Has anyone ever started a pineapple plant from the top cut off of a pineapple? I started one last year and it is about 14" diameter now. First you cut the top (green) off of a pineapple. Then you remove several layers of the bottom leaves. The directions I found on the internet said there are air roots under the leaves 100 percent of the time, although they were difficult to see. I just rooted mine in water in a juice glass. The leaves set on the edge of the glass, letting just the part you want to root in the water. I kept it in the glass for a few months as we were moving and I just didn't get around to planting it. Then I just planted it in a pot with miracle grow potting soil. It is doing quite well now and I have a nice house plant for free! I think I will try another one this year. I was talking to someone else who did this successfully and their plant actually grew a small pineapple last year.
EJ has done that and with success too. Perhaps you could PM her, she may have some tips for you. Good luck with yours.
Do take some piccies of your pineapple plant for us won't you? I'd love to see your new free houseplant!! :-D
Hi desertflower, I usually propagate pineapple plants from their crown which is the top of the pineapple and had been enjoying the fruits for awhile now. When starting the pineapple plant from the crown, make sure to cut off as much as the flesh of the fruit as possible or else it might rot. Another way is using the suckers which is the shoots that appear after the fruit is harvested from the mother plant. Normally it takes about a year plus ..... about 14~18 months to flower and the fruit takes up to 6 months to mature. The wait is really well worth it. My plant just started to fruit and below are photos of the flowers. :-D Flowering Pineapple ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Pineapple flowers ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden )
Desertflower -- thanks for starting this thread. I hope you get a fruit eventually too. KK -- your pictures of your pineapple are so pretty. Are they growing outside? I think EJ grows in her solarium.... I wonder if one would grow as an indoor plant for half the year? How big of a pot do you think it would take? I have a very small house....
Wow, I cant wait for mine to bloom. That is really pretty. I started it last year about March so I probably have a wait yet. Thanks for the tips KK. I wasn't sure of everything to do when I started mine so I googled it and found instructions very much like the ones you gave. I left mine growing in water for 3 or 4 months because it was doing so well. I will take a picture of it and see if I can remember or figure out how to post it. I didn't know that pineapple was a bromeliad until I started researching it. This info I saw said bromeliads only bloom once. Does the pineapple produce more than once and if so, how often? Thanks again everyone.
wow kk! gorgeous pics! i have tried it but never got it to root. next time i was going to try using willow water to see if that helped. good luck df!
wow great pics and explanation of how to do it. I haven't tried it since I was a kid and now I want to go buy a pineapple and give it a try
Sound like a good winter project. I have heard about doing this but never saw the results. Thanks for the tips and great photo KK, I love pineapples, think I go get one too. Good luck with yours Desertflower.
Wow!! never knew that there were so much interest in pineapple here!! Luckily we all don't live in the same place or else the price of pineapple will just shoot up. desertflower please do post some pictures of your pineapple and yes all pineapples only bloom once. After blooming and getting a fruit, the mother plant will just wither away and a new shoot will grow which is called the sucker. Sometimes two or three of these new shoots will grow but is not common. daisybean I am not sure but I think one of those shallow pot of at least 1½ feet in diameter should do. My plant have a spread of about 3 feet and is about 30 inches in height. Maybe there is a smaller variety.
wow. sooo cool pics KK. never seen blooms. we have lots of pineapples at the supermarket but i never bought one. i swapped with a guy and he gave me a pineapple. same story, cut off the crown from a fruit, etc... mine actually got two suckers and the middle part died. we'll see if i can get it to bloom.
Here is mine growing in my conservatory. ( photo / image / picture from EJ's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from EJ's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from EJ's Garden ) I will take some more pics over the weekend as the fruit is now twice that size. This is the second time I have managed to get the pineapple plant to fruit.
