FroggyNoms

Growing Pineapples

I have been getting into gardening and decided to try growing Pineapples since I live in a warm environment. I looked up some information online and after a few failures I succeeded to grow several as seen at the gallery below:

Pineapple Gallery

- Updated September 2, 2024 -

If you wish to grow pinapple plant(s) there are a few ways to start them:

• Pineapple Seed - From seed will take the longest time to get to a mature fruit bearing plant. You will need about 3-4 years of patience.
• Pineapple Top - This is the easiest way to start growing pineapple plants and a relatively short growth period to mature fruit, but you still are looking at 2-3 years to a ripe pineapple.
• Pineapple Offshoot - Growing them from an offshoot should take the least amount of time, or so I have read. I noticed the first offshoot September 4, 2022, yay! This should take about 1-1/2 years to 2-1/2 years depending on how mature the offshoot is when you detatch it from the mother plant.

Pineapple Top Growing

starting from a pineapple top is the most common way to start. Here are some things I learned after three pineapple top failures:

• Top Selection - It is important to select a healthy top to start with. Avoid using a top if it has a lot of brown, yellow or dying leaves, been refrigerated, or if the center leaves can be pulled out with ease. I learned all those are signs that the top will fail to grow.
• Top Preparation - Once you have a healthy specimin selected, gently cut off the pineapple top with a clean sharp knife just above where it meets the pineapple fruit. Next you will need to pull off the bottom leaves until there is about 1in (2.5cm) of the center core exposed. You should notice some roots that have started growing inbetween where the leaves were attached, try not to damage them while you pull off the leaves.
• Top Drying - When you have the bottom inch exposed leave the top on a clean counter for the bottom to dry out for about 3-7 days while it scabs over. This helps prevent the top from rotting after it is planted.
• Planting the Top - Pineapple plants thrive in well draining sandy loamy soil, but I used a mixure of about two parts sanitized Miracle Grow cactus soil and one part course concrete sand. Other soils will work but make sure it is a well draining soil mix, because soggy roots equal rotting roots. Take a 4in (10.16cm) pot with good drainage holes and fill it with soil, making a hole about 1-1/2in (3.75cm) deep in the center. Place the pineapple top in the hole and gently fill in the soil around it. The soil should partially cover the bottom most leaves. Water the center of the pineapple top and the surrounding soil thoroughly. Place the pot near a window that gets direct sunlight and watch it grow. (Some places online say to place it is a glass of water that you change out often until roots grow, but I would not recommend this at all. Pineapple plants do not like soggy roots.)
• Plant Care -
  • - Water the pineapple plant about once a week, but do not over water. They are fairly drought tolerant so letting the soil dry out at least 1in (2.5cm) deep belore watering again is not a bad thing. The center of the plant and soil should both be watered. In humid environments water less often.
  • - Let the pineapple get at least 6 hours of direct sunlight each day, and once it seems to have taken root and is growing it can be kept outside.
  • - The ideal temperature range is 55-90F (12.8-32C), and growth will slow if above or below that range. Bring it indoors if the temperature dips below 40F (4.5C) for too long.
  • - In really hot and dry environments partial shade in the afternoon is a good idea. I also pour a little water into the center of the plant about 3 times a week during dry summers.
  • - You may need to suplement the soil with iron and sulfer occasionally and fertilize the plant with a balanced 10-10-10 feritlizer about every month spring to fall.
  • - As the plant grows repot it occasionally until the final pot size of around 14-18 inches in diameter.
  • - Trim off dead leaves or smaller leaves as it grows so that it spends its energy on the newer larger leaves. A mature plant will have leaves that are 1-1/2ft - 3ft (0.5-1m) long so make sure you give it space.
  • - If you have a windy location, either shelter the pineapple plants from the wind or secure them to wooden rods or metal stakes to help keep them from being blown over or the roots damaged.
• Natural Fruiting - After returning from vacation on January 1, 2023, I noticed that my most mature plant (grown from a pineapple top) started growing a pineapple flower without me having to to do anything. Yay! You can see an image if you click on the 12th image of pineapple 5 in the gallery. It seems like flowering is triggered by cold weather in mature pineapple plants. I picked the Pineapple August 13 2023! It was yummy!
• Induced Fruiting - Once the plant has 30 mature leaves it should be able to produce a store sized pineapple. In spring time around March or April you can force the plant to flower by gasing the plant with ethylene gas or possibly acetylene gas. Now if you don't have these gases at your disposal cut up several overripe apples or bananas (don't skin them) and place the chunks in the center of the plant and several crooks of leaves further down around the center and cover with a clear plastic bag out of direct sunlight for about 2 weeks to keep the gases in and around the plant. With any luck your plant will produce a flower and within 9 months you will have a homegrown ripe pineapple to eat. You will get the best flavor if the pineapple grows and ripens during hot temperatures. Since the pineapple is a heavy fruit make sure to support the pineapple stock as it grows so that it does not fall over or pull the plant out of the soil. Each plant will only produce one pineapple, but will produce several offshoots that can be removed and planted to produce more pineapples.
• Harvesting - Ripe Pinaples can be snapped off the stock and immediately eaten or let to sit for a few days before eating. The fruit is more crisp when eaten immediately, and possibly more juicy if let to sit for a few days. After harvesting, dig up the mother plant, remove any offshoots carefully to plant them on thier own and throw away the mother plant.

