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Just about anyone with enough space and patience can grow a pineapple.
Pineapples take from 16 months up to three years to produce fruit.
If you’re game for an unusual and long-term gardening project, consider the pineapple.
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You could end up with a tasty home-grown treat, bragging rights included.
Cooler temperatures promote flowering with spring plantings maturing to bloom more quickly that pineapples planted in fall.
The total growing time for a pineapple from start to harvest can be as long as 34 months.
Indoors
Outside of tropical climates, pineapples are grown as houseplants.
You need a sunny location near a south or southeast facing window with space for a large potted plant.
Be prepared to repot your plant into larger pots as it grows.
You may need to provide additional humidity or mist the leaves regularly.
Grouping a pineapple with other houseplants can also raise humidity.
Potted pineapple plants can be moved outdoors once temperatures reach 68 degrees.
When the thermometer drops to 60 degrees F., bring the plant back indoors.
This insures a continuous crop.
Even though considered perennial, a single pineapple plant will fruit only up to three times before dying back.
There are three ways for the home gardener to grow pineapple.
They require cold stratification, are often not viable, and are difficult to germinate when they are viable.
Several ornamental cultivars are sold as landscape or houseplants that bear tiny or inedible fruits.
This involves removing the crown with at least one inch of stem attached.
The stem and crown are allowed to dry and then planted in a pot with well-draining soil.
Once roots develop to fill the pot, the plant is repotted into a larger pot.
Getting the plant to bloom is probably trickiest but there are ways to increase your chances for fruit.
First, though, here are the basics.
Light
This is a tropical plant that needs plenty of bright sunlight.
Grown indoors, indirect lighting is adequate, near a south or southeast facing window.
Pineapples need 6 to 8 hours, if not daily, at least on a consistent basis.
Due to the lengthy growing time, natural light may not always be sufficient.
Soil
A potting mixture on the acidic side with a pH of 4.5 to 6.5 is recommended.
It needs to drain well.
Water
Keep the potting mix moist until roots are well-established.
Once the plant is actively growing you could allow the surface to dry slightly between waterings.
Once a week is usually sufficient.
Water thoroughly and let excess water drain.
Never let the pot sit in water as this can lead to root rot.
Pineapples grow naturally in consistent humidity from 40 to 60 percent.
Leaves absorb water and nutrients somistingtwice weekly is recommended up to fruit development.
Fertilizer
Small amounts ofcompostworked into the potting mix before planting can promote root growth.
Once established, feed your pineapple once a month with a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer according the label directions.
Pineapples also benefit fromfoliar applications.
In fact, pollination produces seeds which are thought to reduce the quality of the fruit.
The key to fruiting is to coax all the flowers of the influorescence to bloom.
The flowers form individual fruits that join together to develop one pineapple.
The ripe fruits produce ethylene gas which encourages uniform flower production.
The bigger the plant once flowers appear, the bigger the size of the pineapple.
Types of Pineapples
Numerous cultivars exist but all are consigned to one of four groups.
Characteristics can vary greatly among types even in the same group.
Fruits of the individual flowers will have flattened out to form ‘eyes’ on the rind.
A ripe pineapple emits a sweet fragrance.
Use a sharp kitchen knife to cut the fruit from the stalk.
Leave it at room temperature until fully ripe before refrigerating.
a sharp knife, cactus or citrus potting mix, a 6 to 8 inch pot, and gloves.
Be warned growing pineapple can take a while.
Repotting Pineapple
Pineapple plants start out in 6 to 8 inch pots.
Your plant could grow quite large before producing a fruit.
Potting up is straightforward.
Turn the pot on its side and grasp the base of the plant stem.
Gently pull it from the pot and repot in a container one or two sizes larger.
Bring the pot inside when temperatures dip below 60 degrees.
Ants, sticky leaves or waxy patches on the undersides of leaves are signs you may have mealybugs.
Signs of mealybug wilt include reddish color or brown tips on the leaves.
Spray leaves with neem oil.
Yes, it’s possible for you to root a pineapple crown in water.
Place the stem in a clean glass of water with the leaves above water level.
It is unlikely a pineapple plant will produce more than one fruit.
Pineapple plants are considered perennial and side shoots can develop fruit a second or third time after initial harvest.
With plants grown indoors these fruits are usually quite small.
Better to plant another crown for a full size fruit.
A mature pineapple fruit takes two to three years when grown as a houseplant,
