Solanum melongenaAubergine

Solanum melongena is the aubergine, a soft-wooded perennial of the nightshade family grown almost everywhere as an annual crop. Plants make an upright bush of about a metre with large grey-green lobed leaves, violet star-shaped flowers and the glossy fruit the plant is grown for.

In a landscape context it belongs to edible planting: kitchen gardens, resort produce beds and demonstration plots, where the fruit and the flower are both part of the display.

Specifications

• Height0.6 to 1.2 metres
• Width0.6 to 1 metre
• Native toSouth and South East Asia, where it was domesticated from wild relatives
• FoliageLarge, lobed, grey-green leaves, often with fine prickles on the stalks; evergreen in frost-free conditions
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilRequires rich, moist, well-drained soil with good organic content
• LightFull sun
• WaterRegular; consistent moisture is needed for fruit set and quality
• ClimateThrives in warm tropical and subtropical conditions; needs sustained heat to fruit and is killed by frost

Additional Features

• FlowersViolet star-shaped flowers with prominent yellow anthers, through the warm season
• FruitGlossy fruit in deep purple, striped or white forms depending on the variety
• UsesKitchen gardens, edible landscaping, resort produce beds and container growing
• SpacingPlant 0.6 to 0.8 metres apart in production rows
• Low MaintenanceStake fruiting plants and pick regularly; grown as an annual and replaced each season
• Pest ResistanceRequires active management for whitefly, red spider mite and fruit borer
• VersatilityGrown in open ground, in raised beds and in large containers

The Aubergine is a productive edible for warm-climate kitchen gardens, grown as a seasonal crop rather than as permanent landscape planting.