Customer Service Hours
Mon-Fri 8-4 MST
Features
Family
Solanaceae
Native
Asia
Life Cycle
Annual
Plant Height
Tall (Greater than 24")
Further Information
Plant Characteristics
Good for Containers
About Eggplant
Solanum melongena
8"–10" long, 2" wide; cylindrical, but slightly wider at bottom end, with smooth, glossy purple skin, and creamy interior.
Planting Eggplant
Plant Spacing
Start indoors
Light Required
Full sun
Plant Height
Tall (Greater than 24")
Planting Depth
¼"
Planting Details
| Row Spacing | 36" |
|---|---|
| Seed Depth | ¼" |
| Seed Spacing | Start indoors |
| Thinning | Start indoors; plant 18" apart outside |
| Germination | 10–20 days |
| Start Indoors | RECOMMENDED. 10 to 12 weeks before your average last frost date. Transplant outdoors 1 to 2 weeks after last frost, when soil temperature is at least 60°F, and outside night air temperature is above 60°F. |
| Direct Sow | 2 to 4 weeks after your average last frost date, when soil temperature is at least 70°F, ideally 80°–90°F, and when outside night air temperature is above 60°F. |
| Growing & Harvesting | Long Purple' should be harvested when the fruit is no longer than 10" and the skin is still shiny; can be harvested at baby size. If you are in doubt about maturity level, note that it's better to harvest eggplants a little young rather than wait until they are overly mature with dull skin, eventually possibly turning a golden color, with plentiful seeds, and bitter taste. To harvest, cut the stem with pruners. Plants will produce four or more fruits. Continual harvest will encourage more production. |
Find Your Frost Date & Grow Zone
Average First Frost Date
October 19
Average Last Frost Date
May 19
Your Hardiness Zone is
5b
Send Your Recommendation
Total 5 star reviews: 16 Total 4 star reviews: 2 Total 3 star reviews: 0 Total 2 star reviews: 0 Total 1 star reviews: 3
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Rating
Which best describes you as a gardener?
21 reviews
- AdamRated 5 out of 5 stars3/27/265 Stars
Excellent! Thank you.
- AvantikaVerified ReviewerRated 5 out of 5 stars10/8/25Prolific variety
I had excellent germination and harvest from these seeds. The plants grew to be 3-4 ft tall and produced so many eggplants that I had enough to share with friends and neighbors every week. I’m definitely going to grow them again, just going to get fewer plants going next time.
Which best describes you as a gardener? IntermediateBIBotanical Interests10/10/25Hey Avantika,
Thank you so much for this fantastic 5-star review! "Prolific variety" is exactly what we love to hear about Long Purple Eggplant Seeds - and wow, having so many eggplants that you could share with friends and neighbors every week is just incredible testament to what amazing producers these plants really are!
We absolutely love that you got excellent germination AND such an abundant harvest! There's something so wonderful about those 3-4 foot tall plants just loaded with beautiful long purple eggplants week after week. The fact that you had enough to become the neighborhood eggplant hero is exactly the kind of generous productivity that makes this variety such a garden superstar.
Your "problem" of having too much success is honestly the best kind of gardening challenge to have! It's so smart that you're planning to scale back the number of plants next time - these Long Purple eggplants really do deliver such incredible yields that a little goes a long way when it comes to feeding yourself and everyone around you.
Your experience will be so inspiring for other gardeners who want to discover just how rewarding and productive Long Purple Eggplant Seeds can be, and maybe they'll learn from your generous harvest to plan their planting quantities accordingly!
Keep on growing 🌻️
- Carolyn S.Verified BuyerRated 1 out of 5 stars9/19/25Oops
Did not produce any sprouts no matter how I started them
Which best describes you as a gardener? BeginnerBIBotanical Interests9/24/25Hey Carolyn,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts in a review. I've reached out to you via email to offer assistance. Your feedback is invaluable to us, and we are committed to ensuring your experience is positive. Thank you once again for your input. Keep on growing 🌻️
- Pascal A.CA, United StatesVerified ReviewerRated 5 out of 5 stars9/12/25Delicious Self standing Eggplant
I started these in the epic 4 cell trays where all 16 grew quite nicely until they were ready to be planted out. BTW: i think all the epic cell trays are freakin awesome!
If i remember correctly, it took about 5 to 8 weeks or so, until planted out. In my area, zone 9b, we had a much cooler summer than normal. Eggplants usually need a lot of warmth. I was impressed to see that this variety grew quite well even in the cooler conditions albeit slowly but steadily. Best of all, it stands up ALL by itself! You almost don't need to stake it. out of the 8 or so i planted, i'd say that most of them were able to stand up with no staking.
As for the harvests, they're generally a darker purple than pictured on the label but they are very beautiful. We steamed these and added them to a garlic soy sauce stir fry that was super delicious. Now, we did get a few unexplained results where some of them started off green and ended up yellow. they didn't taste as good - I'm not sure what happened there.
Another nice thing is that they don't just produce all at once. You get a little bit of harvest every week for several months! Wow and I didn't even have to succession sow them.
Who do you grow for? YourselfHow do you prefer to grow? In GroundBIBotanical Interests9/15/25Hey Pascal,
Wow, what an incredible review! Thank you for sharing all these fantastic details about your Long Purple Eggplant experience!
We're so thrilled to hear that our Epic 4 cell trays worked perfectly for you!
We're so glad to know that they performed so well even in your cooler than normal zone 9b summer! Eggplants can definitely be picky about their heat, so the fact that yours grew steadily despite the conditions speaks volumes about this variety's resilience.
Your garlic soy sauce stir fry sounds absolutely delicious! What time is dinner?
As for those few that went from green to yellow, that can sometimes happen with environmental stress or inconsistent watering, but it sounds like the vast majority gave you those beautiful dark purple fruits you were hoping for!
Thanks so much for taking the time to share such a thorough and helpful review - it's going to help so many fellow gardeners know what to expect from these fantastic eggplants!
Keep on growing 🌻️
- Misty L.Rated 5 out of 5 stars3/22/255 Stars
The information on this website has been very helpful!