Here is the complete detail about how to grow pineapple from fruit. Well, Pineapples are easy to grow as houseplants, and even you can start one with a pineapple crown (without any seed) from your own kitchen.
If you grow pineapple from crown then rooting takes a couple of months, and for fruit, you have to wait approx 2-3 years. Pineapples are able to absorb some water and nutrients through their leaves in addition to their roots. A mature potted pineapple plant will be several feet across and tall, and a mature plant will need a five-gallon planting container. It will take at least a year of growing to get a plant to this size. You can put the pot outdoors during the summer, but you need to bring the pineapple plant inside before the first frost of fall.
Follow these easy steps to grow pineapple at home
Step 1 – Buy Fresh Pineapple: While choosing a pineapple for growing, make sure to pick one that’s evenly ripe, with a nice healthy set of green leaves at the top. Avoid ones that are overripe or that have dead or sick-looking leaves.
Step 2 – Remove crown from pineapple fruit: When you’re ready to prepare your fresh pineapple, grab the base of the leaves near the top of the pineapple (Careful, the leaves are spiny, you might want to wear gloves.) and twist until you can twist it out, just as if you are unscrewing a lid from a jar.
Step 3 – Remove Leaves from Stalk: Peel off the bottom leaves to expose the bottom one-third piece of stem. Lay the prepared stem on paper towels and let it dry out for 4 or 5 days. Then it will be ready for potting.
Step 4 – Plant Pineapple Stalk: Fill a 6” to 8” flower pot (clay is best, but any pot will do) with a light, fast-draining mixture – such as cactus potting mix – or a mixture of peat, sand, and perlite. If you like, you can dip the end in rooting hormone before planting. Plant the pineapple crown about an inch deep, gently firming the soil around it.
Step 5 – Water Pineapple Stalk: Water the pineapple stalk very lightly, just enough to moisten the soil – a spray bottle works well for this. Put the pot in a bright window, and water the plant when it’s dry, just enough to keep it moist. Don’t use any fertilizer yet. To keep from over watering, some people put the pot in a terrarium, or in a lightly sealed plastic bag, to allow the plant to recycle its own water.
Step 6 – Wait for Pineapple to Root: It’ll take about 1-3 months for your pineapple to root. To test the progress, very gently tug on the crown to see if it is taking hold in the soil. Don’t pull hard enough to break the roots.
Step 7 – Repot Pineapple Plant: Once your pineapple has firmly rooted, it will begin growing new leaves from the center. At this point, you can repot the plant in a 10” to 12” pot, using a rich but fast draining potting mix. After about a year of growth, you can move it to its final home in a large 5-gallon planter.
Click here to know the Things you know about Terrarium before Start
How to Care for Your Pineapple Plant
- Plant Location: Your pineapple needs bright light or full sun for most of the day. It can handle a little bit of shade as long as there’s plenty of light. Keep the plant away from freezing temperatures. The large pineapple plant in the photos spends the winter in an unheated North Carolina basement, in a warm sunny nook created by a large south-facing window.
- Water and Fertilizer: Overwatering and overfeeding are the two best ways to kill a pineapple plant. Water only as needed, and feed the plant about once a month with a balanced organic fertilizer at no more than regular strength. Keep your pineapple plant lightly moist, and never let it become waterlogged or bone dry.
- Pineapple Growing Season: Your pineapple plant will do most of its growing during the warm seasons and will slow down when the days get short.
- Pineapple Blooming: Like other bromeliads, it can be very difficult to get a pineapple to bloom, and it’s not likely to bloom or produce fruit for 2-3 years. If it doesn’t bloom on its own, one popular way to induce blooming is to expose the pineapple plant to ethylene gas by enclosing your pineapple plant in plastic with a few overripe apples for a few weeks during the winter. As the apples decompose, they release ethylene which stimulates flowering.
- Harvesting Pineapples: Once your pineapple plant flowers, it takes several months to grow fruit. Smaller plants will produce smaller pineapples, but they’re just as yummy! Pick the pineapples when they are evenly ripe and golden yellow.
- Growing More Pineapples: All of those new pineapples can be rooted to make more plants. When you harvest your pineapples, look at the base of the fruit for small baby shoots. Harvest your pineapple carefully, leaving these shoots to grow a little. They can then be gently removed and planted in their own pots.
If you have any query about to grow pineapple. Feel free to write a comment. Thanks
