ISO plants/seeds for culantro (AKA recao, Thai Pak, Ngo gai)

I found a couple online sources for seedlings, but they're all in the $6-plus-shipping-plus you have to buy multiples price range. I did find seeds online, that's my next step- but I've read that it can be a bit tricky to grow from seed. I'd be willing to pay $6 for a plant I could look at and take home.

Anybody seen these anywhere around? Many Asian groceries have seeds out, but either I haven't seen that particular plant, or the packets aren't in English and don't have pictures. Do some of the more upscale garden centers carry it? Maybe we could make a list of sources for seedlings of hard-to-find herbs?

Another thing to consider is that some herbs will root from cuttings. I always start mint this way, just by buying some, cutting the stem back to expose fresh tissue, and putting it in a glass of water. You can also buy rooting hormone that helps induce the stem to produce roots. I don't know if culantro is amenable to rooting, or if you can find herbs that are adequately fresh. Let me know if you decide to experiment!

Good luck, Jen

Last year, they sold culantro starter plants at Meinke on Touhy at Lehigh. It's a bit early, so I haven't checked this year yet.

Meinke Garden Center
5803 W Touhy Ave
Niles, IL 60714
(847) 647-9455

Gotta love Meineke's - how did I miss that? I will check in at some point and report back.

What about Anton's on Pitner between Crain and Greenleaf?

Anton's Greenhouses
1126 Pitner Ave.
Evanston, IL
847-864-1134

Have you found Anton's to be a good source for outlier herbs and vegetables? I've found they have an excellent supply of all varieties of ordinary stuff: thyme, rosemary, parsley, catnips, etc- but if there's an Asian section there I don't know about, I'll have to try back again!

Mhays wrote:Have you found Anton's to be a good source for outlier herbs and vegetables? I've found they have an excellent supply of all varieties of ordinary stuff: thyme, rosemary, parsley, catnips, etc- but if there's an Asian section there I don't know about, I'll have to try back again!

Being new to the gardening thing I can't say what they have. I'd say give them a call rather than driving all over creation. If they don't have it they might know of a place that does.

So, I was in the neighborhood and stopped by Meineke's. After a somewhat-lengthy espionage session (the greenhouses were all closed due to the cold weather) I asked a few people about culantro. Apparently, they don't have it right now, but they have a "herb lady" who brings in "all kinds of weird and hard-to-find stuff" and who will be delivering her crop in about two weeks. She does, apparently, offer "Vietnamese coriander" a slightly different plant from culantro, but it's relatively hardy and does have a milder cilantro flavor and will work just fine for my purposes.

Ignoring the gentle protestations of the proprieter, I went home with four tomato plants and six peppers, which I promised to keep indoors, and put out in the sun on warm days, until frost is done. I also got some really stunning French thyme and pascal celery, both of which are hardened off and ready to plant (they also have celeriac, as well as a huge selection of brassicas)

Score!

stevez, you're smart!

Meinke Garden Center
5803 W Touhy Ave
Niles, IL
Phone: 847-647-9455

Last year's purchase of Rau Ram behind me, I found this website, specializing in caribbean seeds of all kinds and purchased a packet of culantro seeds. We'll see how it goes; I plan to start it indoors and then plant it in a shady spot outside.

The Rau Ram grew beautifully in a pot on my back stoop and it's a very pretty plant - almost identical to a wandering jew, just slightly less purple. Unfortunately, it combined the flavor characteristics I dislike most from cilantro and lemongrass: it is really, really soapy-tasting when compared to cilantro or culantro, not to mention that the leaves are kind of tough and waxy, so it wasn't really something I appreciated in the kitchen. I went back to using lemon basil for my salsas.