Eggplant Plant Stages (With Pictures)
Eggplants can be incredibly rewarding to grow in your backyard garden. If you’re new to growing them, this article will be valuable towards your first successful crop. Here, you’ll learn the basic eggplant plant stages.
1. Seedling and Growth Stage
The first stage of growth is the seedling stage. Like every plant, eggplants start off as tiny seedlings that are delicate and slow-growing. After a few weeks, the plants will gain some size and begin growing at a faster rate.
During this stage, young eggplant plants should be protected from pests, as well as the elements. I highly suggest using floating row cover or keeping the plants elevated to avoid them becoming a snack for a rabbit or deer.
Once established, eggplants will continue through the growth stage, lasting 4-6 weeks before the next stage. During this period, a plant will focus its energy on forming new leaves and branches, which requires plenty of nitrogen.
2. Flowering Stage
After reaching a mature size, eggplant plants will start forming flowers. These are usually purple in color, and are between 1-2 inches in diameter, depending on the eggplant variety.
Flowers are important to the success of your eggplants, so if it is getting later in the season without any flowers, you may need to make some changes. High temperatures, excess nitrogen in the soil, or excessive humidity can lead to issues with the flowering stage.
Generally speaking, I have found that eggplants usually flower once in the late spring or early summer, and then again in the fall. During the heat of summer, it is less common for the plants to flower due to the higher temperatures.
Should you remove early eggplant flowers?
Early eggplants flowers can be removed if the plants are still in small nursery pots. This redirects energy towards leafy growth. Continue removing flowers and fruits until the plants have been in their final planting location for 2-3 weeks. After this time, allow the flowers to form naturally.
3. Fruiting Stage
Shortly after flowers form, you should start to see small eggplants forming in their place. When pollinated successfully, each flower has the potential to become an eggplant. Eggplants are self-pollinating, so you only need one plant in order to get fruits.
Keep in mind, if you are growing a large eggplant variety, each plant will likely only grow a few fruits at a time. This is because it requires a large amount of resources and energy to support each fruit. So don’t be surprised if some, or even most of your plant’s flowers fall off. As long as a few begin forming into fruits, then your plants are performing well.
Tip: At this stage, if you notice any damage to the young eggplants (bite marks from insects, mold, holes in the fruits, etc.), pick them off early. This will immediately channel energy in the plant to produce new fruits to replace the ones you’ve removed.
4. Harvesting Stage
After several weeks of growth, your eggplants will reach peak harvesting time. Eggplants are best harvested before they fully ripen, when they still have a bright, shiny purple color.
You’ll know your eggplant is ready to pick when it has stopped growing large in size. Once you notice that a fruit has stopped growing, it should be picked. The seeds inside will be small and underdeveloped, which is ideal for cooking and eating the eggplants.
It’s important to harvest regularly as your plant’s produce their fruits. Not only does it ensure the best flavor and texture, but it also encourages the plant to continue to produce more. If you want the best yield from your eggplants, harvest promptly!
If you wait a bit too long to harvest, your eggplants can still be eaten, but you may have to deal with a chewier texture and a more bitter flavor.
5. Ripening Stage
If you let your eggplants sit on the plant for too long, the fruits will begin to change color. This is a sign that the fruit is ripening. For culinary purposes, ripen eggplants are not ideal. However, there is one good reason to let an eggplant ripen before picking. Learn how to know when an eggplant is ripe here.
Purple eggplants usually ripe to a dark brown color. If you are growing white eggplants, they may turn yellow, orange, or red when fully ripe. The one instance where you may want to allow an eggplant to ripen is when saving your own seeds. When an eggplant is fully ripen, you know that the seeds inside are also fully developed. This way, your saved seeds will have reliable germination rates.
Keep in mind, if you are growing a hybrid variety, it is not a great idea to save seeds. Hybrid plants will not grow true to form due to unstable genetics. Only save eggplant seeds when you are growing heirlooms or other stable varieties.
Once an eggplant finishes ripening, the plant’s growth stages are complete. The seeds are then ready to be replanted, restarting the entire life cycle.
I hope this article helps you plan your garden this year. Understanding the grow stages of eggplant plants should help you know what to expect as you navigate the growing season.
My black beauty eggplants produced many flowers last summer but no fruit.
I tried to use a paintbrush to transfer pollen with no results. I did get 1 fertilized fruit that only got to 3 inches long. Any idea as to what could have gone wrong?