Vegetablefruiting vegetableDemanding

Aubergine

Solanum melongena

A greenhouse crop in Britain rather than an outdoor one, and more demanding of heat than either tomatoes or peppers. Sown early and grown under cover it crops reliably; grown outdoors in most of the country it produces a great deal of foliage, some flowers and very little fruit.

Position: Full sun
Water: high demand
Drainage: Free-draining, Moisture-retentive
Grows to: 60–90 cm × 45–60 cm
Hardiness: H1C
Harvest: July to October
Difficulty: Demanding

August

Harvest

Aubergine’s year

Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.

Activity	J	F	M	A	M	J	A	S	O
Sow under cover	January.	February.	March.
Pot on				April.	May.
Harvest						July.	August.	September.	October.

Timing that travels

The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.

Conditions it needs

Light: Full sun
Frost: Frost tender
Hardiness rating: H1c (RHS)
Grows best at: 20–30 °C
Germinates at: 20–30 °C
Soil: Peat-free compost, Loam
Soil pH: 5.5–7
Drainage: Free-draining, Moisture-retentive
Water needs: high
Drought: poor tolerance
Waterlogging: poor tolerance
Heat: good tolerance
Wind and exposure: poor tolerance

Where these figures come from

LightSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Aubergine — position
Checked 2026-08-13
FrostSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Aubergine — hardiness
Checked 2026-08-13
Hardiness ratingSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: RHS hardiness ratings
Checked 2026-08-13
Grows best atSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Aubergine — temperature
Checked 2026-08-13
Germinates atSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Seed germination temperatures
Checked 2026-08-13
SoilSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Aubergine — soil
Checked 2026-08-13
Soil pHSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Solanum melongena — culture
Checked 2026-08-13
DrainageSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Aubergine — soil
Checked 2026-08-13
Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
WaterloggingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
HeatHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13

On your soil

Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.

Soil	Verdict	Why
Heavy clay	Works, with one condition	Aubergine will crop on heavy clay, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. For a crop lifted before winter the risk is not rot but the season: waterlogged ground is cold and unworkable in spring, so sowing is late and germination patchy.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
Sandy	Works, with one condition	Aubergine will crop on sandy, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering.Water and mulch will carry it through. On this soil the watering is not optional in a dry spell, which is the difference between a crop and a failure.
Chalky and alkaline	Struggles here	Aubergine struggles on chalky and alkaline: The soil is substantially too alkaline for it: it wants pH 5.5 to 7, and this soil sits around 7.8 to 8.5. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering. A container or a raised bed of imported soil sidesteps the problem entirely.
Loam	Prefers this soil	Loam suits Aubergine as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
Silty	Prefers this soil	Silty suits Aubergine as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
Peaty and acid	Works, with one condition	Aubergine will crop on peaty and acid, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. For a crop lifted before winter the risk is not rot but the season: waterlogged ground is cold and unworkable in spring, so sowing is late and germination patchy.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
Shallow over rock	Works, with one condition	Aubergine will crop on shallow over rock, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering.Water and mulch will carry it through. On this soil the watering is not optional in a dry spell, which is the difference between a crop and a failure.
Made ground and urban soil	Works, with one condition	Aubergine will crop on made ground and urban soil, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. For a crop lifted before winter the risk is not rot but the season: waterlogged ground is cold and unworkable in spring, so sowing is late and germination patchy.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.

Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.

Space and spacing

Mature height: 60–90 cm
Mature spread: 45–60 cm
Rooting depth: 40 cm
Spacing: 45–60 cm apart

Where these figures come from

Mature heightHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
SpacingSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Aubergine — spacing
Checked 2026-08-13

Measured centre to centre. Plants set closer than this compete for light and water long before they look crowded, and the crowding cannot be undone once they are in.

In a container

Minimum volume: 10 litres or more
Minimum depth: 30 cm

Where the container figures come from

Minimum volumeHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Minimum depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13

Where and how you can grow it

Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.

