Solanum melongena 'White Knight'

RHS

Conservatory Greenhouse

A compact, elegant and productive annual vegetable to around 70cm in height with green leaves and purple flowers. It produces striking narrow, ivory-white fruits with thin skins which grow up to 20cm long, with a mild and creamy flavour. Harvest from August onwards. Ideal for growing in containers on a patio or in a mixed edibles border

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand

Max Height

0.5-1 metres

Max Spread

0.5-1 metres

Size

Time to Maturity: 1 year
Max Spread: 0.5-1 metres
Max Height: 0.5-1 metres

Growing Conditions

Chalk Clay Loam Sand

Moisture: Moist but well–drained
pH: Acid or Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun

Aspect: East–facing or North–facing or South–facing or West–facing
Exposure: Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20): H1C

Colour & Scent

Season	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family: Solanaceae
Native to GB/Ireland: 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: Accepted

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

City and courtyard gardens
Cottage and informal garden
Patio and container plants
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)