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Fruit EdibleConservatory Greenhouse

Solanum melongena 'Early Long Purple'

aubergine 'Early Long Purple'

A bushy annual vegetable reaching 1m tall. It has green leaves and purple flowers. These develop into a good crop of long slender dark purple fruits the size of a small cucumber

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Size
Ultimate height
0.5–1 metres
Time to ultimate height
1 year
Ultimate spread
0.5–1 metres
Growing conditions
Chalk
Clay
Loam
Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained
pH
Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
Colour & scent
StemFlowerFoliageFruit
Spring Green
Summer Purple Green Purple
Autumn Purple Green Purple
Winter
Position
  • Full sun
Aspect

East–facing or North–facing or South–facing or West–facing

Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness
H1C
Botanical details
Family
Solanaceae
Native to the UK
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Bushy
Genus

Solanum can be annuals, perennials, evergreen or deciduous shrubs or twining climbers, with simple or pinnnately lobed leaves and star- or bowl-shaped, 5-lobed flowers with prominent stamens, followed by fleshy fruits

Name status

Unresolved

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in fertile moisture-retentive soil in good light. Can grow outside in summer. For more advice see aubergine cultivation

Propagation

Propagate by seed. See sowing vegetable seeds or sowing seeds indoors for further advice

Suggested planting locations and garden types
  • Edible fruit
  • Conservatory and greenhouse
Pruning

Pruning group 1

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids, glasshouse whitefly, glasshouse red spider mite and two-spotted mite

Diseases

May be susceptible to honey fungus (rarely)

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