First step

If you'd like to learn how to grow a pineapple that will give way a sweet-tasting fruit, then you've come to the correct place. This page is blocking full of all you need to know. But first let me put in a plug for my wife's photography web site where you can read carefully her artwork, and even download a print to put on your wall. Just click on the banner below, or if no banner appears. And if you'd like to support my site, just come back to this side and click on the Amazon link below to make all of your future Amazon.com purchases. Thank you! Now, let's talk about pineapples!!!Pineapple is one of the world's most unique and exotic steamy fruits, yet it is latent to grow it in a temperate zone under controlled setting; with the most difficult part of the development just getting it rooted. Although you may not be able to grow as large a plant as is grown on a plantation in Hawaii, the following in sequence should enable you to grow a healthy, good-looking pineapple for your home. And it makes a fun connections project for the kids! With some patience, you can even grow a new pineapple from this plant. It takes about two to three years, though, and even then some plants are difficult to get to construct new fruit. However, I've searched the web and have provided below the best techniques for civilizing your odds of harvesting a ripe & delicious pineapple that will fill your house with its aroma. To make full-sized pineapples, the plant will ultimately need to get about six feet across and six feet tall. But, you can grow it as an appealing indoor stand and even get it to produce fruit (albeit small fruit) without letting it take over the living room :-) Here is some interesting trivia about your pineapple. The pineapple is a member of the broadloom family. As such it is related to Spanish moss and some interesting beautiful plants sold in many nurseries. These ornamental are attractive in that they absorb water and nutrients from a water-tight reservoir formed where the leaves come together, or by interesting absorptive hairs which cover the Spanish moss and analogous bromeliads, allowing them to draw water and nutrients from the fog and dust in the air. The pineapple, however, uses its roots like houseplants with which you are well-known and should be easy to plant if you treat it like a normal pot plant that needs brilliant light.

Second step

There seems to be no perfect site given for the original unearthing of pineapples in the novel world. It is thought they may have originated in the northeastern area of South America, next to what is now known today as Guiana. There are quite a few different pineapples besides the grocery store variety. For example, an Mananas naan is one of the smallest, about eighteen inches tall and grows in a six-inch pot. One of the showiest pineapples is Mananas cerebrates, tricolor. When mature it is about four to five feet in diameter and about the same height. It flushes a brilliant pink at the base of its white and green striped leaves. It also has pink recur spines so caution must be exercised when functioning around the plant. Our profitable pineapple, Mananas universe, var. Smooth Cayenne is the one most people are familiar with, but only in a can, as a fruit. From the local grocery store, choose a mature pineapple that has healthy, firm, green leaves (not yellow or brown) and with a fruit skin that is golden coffee (not too green). Actually, I'd recommend growing two pineapples in the not unlikely event that one of them dies. At the very least you can pick the improved of the two plants to take care of to full growth. Also, if you find you have more pineapple than you can eat, just chop it up and freeze it. It tastes great! Inspect the base of the leaves for tiny grayish spots which are scale insects. If these are found, the coronet should be discarded and one selected which is free of these insect. Try to find one that is ripe but not overripe. Test for ripeness by delicately pulling on a leaf. If it pops out with ease, the fruit is overripe. Grab hold of the entire top set of leaves. Twist hard and it will come out with a bit of stalk. (If you cut the top off you will need to remove all of the excess fruit fleshy tissue, if not it will only rot and may kill the whole plant). Any adhering flesh should be trimmed off its base to avoid rotting after planting. After trimming, carefully slice small, horizontal sections from the bottom of the crown until you see root buds that appear as small dots or circles on the flat, cut surface (see picture). Remove as little tissue as probable to avoid acerbic into young stem tissue.

Third step

Next, strip off some of the subordinate foliage, revealing up to about an inch of the base of the coronet (the stalk will root but the leaves will rot - see photo). They will come off in sort of a spiral fashion. The idea is to bare the stalk. The minute brown-colored bumps below the leaf scars are root prehistoric (baby roots waiting to grow) and there may even be a few short roots at the pedestal of the crown (the image at right shows a crown with a lot of roots). Though these won't be the roots that will grow in the next step, try not to damage these. After trimming and stripping, let the crown dry out for a couple days before disappearing to the next step. This will consent the cut end and the leaf scars to heal and avert rot.

There are a mixture of ways to do this, but I have originate after trying several method, that the simplest is the most efficient. Place the crown in a clear beaker of water and change out the water every few days. Place the crown away from any temperature extremes (heating or cooling vents/hot south-facing windows). On top of the refrigerator will work. In three weeks you'll see healthy root growth as illustrated in the pictures at right. You're now ready to plant the crown. As an aside, I've been told that if you use a dark colored glass, like a red fake cup for example, you'll get better rooting. However I haven't tried this myself. You might want to try a clear glass as well as a shady glass, and let me know your results.  

Four step

After about two months, the pineapple should be at the bottom of itself as a new plant. Quietly tug on the plant to see if new roots have fashioned. If they are in attendance, they will refuse to go along with your tug. If absent, the top of the pineapple will pull from the soil informative the absence of new roots. If there are no new roots, reinstate the pineapple top in the soil and wait longer. If the base looks like it is rotting, start again with a new pineapple top, root it again as above and then use fresh potting soil. Repeat the development, but be sure not to over water. At this point you should notice that the novel leaves of the pineapple will begin to die and turn coffee, with new leaves beginning to grow at the center. Over the course of the following year, remove the unique trees as they die. During this time the pineapple should be watered no more than once a week. If roots have developed with the new leaf expansion, it is a sign that things are going well. After one full year of increase, report the plant. Below you can see these two plants one year later. Three coaching I've learned: 1) don't give up on your plant even when things are looking grim (the pictures on the right are of one of the plants that had rotted in the center; you can see two brand new sprouts that formed alongside the original plant.)I was about to toss it when I noticed the first sprout). 2) my plants ingrained indoors, however real growth didn't begin until I took them outside in the spring. With the next growing season they'll be reported as instructed below. 3) Grow two crowns as one will likely not be as muscular as the other. Then you can report the healthier one. You may also notice that I clipped the tips off of the plants as I think I left them outside too long, and the cold turned their tips brunette.

Step number five

The pineapple plant is tightfisted with water, require only about 20 inches of natural precipitation per year, if well circulated. You need only wet the soil once a week, and when the plant is within, it is best to apply all the water to the soil. When outside, spray the vegetation in addition to wetting the soil so that the cups at the foundation of the stand are filled. It is also important that it never completely dries out. Then again, it must never sit in soggy soil. During its growing season, it will appreciate more water than in the winter months. Fertilize carefully and only about once every month or so during the growing season. If using a solid plant food, scatter it on the surface of the soil and wash it in by watering. A liquid (foliage spray) fertilizer can also be used. Pour the solution into the base of the leaves and on the facade of the soil. Take special care not to pour the solution into the center of the plant as the young leaves may be injured. Follow directions under "small shrubs" given on the label of the products you use.

As house plants, your pineapple will be subject matter to a minimum of pests and diseases if given proper care. The pests most likely to attack your plant are mealy bugs, scale and mites. All can be removed by wash the trees with soapy water, rinsing after with clear water. Or, scatter with an insecticide. Be sure to follow the directions on the label when using insecticides. The only sickness you would likely encounter would be heart rot caused by fungi. In heart rot, the central leaves turn black and are easily pulled out of the plant. When heart rot occurs, the plant can sometimes be saved by heavy a fungicide into the heart (center) of the plant. If this stops the infection, a side shoot will start growing. This shoot will then become your stand and will eventually flower and form a fruit. Or you can remove it and begin a new plant.