Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Eggplant / aubergine bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called aubergine, brinjal, melongene (Solanum melongena).

About Eggplant / aubergine

Solanum melongena · also called aubergine, brinjal · edible

Eggplant (US) or aubergine (UK) is a warm-season Solanum grown for glossy fruit in purple, white, or striped. Needs heat — fruit set drops below 21°C. Start indoors early and grow in a greenhouse or sunny sheltered spot in cool climates. Foliage is toxic to pets.

Solanum melongena was domesticated in tropical Asia (India/Bangladesh and the surrounding region) from the wild S. insanum; it is a tender, frost-intolerant warm-season perennial grown as an annual.

Plant type: edible

Watch for — Flowers drop without fruit: Too cold (<21°C) or too hot (>35°C); fruit set is temperature-sensitive.

Sources: extension.umn.edu, hgic.clemson.edu, frontiersin.org

The reasons eggplant / aubergine isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming eggplant / aubergine traces back to one of these, roughly in order of how common they are:

Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.
Too much nitrogen feed, driving lush foliage at the expense of flowers (very common with general or lawn feeds).
Heat or cold stress at flowering, or poor pollination, so flowers form but drop without setting.
Irregular watering — drought or waterlogging at the budding stage makes buds abort.
It is still too young or was checked by a transplant and is rebuilding before flowering.

Feeding eggplant / aubergine a high-nitrogen general feed and growing it in too little sun — you get a big leafy plant and almost no flowers.

The fix — how to get eggplant / aubergine to flower

Maximise sun. Give eggplant / aubergine the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers.
Switch the feed. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.
Help it set. Keep moisture steady, avoid temperature extremes at flowering, and encourage pollinators (or hand-pollinate) so flowers turn into fruit.
Water consistently. Keep moisture even through budding and flowering — drought-then-flood swings make buds drop.

Light and feeding do most of the heavy lifting here. Dial in the spot with the light guide for eggplant / aubergine and get the feeding right with the eggplant / aubergine fertilising schedule — the wrong feed (too much nitrogen) is one of the most common silent reasons a healthy plant makes leaves instead of flowers.

Bloom season and what to expect

Eggplant / aubergine flowers through its warm growing season and, with good pollination, follows each flush of flowers with the crop — expect a steady run rather than one burst.

Post-bloom care so it flowers again

Keep feeding and watering steadily so flowering and fruiting continue; remove tired or diseased growth to keep energy going into new flowers.

For everything else this plant needs day to day, see the full eggplant / aubergine care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Eggplant / aubergine blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my eggplant / aubergine flower?

Eggplant / aubergine flowers (and then fruits) on the current season's growth — it needs full sun, warmth, steady moisture and a switch to a lower-nitrogen, higher-potassium feed once it starts to flower. The most common reason it is not happening: Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.

How do I make eggplant / aubergine bloom?

Give eggplant / aubergine the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.

When does eggplant / aubergine normally bloom?