Growing herbs as cuttings is one quick and cost effective way that I multiply some of my herb crops — particularly basil — midway into the growing season. This way I don’t have to grow as much from seed, and should I purchase a particular variety, I only need purchase one transplant.

Not all cuttings will take root in water. I have instructions for both water and soil rooting over here. However, most basil varieties and all mints have shown themselves to be very amenable to this easy method.

Through the years I have experimented with many other herbs just to see how they will respond. Earlier this season I purchased a tray of fresh culantro (Eryngium foetid) from an Asian supermarket in Chinatown. Culantro aka Mexican coriander aka chadon beni, is an edible herb within the genus Eryngium aka sea holly that tastes very much like cilantro, but with a more pungent, intense flavour. It is a compact and tough plant with serrated leaves and a spiny flower stalk. It is often used just like or in place of cilantro in hot, tropical countries where cilantro doesn’t last long in the heat. For this reason it often appears in Vietnamese, Latin American, and Caribbean cooking. When we visited Saint Lucia some years ago, we did a tour on part of an old plantation that was once the slave quarters. I was surprised to discover lots of little culantro plants growing wild there.

Unfortunately, the tray of culantro got shoved deep into my fridge and forgotten about until I found it, just in the nick of time, the outer leaves all turned to mush with just the inner rosette viable. As I pulled away the rotten leaves, I noticed that this was not just a pile of leaves — they were plants with crowns still intact. Just for kicks I tossed the crowns into water thinking that they’d rot in the water and amazingly they all made roots!

Culantro is an unusual herb that is hard to come by as a plant. I have often purchased it at specialty herb shops. Now I know I can buy a tray of plants for just a few dollars and root them myself. They key is to find the healthiest, freshest herb in the store that still have the crown intact. Individual leaves won’t root.

Growing Culantro

• Sun: Prefers some shade. Will grow in full sun, but I find that like cilantro, it will bolt and produce flowers too quickly. It will also become tougher and less palatable. Shade-grown plants produce larger, more tender leaves.
• Does not tolerate frost. Hardy to zone 10 or 11.
• Prefers consistently moist, but very well-draining soil. Do not let the soil dry out.
• Can be grown from seed, but I now find that cuttings are easier.
• Remove any flower buds that appear to keep the plant going longer and the leaves more palatable.
• To harvest: cut leaves individually as needed.