Pineapple Plant

The pineapple belongs to the Bromeliad family and it is a native of Brazil. It is also widely cultivated in South and Central America, Hawaii, Puerto Rico as well as the states of California and Florida. It is a tropical plant which is perennial that grows up to a height of 5 to 6 feet. The pineapple plant has long, spiky and waxy leaves with a short stout stem. Although pineapple plantations grow well in hot climates, it can withstand cold up to 28 ºC.

Pineapples needs slightly acidic soil for the fruit to grow and the most unique thing about them is that it can be grown as houseplants in containers. The pineapple fruit is oval or cylindrical in shape and yellow to yellowish orange in color. It is formed by the fusion of many helically arranged flowers to become a single fleshy fruit. There are many varieties of pineapple available and some of them are Smooth Cayenne, Red Spanish, Peranambuca, Natal Queen, Abakka.

How to Grow a Pineapple

Growing a pineapple is not very hard to do and you can grow one as long as you have a sunny balcony so that the plant can get adequate sunlight. The first step in growing a pineapple plant is to purchase a good quality pineapple fruit from the local farmer's market. You can opt for the Peranambuca variety as it has the sweetest taste and a very delicious flavor. When you purchase the pineapple, make sure that the fruit is ripe and the crown on top of the fruit is intact. Avoid buying a pineapple that has a rotten or moldy crown with brown top leaves. Now slice the crown of the pineapple and remove the fleshy part. Cut small crossectional slices from the crown until you see small root buds that appear as little circles or dots. Remove all the leaves that are adjacent to the crown and place the plant aside for at least a week, away from sunlight. Before you plant the crown, the cut end must be completely dry otherwise it might rot.

Prepare a mixture by combining 3 part potting soil to 1 part of sand. Now take a large to medium-sized terracotta or clay pot and make a small hole at the bottom. Cover the hole with a piece of porous material like a broken piece of brick. Fill the pot with the potting and sand mixture and make a depression in the middle to plant the crown. Water the plant once a week and place it in sunlight. Do not over water the plant or it will wither and rot. The pineapple plant grows very slowly, so do not expect to see it bearing fruit for about 2 to 3 years. When the pineapple fruit starts to grow, have patience and let it ripen. When the fruit grows in size and the color changes from a dull green to yellow, cut the pineapple fruit along the stalk with a sharp knife.

When you grow pineapple in this way, it is important to remember that the fruit won't grow to the size as normally found in a store. You should also use a good fertilizer every 3 to 4 months to get the most healthy plants. Make sure that you provide adequate drainage to the plant as pineapples do not thrive in "wet" conditions. Now that you know how to grow pineapple plants, get ready to plant them and enjoy the tasty fruit of your labor.