When to plant · 9 cities · zones 5b–7a

When to plant cilantro in Idaho

Direct sow cilantro around Apr 30 — the Idaho statewide median, counted from a last spring frost of May 14 across 253 ZIP codes and 112 NOAA stations.

Apr 30Direct sowApr 10 – May 26 across the state
May 14Last spring frostmedian · 1 in 10 years after Jun 3
Jun 14First harvest45 days from sow

The rule: Direct sow in 60–70 °F soil, a short row every two weeks from four weeks before the last frost until the heat arrives, then again from late summer.

Idaho cilantro, by step

Statewide median last frost May 14, first fall frost Sep 29, 2027 season. Each cultivar's own indoor lead time and days to maturity, same engine as the Plan Builder.

CultivarStart indoorsSowFirst harvestDays
CilantroSlow Bolt (Coriandrum sativum)Direct sowApr 30Jun 1445 from sow

Tight means first harvest lands within two weeks of the median first fall frost. Statewide dates are the ZIP-weighted median of every NOAA 1991–2020 station Idaho's ZIP codes resolve to; 30 of 283 ZIPs have no datable freeze and are left out.

Cilantro in Idaho, city by city

Cilantro, scheduled from each city's nearest NOAA station — the same dates as its frost page.

CityLast frostSowFirst harvest
Boisezone 7aApr 24Apr 10May 25
Meridianzone 7aApr 24Apr 10May 25
Nampazone 7aApr 29Apr 15May 30
Caldwellzone 7aApr 29Apr 15May 30
Idaho Fallszone 5bMay 9Apr 25Jun 9
Pocatellozone 6aMay 2Apr 18Jun 2
Coeur d'Alenezone 6bApr 22Apr 8May 23
Twin Fallszone 7aApr 25Apr 11May 26
Post Fallszone 6bApr 22Apr 8May 23

What Idaho cilantro need

SeedsThe cultivar decides the sauce. Everything downstream is damage control.
  • Cilantro / Coriander Seed

    Bolts in a heartbeat and there is nothing you can do about it — so you succession-sow instead of fighting it. Non-negotiable in salsa verde and zhoug.

StartSoil temperature and light intensity, indoors, weeks before your frost date.
  • Organic Seed Starter Potting MixMust have

    Seed-starting mix is not potting soil with a nicer label — it is finer, lighter, and low in nutrients on purpose, because a seedling's first roots want air and moisture, not fertiliser.

GrowRoot volume, nutrition and structure. Where most home crops actually fail.
  • Ocean Forest Potting SoilMust have

    Pre-charged with enough nutrition to carry a transplant for its first month without feeding, which is exactly the window when most container plants stall.

  • 5-Gallon Fabric Grow Bags, 5-Pack

    Fabric pots air-prune roots and drain faster than a plastic pot can, which is the entire reason container tomatoes fail. Five gallons is the honest minimum for a pepper; a tomato wants ten.

ProtectFrost, hornworms, aphids, and the fungal pressure that follows a wet July.
  • AG-30 Frost Protection Row Cover

    AG-30 buys roughly 6 °F of frost protection while passing about 70% of light — enough to carry a crop through an early-October cold snap that would otherwise end your season two weeks short.

HarvestTiming, handling, and weighing what you actually got.
  • 6" Micro-Tip Pruning SnipsMust have

    Ninety percent of sauce-garden cutting is snipping a pepper stem or a basil node, and a fine-tipped snip does it better than any pruner. Pulling peppers by hand tears the branch.

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Cilantro in Idaho: questions

When should I plant cilantro in Idaho?

Direct sow around Apr 30 at the statewide median; across the state that date runs from Apr 10 in the warmest tenth of Idaho's ZIP codes to May 26 in the coldest. To cut the freeze risk to one year in ten, count from Jun 3 instead of the median last frost. Use the city table for your own town.

When is the last frost in Idaho?

The ZIP-weighted median of NOAA 1991–2020 station medians is May 14. In the warmest tenth of Idaho's ZIP codes the median last frost falls on or before Apr 24; in the coldest tenth, on or after Jun 9.

When will Idaho cilantro be ready to harvest?

Cilantro planted on the statewide date is ready around Jun 14: 45 days from sow.

More for Idaho

Cilantro in every state → · Idaho frost dates → · How frost-date math works →