Solanum melongena
Quick facts
- Scientific name: Solanum melongena
- Lifecycle: Tender perennial grown as a warm-season annual in UK conditions.
- Growth habit: Tender annual grown as a warm-season crop; reaches around 30cm before the growing tip is pinched out, developing into a large, top-heavy plant needing support canes.
- Edible parts: fruits
Growing conditions
- Soil pH: 6–6.5
- Optimal temperature: 20–35°C
- Sunlight: 6+ hours
- Drainage / site: RHS: grow in full sun outdoors, enriching the soil with garden compost or well-rotted manure before planting.
- Watering: RHS: plants need a steady supply of moisture, and containers may need watering daily in hot weather; mist the leaves ideally twice daily or damp down the greenhouse. Clemson: water to moisten the soil to a depth of at least 6 inches.
Harvesting & storage
- Days to harvest: 65–150
- When to harvest: RHS: pick as soon as they're full sized, ripe and well-coloured, with a glossy skin; once the skin becomes dull the fruit is probably over-ripe and may be bitter. Clemson: when the side of the fruit is pressed and an indentation remains, the fruit is ripe.
- Storage: Clemson: store in the refrigerator for a week; optimal storage is 45–50°F and 90% relative humidity. RHS states no storage method.
Common diseases
- Blossom end rot — RHS: blossom end rot affects Tomatoes, aubergines, and peppers.
Common pests
- Aphids (Aphididae (various spp.)) — RHS aubergine guide lists aphids among aubergine pests.
- Glasshouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) — RHS aubergine guide lists glasshouse whitefly among aubergine pests.
- Glasshouse red spider mite (two-spotted spider mite) (Tetranychus urticae) — RHS aubergine guide lists glasshouse red spider mite among aubergine pests.
Gallery
Image credits
Images sourced via Openverse under Creative Commons / public-domain licences. Credit to each creator below.
- Aubergine: “Solanum melongena ja001 by Miya.m, BY-SA 3.0” — CC BY-SA, source
- Aubergine: “Solanum melongena ja02 by Miya, BY-SA 3.0” — CC BY-SA, source
- Aubergine with aphids: “Eggplant (Solanum melongena): Aphids by Plant pests and diseases, CC0 1.0” — CC0 1.0 (public domain), source
- Blossom end rot: “Blossom-end rot by Plant pests and diseases, CC0 1.0” — CC0 1.0 (public domain), source
- Glasshouse red spider mite: “Tetranychus urticae by Gilles San Martin, BY-SA 2.0” — CC BY-SA, source
- Glasshouse whitefly: “Trialeurodes vaporariorum by Eran Finkle, BY 2.0” — CC BY, source
Facts compiled by the SoilCommander Garden Doctor knowledge base from RHS and university-extension sources.