How to Grow Pineapples as Houseplants

If the neverending COVID-19 pandemic is starting to make you feel like the walls are closing in, try opening things up and welcoming the tropics into your home.  How?  Grow a pineapple! You might hear people talk about pineapple ‘trees,’ but there’s no such thing! Pineapples are plants, and you can grow them.  It’ll take some time, but if you’re patient you’ll eventually have a taste of the tropics in your living room!

Rooting takes a couple of months, and it’ll likely take two to three years to get fruit, but in the meantime, you can enjoy the spiky foliage and the fun of growing a tropical treat.  Here’s how to do it, courtesy the experts at Today’s Homeowner:

First, if you want to attempt to become the next Dole and grow pineapples, you need to first learn about them. Here are some pineapple fun facts:

• Pineapples are a type of bromeliad, which makes them a cousin to Spanish moss and the colorful bromeliads commonly grown as houseplants.
• Smooth Cayenne is the top cultivar of pineapple; that is, it’s produced by selective breeding. It’s spineless with striped leaves and low-fiber flesh.
• Pineapple leaves can absorb some water and nutrients; so can the plant’s roots.
• A mature potted pineapple plant will be several feet across and tall, and a mature plant will need a 5-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.

Now, Follow these Easy Steps to start growing your very own Pineapple Plant:

Step 1: Buy Fresh Pineapple

The next time you buy a fresh pineapple to eat, choose 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: Slice Off Pineapple Crown

Using a sharp knife, slice off the top of the pineapple fairly close to the crown.

Carefully cut away the rind and remaining fruit — it’s important to remove any fruit flesh that will rot later.

Then, make very thin slices in the stalk, until you see a ring of brownish dots. These are the “root primordia,” the unformed roots that you’re about to grow.

Step 3: Remove Leaves from Stalk

Pull off some of the lower leaves on the pineapple stalk, exposing about an inch of bare stalk.

Step 4: Allow Stalk to Dry

Set the pineapple crown aside for a few days to allow the wound to dry. Pineapples are susceptible to rot, so it’s important to dry out the cut end before planting.

Step 5: Plant Pineapple Stalk

Fill a 6- to 8-inch 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 6: 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 overwatering, 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 7: Wait for Pineapple to Root

It’ll take about one to three months for your pineapple to root. To test the progress, 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 8: 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-inch pot, using a rich but fast-draining potting mix.

After about a year of growing, you can move it to its final home in a large 5-gallon planter.

 

Okay, now that you’ve got it planted, here’s 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 bit of shade as long as there’s plenty of light.

Keep the plant away from freezing temperatures. During harsh winters, your might place it 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 difficult to get a pineapple to bloom, and it’s not likely to bloom or produce fruit for two to three 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.

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Photo Credit:  Fabian Melby / Shutterstock.com