Height: 24 inches
Spacing: 18 inches
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: (annual)
Description:
A beautiful warm weather crop that features an upright habit with dark green foliage; produces 8 inch long glossy, dark purple fruit with thin skin and fewer seeds; pollinator plant; perfect for grilling, roasting or stir fry
Edible Qualities
Shikou Eggplant is an annual vegetable plant that is typically grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. It produces deep purple oblong eggplants (which are technically 'berries') with white flesh which are typically harvested when mature. The eggplants have a delicious taste and a firm texture.
The eggplants are most often used in the following ways:
- Eating When Cooked/Prepared
- Cooking
Planting & Growing
Shikou Eggplant will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 18 inches. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 18 inches apart. This fast-growing vegetable plant is an annual, which means that it will grow for one season in your garden and then die after producing a crop.
This plant can be integrated into a landscape or flower garden by creative gardeners, but is usually grown in a designated vegetable garden. It does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.
Shikou Eggplant is a good choice for the vegetable garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