Pineapple Seed Growing

After 3 failed attempts to get a pineapple top to grow (and months before I successfully grew a pineaple top) I decided to try my hand at the slowest way to grow a pineapple plant and extracted 8 tiny pineapple seeds (only 4 germinated) which started a long journey where several times I could have sworn I was close to killing the vulnerable seedlings. If you wish to try your hand at this journey as well here is how I did it:

• Harvesting and Prepping the Seeds - Extract the tiny brown-black seeds from a ripe pineapple (they can be found about 1/4-1/2in or 6-12mm deep under the pineapple skin) and place them in a clear covered (the lid should not be see through) container with small bits of ripe pineapple and pineapple juice. Keep the container in a sunny location indoors for about 2 weeks as the juices and pineapple chunks ferment. Don't let it get hot, warm (about 80F or 26.7C) is what you are shooting for.
• Germinating the Seeds - After the seeds have been in the fermenting juices for a couple weeks carefully remove them and clean them of all pineapple chunks or juices. Place 1-2 layers of paper towel in a small clear container and pour just enough water in it to get them moist but not enough water to puddle (it might help to just drip the water in). Place the seeds onto this wet paper towel with about 1 inch (2.5cm) or more between each seed. Loosely cover in plastic and keep in a sunny window area (a fold over sandwich bag works good for this if the container is small enough). It should alow air flow so that it doesn't get to hot for the seeds but hold in the moisture. If the towel starts to dry out drip some water in until it is moist again. The seeds will show signs of growth within 2-4 weeks.
• Planting the Seedlings - After about 3-4 weeks the seedlings should be about 1/4-3/8in (6-10mm) tall and at this time you can place in a small container (I used 2 inch disposable plastic cups that I cut drain holes in) with well draining soil (or soilless seedling plugs), but be careful to not damage any of the fragile roots. If the roots cannot be easily separated from the paper towel just cut the section of paper towel under the seedling and transfer paper towel and all. Make sure the roots get covered by about 1/8-1/4 (3-6mm) of soil. Place the containers in a sunny window and keep the soil moist but not wet. It may help to keep them covered by a loose fitting plastic bag (I used a fold over sandwich bag for this) to keep in the moisture and create a humid environment for the seedlings. Condensation might form on the inside of the bag and you can knock this down so it drips back into the center of the seedling. Only add enough water to keep moist but not wet.
• Watch, Wait, and take Care - After a month the seedlings should be big enough where they no longer need to be covered with a bag. Keep watering as needed to keep the soil moist and the center of the plant wet but once again it should not be over watered. Add more soil occasionally to support the seedlings and prevent them from falling over as they grow. In roughly 9 months they should be big enough for a 4in (10.16cm) pot and be strong enough for being outside, in another 3-4 months they can be transferred to a 6in (15.24cm) pot, and in another 7-9 months transferred to the final 14-16in (35.5-40.6cm) pot to mature. Leave room in the final pot for more soil to be added as it grows. It should not need fertilizer for at least the first 1-1/2 to 2 years but you might still want to occasionally add iron and sulfer soil amendments or add worm castings.
• Trail and Error - As I mentioned at the begining I made several errors which had me thinking that I was about to kill these little seedlings several times. Sometimes I watered them too much, used fertilizer too early, kept them in the cold too long, or was a little too rough removing dying leaves. However, the little seedlings proved to be resilient, compensating for my errors in judgement. If you try growing them from seed you will have your own issues, but stick with it, make necessary adjustments, and with a little patience they will thrive and let you taste the sweet fruit of success.

Pineapple Offshoot

I noticed my most mature plant is growing its first offshoot September 4, 2022 and it has now become my 6th pineapple plant int he gallery. I carefully removed it from the mother plant September 18, 2022 and noticed it had already started growing its own roots, so I planted it in a pot of it's own and put it outside. I think I took it off too early. I have several other offshoots that I removed and planted after they had nine-inch leaves that are growing faster.