The guide to companion plants for lettuce overlaps with this one: both crops grow well with peppers and broccoli, and lettuce is a good companion for cilantro too.
To check cilantro against every other plant at once, or test a whole bed plan, use the companion planting chart and garden checker.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the best companion plant for cilantro?
- Peppers are one of the best-supported companions for cilantro. Cilantro bolts in the heat just as peppers grow, and its small flowers feed hoverflies and parasitic wasps that control aphids.
- What should you not plant with cilantro?
- Avoid planting cilantro near fennel. The most important conflict is with fennel: Fennel is reported to suppress cilantro growth; the claim hasn't been tested in gardens.
- Can you plant cilantro and dill together?
- Yes, cilantro and dill can share a bed; neither is known to help or harm the other. Both belong to the carrot family (Apiaceae), so they share pests and diseases — rotate them together and don't follow one with the other.
- Does companion planting really work for cilantro?
- Partly. 5 of the 7 cilantro pairings in our data are backed by research, 1 is practical space or timing rules, and 1 is traditional. Flowers that feed beneficial insects and separating crops that share diseases have the strongest evidence.
Companion data: PlantoScan's own editorial compilation, written from general horticultural knowledge, plant pathology and published intercropping research. Evidence labels are our editorial judgment; results vary with climate, soil, variety and pest pressure.