Cilantro has a reputation for making a sudden exit when summer temperatures climb. One week, the plant looks lush and ready for tacos, salsa, and a heroic amount of fresh garnish. The next week, it shoots upward, produces delicate flowers, and seems determined to turn the entire garden into a seed-production facility. So, should you stop it, or should you let cilantro go to seed in hot weather? The answer depends on whether the goal involves more leafy cilantro right now or more cilantro plants later.
Hot weather usually pushes cilantro toward flowering and seed production, a process gardeners often call bolting. Once the plant makes that shift, the leaves often become smaller, more delicate, and less appealing for regular harvests. That does not mean the plant has failed. In fact, those flowers and seeds can give the garden another useful harvest, especially if the gardener knows when to stop picking leaves and start collecting seeds.
