RHS Growing Guides

How to grow aubergines

Our detailed growing guide will help you with each step in successfully growing aubergines.

  1. Getting Started
  2. Choosing
  3. Sowing
  4. Transplanting
  5. Plant Care
  6. Harvesting
  7. Problems
1

Getting Started

Getting Started
Choosing
Section 1 of 7

Aubergines are becoming increasingly popular and easier to grow, with newer smaller-fruited cultivars available that crop more readily. Aubergines are tender plants that need lots of warmth and sun to crop successfully in the UK. They can be grown from seed indoors or bought as young plants and produce attractive purple, mauve, pink, red or white fruits that can be egg-shaped, round, or long and thin. Varieties with smaller fruits are often more successful in the UK. In good growing conditions, plants can produce up to eight fruits by the end of summer.

Aubergines are closely related to tomatoes and peppers, and enjoy similar conditions. They are happy in containers and growing bags, as well as in the ground. They crop best in a greenhouse or polytunnel, but can also fruit outdoors, although they usually only do well in very mild locations or long hot summers. Grafted plants have recently become available, and these more vigorous plants cope better with cooler conditions, so are a good option for outdoor growing.

Related RHS Guides
Grafting vegetables

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2

Choosing

There are many varieties of aubergine to choose from, producing glossy fruits in an attractive array of colours, from dark purple, through mauves and pinks, to white or green, and various sizes and shapes. Smaller-fruited varieties are more likely to crop successfully in the UK climate.

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 list of AGM fruit and veg for recommended varieties of aubergine and many other crops.

It’s also well worth visiting the veg plots at all 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.

If you don’t have room to grow from seed indoors, plug plants and young plants are available from similar sources in spring, although the choice of varieties will be more limited.

Grafted aubergine plants are also available, mainly from online suppliers – these are more expensive to buy, but should grow strongly and cope better with cooler conditions outdoors, producing a large crop.

Related RHS Guides
Grafting vegetables

Recommended Varieties

Showing 3 out of 5 varieties
3

Sowing

Aubergine seeds must be sown indoors, in late winter or early spring, as they need warmth and a long growing season.

Sowing indoors

Sow aubergine seeds in small pots or modular trays filled with seed compost from February onwards. If the plants will be growing in a heated greenhouse, 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 the plants in good light at 16–18°C (60–64°F) and water regularly.

Aubergines growing in a greenhouse

4

Transplanting

Move young aubergine plants into slightly larger pots regularly once their roots appear from the drainage holes.

Then transfer indoor-raised plants or bought plants into their final growing position at the following times: 

  • in April if growing in a heated greenhouse 

  • in early May if growing in an unheated greenhouse 

  • in late May/early June if they will be growing outdoors, after hardening them off carefully 

To transplant them into a large container or growing bag, in a greenhouse or outdoors:

  • Choose a pot at least 30cm (1ft) in diameter and fill with multi-purpose compost, then plant one young aubergine in the centre.

  • Alternatively, plant two into a standard growing bag.

  • Water thoroughly and insert a bamboo cane for support.

  • For outdoor growing, place the container or growing bag in a really warm, sunny spot, such as on a south-facing patio or beside a sunny wall, and cover with fleece for a couple of weeks to help the plants settle in.

To transplant into the ground: 

  • Choose your warmest, sunniest, most sheltered spot, with fertile, free-draining soil 

  • Start warming the soil with polythene or cloches two weeks before transplanting, once there is no danger of frost 

  • Enrich the soil with plenty of organic matter, such as garden compost

  • Space plants 60cm (2ft) apart, firm in and water well 

  • Insert a cane for support and spread mulch over the soil surface 

  • Cover the plants with cloches or fleece for a further two weeks until acclimatised 

Aubergines transplanted outside supported by canes
Related RHS Guides
Vegetables: transplanting

5

Plant Care

Aubergine plants benefit from regular attention, including watering, misting and feeding, to produce a successful crop. Some plants develop small spines on the stems, so take care when tending them.

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 (at least 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 can of water over the paved floor, so it evaporates during the day, raising the humidity.

Related RHS Guides
Vegetables: watering

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 or potting compost and deter weeds.

Related RHS Guides
Mulches and mulching

Feeding

Once the first flowers appear, give aubergine plants a high potassium liquid fertiliser, such as tomato feed, every two weeks.

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. 

Encouraging fruiting

To ensure successful pollination in a greenhouse, open the door and vents on warm days when plants are in flower, to help 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. Cultivars with small or round 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 double layer fleece if the fruits aren’t ripe by late September, or move potted plants indoors if possible before night-time temperatures drop. 

6

Harvesting

You can usually start harvesting aubergines from August onwards. Pick individual fruits as soon as they’re full sized, ripe and well coloured, with a glossy skin. Once the skin becomes dull, fruits are usually over-ripe and may be bitter. Pick the fruits regularly to encourage more to develop and ripen. Some plants have small spines, so take care when harvesting.

Use harvested fruits soon as possible, when full of flavour and nutrients – make the most of being able to enjoy them far fresher than any you can buy in the shops. If necessary, aubergines can be stored in a fridge for a few days.

Aubergines can be grilled, baked, sautéed and stir-fried, and used in a wide range of Mediterranean, Asian and Indian dishes.  

7

Problems

Harvesting
Guide Start
Section 7 of 7

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 – see Ongoing care, above.

Keep watch for greenhouse pests such as red spider mites, whitefly and aphids and take action straight away, before they multiply. Biological controls are available to keep them in check. 

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