Pineapple plant

[Jay-Admin]

Has anyone tried to grow a pineapple plant from the top of a pineapple? I have one about a year old and was wondering when they start to grow a pineapple.

Regards,
Jay

[Jim K.]

I have two of them growing from the tops of pineapples. The largest one was planted in July 2001 and still nothing yet. I don't really baby it though so maybe if I fed it more or took better care of it, it may have produced something by now.

[Jay-Admin]

Hi Jim,

I have seen some pineapple plants for sale that are smaller than the one i have grown that had little pineapples starting to grow. I wonder if there is a trick to get them started? Just have to wait and see i guess.

Regards,
Jay

[Kyle Vancouver BC]

I found some at HD last summer, I bought one that had a pineapple about 3 inches long. Unfortunately, it didn't make it this winter.

[Jay-Admin]

I noticed mine is starting to grow a little now so hopefully it will grow a little pineapple this summer.

[Pazuzu]

The pineapple is a bromeliad, Ananas comosus. Its not really suited to outdoor culture much out of zone 8B. The green versions are less hardy than some of the variegates. Here I gorw the variegates in the yard but don;t mess with the greens...the deer eat the greens.

Being a bromeliad, the pineapple fruit is actually the edible bloom of the bromeliad, and in Ananas, also serves in some cultivars as the "pup". SOme cultivars will offset new plants separately, and with others, the offset must be taken from the fruit. In nature, the pineapple would fall to the earth and decay and the new top would root to make a new plant. In cultivation, you just lop it off and replant it. A plant that sets a fruit and blooms will then die. They only bloom one time.

[Jay-Admin]

Well now that you said that i don't want mine to bloom if it's going to die. It has grown into a monster now.

Here's a couple of pics from when i planted it to it's current size.







Regards,
Jay