An eggplant should flower two or three months after transplanting. So, when your plant doesn’t show any changes or bloom into beautiful flowers, there must be a cause.
Many situations can cause the eggplant to refuse flowering, such as lack of water, not enough light, or a nutrient deficiency. Luckily for you, all the issues are easy to solve, but you need to first put your hands on the cause.
Why Is My Eggplant Not Flowering?
Your eggplant may not be flowering for a wide array of reasons. Chances are, you’re not providing it with enough water and light. Some plants also stop flowering when they’re not pollinating properly, so that’s one more cause to keep in mind.
Here’s a roundup of the common causes for eggplants not flowering.
1 – Improper Pollination
The reason for your eggplants not flowering can be as simple as improper pollination. The plant may simply be failing to self-pollinate, which is leading to the lack of flowers.
The pollination may not happen because of the lack of wind. Without wind, the pollens may not get out of the anthers. They may also fail to get out if no bees visit the area.
Alternatively, you may be living in an area with high humidity, which can cause the pollens to turn into a sticky mess. When they’re moist, they can’t get out of the anthers, even if there’s a strong wind.
When the pollination doesn’t occur, the blossoms will drop without flowering. The right way to solve this is to make sure the plants aren’t too close together or in an area void of bees and wind.
You can also shake the plants using any item so that the pollens are encouraged to get out.
2 – Pests
All plants are prone to harmful pests, including eggplants. The pests can be the reason the plant isn’t flowering. Here’s a roundup of the most common pests you may find in eggplants.
Aphids
Aphids are common pests for most plants. They suck the plants’ sap using their sharp mouthparts, focusing mainly on the stems and leaves. You’ll commonly find aphids on the underside of the leaves.
When they’re feeding, they produce honeydew, which is sticky and is often accompanied by a dark mold.
When there’s an aphid infestation, the plant loses its ability to photosynthesize correctly, which leads to not flowering.
Flea Beetles
For some reason, flea beetles love eggplants. These pests are tiny, and they leave small holes behind because they puncture the leaves using their mouthparts.
When the plant is large, the flea beetles hardly do severe damage because they’re extra small.
However, they may cause small plants to stop flowering and ruin their leaves.
Pepper Weevils
Pepper weevils target the plant’s buds, leaving tiny holes in them. The buds eventually drop before blooming, which is one reason why your plant isn’t flowering.
If you constantly see buds dropping, your plant may be suffering a severe weevils infestation.
These bugs start out small, but when they grow into full maturity, they’re easily seen by the naked eye.
3 – Nutritional Deficiency
For your eggplants to grow and bloom into flowers, the soil’s nutrients need to be balanced. If your soil packs too little phosphorus, don’t expect to see eggplant flowers anytime soon.
The same goes if you’re using a nitrogen-high fertilizer that’s unnecessarily increasing the nitrogen percentage in the soil.
Before planting the eggplants, you need to carry out a soil test and know whether you need to make any changes to accommodate the newly growing plant.
If you’re already in the middle of the season and the eggplant is refusing to grow, you may stop using fertilizer and start working on increasing the phosphorus percentage.
To do that, you can apply ammonium phosphate to the soil. First, you’ll need to assess the size of your eggplant production, then apply accordingly.
4 – The Weather Is Too Hot
Just like us, plants have preferences when it comes to the weather. Granted, their reasons are a bit different since they’re related to nutrition, but some plants hate the summer, and others can’t get enough of the hot weather.
Eggplants don’t mind the hot weather, but they don’t thrive in scorching hot conditions.
You can plant them in conditions when the temperature is 60 F at night. Slightly higher is okay but higher than 75 F will likely cause the plant to wilt and stop producing flowers.
So, that may be one reason your plant isn’t flowering.
On top of that, eggplants need plenty of sunlight daily to survive, ranging from 12 to 14 hours. When they don’t get enough of it, they can stop flowering altogether.
5 – Wrong Timing
You may be doing everything right, but the eggplants are still not flowering because of the wrong timing.
Keep in mind that eggplants initially grow in Asia. They’re not only used to rainy conditions with warm temperatures, but they’re used to short winters as well.
If you live somewhere where the winter stays for long, the plants may find it challenging to proceed with their natural growing habits.
Likewise, if you plant them late in the growing season, they’ll likely pass the year without flowering.
That’s why you should always consider the length of the growing season and plant the eggplants accordingly.
Why Are My Eggplants Flowering Without Producing Fruits?
You may have your eggplants flowering normally but without any sign of fruit. Since eggplants are fruiting plants, there must be a cause for the lack thereof.
In this case, you’re likely not giving the plant as much water as it needs.
When people grow eggplants in pots, they may fail to provide enough water.
In other cases, the lack of fruits happens because of low temperatures. For eggplants to grow fruits, they need a maximum temperature of 65 F at night and a temperature between 80 F and 90 F in the morning.
If your garden is a lot colder than that, the plant may not be able to produce fruits. You can then start considering investing in a greenhouse with a solid heating system.
Lastly, bear in mind that eggplants don’t produce fruits in the winter. So, wait until the summer comes around, and the fruits will likely appear.
How Long Do Eggplants Need to Flower?
Eggplants should show blooms around two months after seeding. Even if you only see tiny flowers, it means that the plant is doing fine.
Three months after germination, you should start seeing signs of fruits. The plant will then be fully mature and able to self-pollinate.
Eggplants are among the self-pollinating plants because they have both genders’ organs. So, each flower should be able to pollinate without external changes.
To facilitate that, you may need to shake the plant to get the pollens to move out. They may fail to move if there’s no wind in your area.
Final Thoughts
If your eggplants aren’t flowering, the reason may be as simple as bad pollination. It happens in areas without wind or bees, and it may happen if the flowers are too close to each other.
Alternatively, you may be planting the eggplant out of its growing season, which delays the appearance of flowers. Other reasons include lack of water and light.
Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.