RHS Growing Guides
How to grow aubergines
Our detailed growing guide will help you with each step in successfully growing aubergines.
Getting Started
Get aubergine plants off to an early start, so there’s time for the fruits to develop and ripen
Aubergines (Solanum melongena) are closely related to tomatoes and peppers, so if you can grow these successfully, then aubergines are well worth a try. They can be grown from seed indoors or bought as young plants, and are happy in containers and grow bags, as well as in the ground.
Month by Month
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Choosing
Aubergines make an eye-catching crop, whichever variety you choose (here ‘White Knight’)
For the best chance of a good harvest, look for varieties with an RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM), which shows they performed well in trials – see our Recommended Varieties below. It’s also worth visiting the veg plots in the RHS gardens, where you can see many crops, including aubergines, being grown. It’s a great way to compare different varieties and growing methods, and pick up useful tips and inspiration.
What and where to buy
Aubergine seeds are widely available in garden centres and from online seed suppliers. Be sure to buy early though, so you’re ready to sow in late winter or early spring, and make sure you have a warm space to germinate and grow these tender plants.
If you don’t have the time or space to grow from seed indoors, you can buy plug plants and young plants from many gardening retailers in spring and early summer, although the choice of varieties will be more limited. Grafted aubergine plants are also available, mainly from online suppliers – these are more expensive, but are more vigorous, robust plants that should cope better with cooler conditions outdoors, producing a larger crop.
Recommended Varieties
Ideal for an unheated glasshouse, early cropping with large, glossy black fruits.
Medium-sized, oval, slightly ribbed fruits with white skin with white flesh. Matures early.
Compact plants, ideal for containers, with small, very glossy, egg-shaped fruits.
Sowing
Sow aubergine seeds indoors, usually from February onwards, as they need warmth and a long growing season. If the plants will be growing in a heated greenhouse or warm conservatory, you can start them earlier, in January. If they’ll be growing outdoors, delay sowing indoors until early March, as these tender plants mustn’t be moved outside until after the last frost. Aubergine seeds need at least 21°C (70°F) to germinate, either in a heated propagator or in a warm location indoors. You can even germinate seeds in an airing cupboard, but check daily and as soon as seedlings appear, move them to a warm, bright windowsill. Keep young plants in good light at 16–18°C (60–64°F) and water regularly. Once they have their first set of true leaves, prick out your seedlings, moving them into their own 7.5cm (3in) pot or into individual modules in a tray.
For more advice, see our sowing guides below.
Planting
To plant in containers
Choose a pot at least 30cm (1ft) in diameter and fill with peat-free multi-purpose compost, then plant one young aubergine in the centre. Or plant two in a standard grow bag. See our guides below for more planting tips.
To plant into the ground
Start warming the soil with cloches two weeks before transplanting, once there is no danger of frost. Also enrich the soil with plenty garden compost. Space plants 60cm (2ft) apart and spread mulch over the soil surface to help retain moisture and deter weeds.
To crop outdoors, aubergines need a warm, sheltered spot in full sun
Plant Care
Open the vents of greenhouses and coldframes so pollinating insects can access the flowers
Watering
Water aubergine plants generously and consistently throughout the growing season. Plants in containers are particularly susceptible to drying out and may need watering at least once a day in hot weather. An automated drip irrigation system may be useful to ensure consistent watering.
Also, mist the leaves regularly (ideally twice daily) with tepid water to discourage red spider mites and improve fruiting. Or, on hot days, damp down the greenhouse in the morning by pouring a full watering can over the paved floor, so it evaporates during the day, raising the humidity.
Mulching
Apply a thick layer of mulch, such as well-rotted manure or garden compost, around aubergine plants to help hold moisture in the soil and deter weeds.
Feeding
Once the first flowers appear, give aubergine plants a high potassium liquid fertiliser, such as tomato feed, every two weeks, to encourage flowering and fruiting.
Pinching out shoot tips
When aubergine plants are 30cm (1ft) tall, pinch out the tip of the main stem to encourage side-shoots. This creates bushier plants that should produce more fruits.
Supporting plants
Aubergines can form large, top-heavy plants, so insert a sturdy bamboo cane once they are in their final container and tie in the main stem as it grows. You may need to add more canes to support the side-shoots once fruits start to form, particularly if you have a heavy crop or large fruits.
Improving your crop
To ensure successful pollination in a greenhouse or coldframe, open the door and vents on warm days when plants are in flower, to help insect pollinators reach them. Misting the flowers also aids self-pollination, or you can hand pollinate with an artist’s paintbrush.
With larger-fruited varieties, once five or six fruits have started to form, remove any further flowers. Varieties with small fruits can be allowed to produce many more.
To encourage fruits to ripen towards the end of the season, remove any new fruits that start to form after late summer, as they are unlikely to ripen. With outdoor plants, protect them with a plastic-free crop cover if the fruits aren’t ripe by late September, or move potted plants indoors if possible before overnight temperatures drop.
Harvesting
Fruits should be firm, well-coloured and glossy when ready to harvest
Problems
Aubergines are tender plants that need lots of sun and heat to crop well. Lack of fruit may be due to poor summer weather or a location that is too cold, especially when grown outdoors. They need the hottest, sunniest position and a long growing season – at least five months from sowing to harvesting. Aubergines also need regular watering and feeding throughout the summer to fruit successfully.
Several sap-sucking insects like to feed on aubergine plants, so check for them regularly – see Common Problems below.
Get involved
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