Rosa Bianca Eggplants or aubergines are an Italian heirloom variety, easy to grow and widely used baked, grilled and stuffed as well as in stews and curries.
Regarded as one of the best tasting eggplants, Rosa Bianca is a beautiful looking eggplant or aubergine as well as having a great texture, well worth growing in the home garden. White with purple markings.
You can grow them from seed and we will have a seperate video on growing eggplants from seed very soon. However most home gardeners will grow them from seedlings and this is what we have done, and this is how we do it.
Growing Rosa Bianca Eggplants
You will need a sunny position and a humus rich fertile soil.
Wait until temperatures in spring start to rise above 18°C (65°F) as a minimum 23°C (75°F) would be better.
- You will need to stake the plant spout a stake in place before planting your seedling
- Water in well with a liquid seaweed fertilizer
- Mulch around the plant to maintain a cool moist root run.
- We use a liquid seaweed and fish fertiliser every 4 weeks.
- Prune the lower leaves away so as they do not touch the soil, this helps prevent disease.
- From Planting to harvest is around 90 days
The first thing you will see are the flowers, these need pollination and as they are self fertile it all about the pollen moving in the flower from stigma to pistil , insects, a gentle breeze or a simple flick of the finger on the flower stem will do the trick.
When and how to harvest Rosa Bianca Eggplants
You can tell when the fruit is ripe by the good glossy skin with a just little softness to the fruit, it should be around 3 inches across, however this depends on the variety. Cut the stem from the plant, do not just pull it away.
More information
What does Rosa Bianca eggplant taste like, sweet with a smooth texture and nice tasting flesh. Regarded as the best for making eggplant parmigiana
Three other great eggplant/aubergine varieties
- Ping Tung – A thin eggplant, lots of fruit over a long season and sweet tasting flesh
- Japanese Black – A short growing season, harvest in around 60 – 70days. Deep near black skin and sweet flesh
- Black Beauty – Very large fruits
- More Information on Eggplants/Aubergines