Grow Your Own Magazine

I was watching an old episode of gardeners world this week and it showed how you can grow a pineapple plant from a pineapple tha you would buy. So I'm having ago. I went to Aldi as their pineapples are on offer for 69P and looked up these instructions off the web, so here I go .....Has anyone out there done this already with any results?


A. "First of all you need to buy a pineapple because it takes one to grow one. The easiest way to grow the plant is to cut off the crown (the leafy top). Strip a few of the basal leaves from the crown. Turn it upside down and let it dry for about a week so that the cut end and the leaf scars can harden before planting.

Plant the crown in an 8-inch porous pot using a good light garden soil with a 30% blend of organic matter. Tamp the soil firmly around the base of the crown and try not to get any soil in the leaves. You should fertilize the pineapple when planted and every two or three months thereafter with a good household plant food.

Patience is the key to successfully growing a pineapple plant. It often takes two years or more for a plant to bear fruit in peak growing conditions. The pineapple is a tropical plant so it can be severely damaged by freezing temperatures. During the summer months, the plant can be placed outdoors without too much worry. During the winter, keep the plant indoors near a sunny window. Water the soil lightly once a week.

Many people have had success with a pineapple house plant. One of the biggest problems is getting the plant to produce fruit. If the plant is two years old and has not flowered (the flower precedes the fruit), you can force fruit the plant by putting the plant and pot into a plastic bag with an apple. Move the bag to a shady spot and leaves it for three or four days.

Put the plant back in the sun. After a few months, a red come should appear followed by blue flowers and eventually a fruit. It takes about six months for the fruit to fully develop.

As you can tell by these detailed instructions, growing a pineapple plant requires patience and time. But the rewards of harvesting your own tropical fruit can justify the months of preparation.

Hi Helly
I raised a pineapple plant from the top of the fruit. I put it into a rockwool block rather than compost as I find it easier to control the moisture level. Make sure you trim right back to the core as any of the flesh left behind will allow fungus in and my first attempt failed as a result.
As the article said patience is the key, mine took nearly two months before the first sign of root development. Choose your pineapple carefully as some of the larger ones have lethally sharp spines all down the leaves (well maybe not lethal but have drawn blood on several occasions).
Finally the warmer the better once the pineapple is established for growing it on, and careful not to overfeed.
Good luck
Richard

Yep, got one sitting on the heated bench as we speak. As Richard said they do take a bit of time to get the idea.

• What I did was cut the top of and dusted with either flowers of sulphur or rooting powder - can't remember which, but it was for the anti fungal properties rather than the rooting property
• Sat it on a half pot that was 2/3 gritty compost and topped off with Cornish grit
• Put a couple of ties over it just to stop it moving ans stuck it out of the way so I wouldn't be tempted to keep trying it.

The centre died off in a couple of places and these were pulled off when I potted it up just before Christmas and it now has two "pups" growing from it and I just keep it warm and moist and weight for my own pineapple to form ...

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ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

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Pineapples also have seeds, They can be found just inside the out side skin, They are small so look closely and dig around, brown in color about the size of a the head of a stick pin.
I place them in a wet paper towel and put them in a clear zip lock plastic bag. You can see them germinate this way. Once they germinate plant them in damp peat and cover, keep warm.
They are fun to grow this way also.

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