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Index : Citrus and Other Fruits
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- 15. Growing a Pineapple Is Novel and it May Produce Fruit - Top
If you want to grow a tropical fruit and impress friends and relatives with your gardening prowess, try a pineapple. It's really not difficult to grow a pineapple plant, but to have it produce a fruit takes some know-how and a little bit of luck.
Pineapples are the most cold-tolerant of all the tropical fruits. However, damage to the leaves will occur at about 28 degrees. This means, planting them in a protected location and planning to cover them up on cold winter nights. Because pineapples really don't like our desert soils the best way to grow them is in a container. That way they'll get good drainage and you can use a potting soil that has the acidic quality they prefer. It also makes cold protection easier as you can just move the container to a protected location on frosty nights.
Pineapples can easily be started from the fruit you purchase in the grocery store. Choose a healthy pineapple with a robust set of leaves sprouting out the top. The small leaves at the very top should be well-attached. Give them a tug. If they pull out easily, move on to another pineapple.
At home, cut the top (the cluster of leaves) off at the point where the leaves meet the fruit. Next, pull off the lower, outer leaves to reveal the stem. Do not allow any of the fruit pulp to remain attached to the leaves.
There are two ways to root your pineapple top. One way is to place it in water and after roots form, plant it in a container with soil. The other method is to pot it and allow the roots to form directly into the soil. Either method is satisfactory.
If you use the water method, remove the lowest leaves until 5 to 10 larger leaves remain, along with the many smaller leaves hidden inside. This should expose one-half to one inch of stem. Place the stem in a drinking glass with water, so that the bottom half-inch of the stem is submerged. The base of the leaves themselves should be out of the water. Place the shoot in a bright spot indoors; but out of direct sunlight. Maintain the water level so that the base of the stem is kept submerged. Roots should begin to form within the next few weeks. Then the top can be planted in a container in well-drained potting soil.
If you choose to plant you pineapple top directly in soil, let the cut stem dry for a few days before planting. This curing process will prevent the stem from rotting once placed in soil. Remove enough of the lower leaves so that the amount of stem stuck into the soil is sufficient to keep the top from falling over. Make sure the potting soil you use is well-drained. You can select just about any potting soil, but always add perlite to lighten the mix. I recommend one part perlite to three parts potting soil, mixed thoroughly together.
Water at the time of planting and then often enough to keep the soil evenly moist. Use a moisture meter for best results. Locate the plant in a bright location. You can set it outdoors, but keep it out of direct sunlight and carefully attend to watering.
Once the top begins putting out new leaves, apply a water-soluble plant food, continuing on a monthly basis. Any general-purpose house plant fertilizer will do. Apply some of the fertilizer to the cup-shaped crown of the plant and some to the soil. After the roots are well-formed (usually about 6 months), continue applying fertilizer to the soil but not to the crown, as the latter could damage the developing bud.
Now, as to getting a pineapple to form; have patients. It could take 2 to 3 years for flowering to occur naturally. There is a way to speed up the process. Pineapples can be forced into flowering early if the plant is strong and vigorous. To do this, place pieces of an apple around the base of the plant and cover the plant with a large clear plastic bag. A dry cleaning bag works well.
The pieces of apple give off a gas called ethylene that promotes ripening and, in the case of pineapple, flowering. Try this when the weather begins to warm next spring. Leave the bag on for a week, then remove it. If flowering does not occur in three or four weeks, try again in the Summer. If flowering occurs, the developing fruit will take another 6 months or so to mature. If you don't at first succeed in getting a pineapple, try, try again. Some of the fun is in the effort, and if you're successful your reward will be even "sweeter"!
Written by John Begeman, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona, 520-626-5161.
- Updated: June 15, 2003
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