Method	Suitability	What it needs
Greenhouse	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13	A long season and warmth into autumn
Polytunnel	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Container	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13	10 litres per plant; Under cover
Hydroponics	Workable source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Open ground	Marginal source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13	Only in a hot summer in the south, and even then the crop is a fraction of what the same plant produces under glass.
Windowsill	Marginal source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing herbs and salads indoors Checked 2026-08-13

Growing it

PruningPinch out the growing tip at about 30 cm to make the plant branch, and thin the fruit to four or five per plant. An aubergine left to set everything it flowers produces a dozen small bitter fruit that never colour properly.
PollinationMist the flowers or tap the stems on warm mornings under glass. Aubergines are self-fertile but need movement to shed pollen, and a closed greenhouse in still weather sets very little fruit.
ProtectionLike peppers, aubergines are tender perennials usually grown as annuals, and a healthy plant can be overwintered in a heated greenhouse or a bright room above 12 °C — cut back hard, kept nearly dry and started again in spring. It is worth attempting only where that warmth genuinely exists; a plant in an unheated greenhouse will not survive. Otherwise clear the plants after the first cold nights and check them for red spider mite before anything else comes indoors.

Where this guidance comes from

PruningSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Aubergine — care
Checked 2026-08-13
PollinationSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Aubergine — pollination
Checked 2026-08-13
ProtectionSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Aubergines — cultivation
Checked 2026-08-13

The bud you cut to becomes the new shoot, and it grows in the direction it points — which is why an outward-facing bud opens the plant up and an inward-facing one crosses the middle.

Is it worth putting under cover?

Whether it will grow there is on the methods table above. This is whether the space is well spent, which is a different question and usually the one being asked.

Structure	What protection is worth	What decides it
Greenhouse	Only possible under cover source GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file. GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ Checked 2026-08-13	Ripening heat. Aubergines need a long warm season to set and swell fruit, and an outdoor British summer supplies it about one year in five.The clearest case in the catalogue. Outdoors this is a gamble; under glass it is a crop.
Polytunnel	Extends the season source GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file. GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ Checked 2026-08-13	Overnight temperature. Glass holds overnight heat that polythene loses, so a tunnel runs cooler at night than a greenhouse in the same garden. For a crop at the edge of its heat requirement that difference decides whether the fruit ripens. An aubergine in a tunnel crops later and less than the same plant under glass.

On a windowsill

Spring to autumn

source

GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence

How long the crop is actually productive on an ordinary British windowsill without added light.

GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ

Checked 2026-08-13

Productive from roughly March to October and not after. Growth stops when the light does, and a plant pushed through the dark months usually does not recover. Light and pollination. A compact cultivar on a south-facing sill will flower; setting fruit without wind or bees needs the flowers tapped by hand, and the crop is small.

Harvesting

When it is readyCut while the skin is glossy and springs back from a gentle press. A dull skin means it is over-ripe and the flesh will be bitter and full of hard seed.
How to pick itCut the fruit with secateurs leaving a short piece of stalk attached; the stems are woody and pulling damages the plant. Wear gloves or take care of the calyx, which is sharply spined on many varieties. Cutting fruits as they reach size keeps the plant setting more — an aubergine left to over-ripen on the plant stops the ones behind it.

Where the harvest guidance comes from

When it is readySourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Aubergine — harvesting
Checked 2026-08-13
How to pick itSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Aubergine — harvesting
Checked 2026-08-13

Keep picking

Regular picking keeps this plant producing. Fruit or leaves left to mature signal it to slow down or stop.

What goes wrong

Problem	How often	Notes
Aphids	common source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13
Powdery mildew	occasional source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13

Safety and edibility

Which parts are edible
Aubergine is in the nightshade family and its leaves and stems contain solanine, as tomato and potato foliage does. Only the fruit is edible.
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Solanum melongena
Checked 2026-08-13
Eat the fruit only. Do not use the leaves or stems in cooking or in salads.

Sources for this page

GrowingHQ editorial synthesis · Plant Finder · Plants of the World Online · Royal Horticultural Society

Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-14.

If something is wrong with it

Sticky leaves, or a sticky surface below the plant — 2 causes GrowingHQ holds for aubergine

Something else? Work through it with the diagnostic tool.