In the future you can grow your own pineapple at home and at the same time benefit from the exotic sight and fill your living room, balcony or garden with a sweet scent. With the detailed cultivation and care instructions, you will learn how to do it right and successfully propagate your pineapples.

Characteristics

  • Plant family: Bromeliad family (Bromeliaceae)
  • Genus: pineapple
  • Common names: Pineapple comosus
  • Origin: South America
  • herbaceous, perennial bromeliad
  • Growth height: from 50 centimeters to 200 centimeters
  • Flowering time: Depending on the variety from May to October
  • green, lanceolate leaves up to 120 centimeters long
  • self-sterile flowers

You no longer have to buy expensive pineapples in the supermarket, you can grow them yourself. All you need is a little sensitivity, patience and the right care instructions for young and adult pineapple plants. In addition, the pineapple plant beguiles with its tropical overall picture as an ornamental plant and bewitches the senses with its fine, sweet scent. The needs of a pineapple are easy to meet both in propagation and cultivation, as well as in all-round care.

maintenance

With the following instructions for self-growing and for the optimal care of a pineapple plant, every plant lover can enjoy this sweet-smelling plant with fruit, even without experience.

location

In general, the pineapple plant likes it bright. It can be in full sun during the vegetation phase, but it should be avoided in winter during the dormant phase. It does not tolerate the hot midday sun in summer.

At tropical temperatures between 25 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius and a location with a humidity of around 60 percent, the pineapple plant thrives like in South America. In addition, a draught-free location should be chosen where no direct heating air can affect the pineapple plant.

substrate

In principle, the pineapple plant feels comfortable in a substrate that is loose and permeable to water. A cactus substrate and palm soil are ideal for pot-keeping.

A substrate with a mixture of white peat and sand is ideal for the garden bed. Substrate additionally enriched with perlite optimizes water permeability and minimizes the risk of harmful waterlogging.

sowing

As a self-sterile plant, fruiting pineapple plants do not provide seeds. Exclusively non-edible pineapples sometimes have few seeds below their fruit skin.

Seeds are also rarely offered commercially, since it takes significantly longer for a sowing to produce a ripe fruit. Therefore, the demand for seeds is low and the supply is limited.

If you still want to grow a pineapple plant by sowing, proceed as follows:

  • soak the seeds in lukewarm water for about 24 hours
  • fill a seed tray with a special growing substrate
  • press the seeds about a centimeter into the substrate
  • put a thin, loose layer of substrate on top and moisten the soil well
  • place a glass or clear plastic sheet over the seed tray
  • keep the growing substrate evenly moist
  • if the new plant has reached a height of between four and six centimeters after germination, it can be pricked out
  • repotting occurs when rooting is evident

Basic information when sowing:

  • Best germination temperature: at least 20 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 30 degrees Celsius
  • Location: Light to sunny
  • Germination period: up to several months
  • Germination success rate: around 50 percent
  • optimal sowing time: spring

cultivation

Growing a pineapple plant is done with a conventional pineapple that you bought in the supermarket. When buying, you should make sure that the pineapple has fresh green leaves, the flesh yields minimally under pressure and a distinctly sweet smell emanates from it.

Then proceed as follows for the cultivation:

  • With a sharp knife, separate the top third of the pineapple with the leaves and the flesh
  • the pulp is cut in such a way that the roots are thinly enclosed
  • the lower leaves are peeled off downwards
  • Tufts of leaves with a stalk are dried for two to three days
  • fill a pot with a drainage hole with a drainage made of potsherds or quartz sand
  • use a substrate enriched with 25 percent perlite
  • place the pineapple with half of the pulp in the substrate and press it down lightly
  • soak the substrate until the water runs out of the drainage hole
  • around 15 minutes after watering, dry off the excess water to avoid waterlogging
  • put a clear plastic sheet over the pot
  • open the foil every day or two and moisten the soil
  • as soon as the leaf rosette sprout, it can be repotted in fresh substrate
  • From now on, take care of the pineapple plant like an adult plant
  • Cultivation temperature: at least 25 degrees Celsius
  • Growing location: Bright but not in full sun
  • Humidity: 60 percent
  • optimum growing time: from the end of April

plant

From constant temperatures of at least 16 degrees Celsius, the pineapple plant can be planted in the garden bed from spring to late summer. So that you can spend a good growth phase there, you should proceed as follows when planting.

  • dig a planting hole twice the size and depth of the root ball
  • remove root debris, stones and weeds
  • mix the garden soil with palm soil or a peat-sand mixture
  • Soil quality: slightly loamy
  • Recommended soil pH: 5
  • Planting time: mid/end of May

repot

When the pineapple plant grows beyond the edge of the pot and spring has arrived, this is the latest time to repot into a larger container.

When repotting, you should only make sure that the bottom of the pot is covered with a drainage made of gravel, broken pottery or quartz sand, so that no waterlogging occurs. Use high-quality substrate as described in the "Substrate" section and pot the pineapple plant in it so that the bottom row of leaves protrudes close to the top layer of soil.

Pour until excess water drains from the drainage holes. Wait about 15 minutes after watering until no more water runs out and dry the bottom of the pot.

pour

Basically, the larger the pineapple plant, the higher the water requirement. The soil must be kept evenly moist without waterlogging. With the thumb test you can determine when the optimal time for watering is given. If the thumb can be pressed at least three to four centimeters into the soil, there is still sufficient moisture.

  • the irrigation water should be lime-free and lukewarm
  • Rainwater is best
  • For watering, the leaves should also be sprayed with lukewarm water every two to three days
  • When watering and spraying, make sure that no water gets into the leaf rosette

Fertilize

Due to the high soil moisture, existing nutrients are quickly lost. However, since the pineapple plant needs this for healthy and vigorous growth, a nutrient and nitrogenous liquid fertilizer should be administered every 14 days during the vegetation phase from the end of March/beginning of April until around the end of October. An additional potassium content is an advantage, while the phosphorus requirement of a pineapple plant is rather low.

hibernate

The pineapple plant is not hardy, which is why it has to overwinter and be kept appropriate to the species. The optimum temperature for wintering is between a minimum of 16 degrees Celsius and 25 degrees Celsius.

Since it takes a break from growth over the winter months, it only needs a little water and no fertilizer. She feels most comfortable in a bright window seat, where, however, no heating air should rise. This causes increased air dryness and the root ball must not dry out even during the winter.

Hibernation lasts until about the end of March or beginning of April. From this point on, the pineapple plant can be evenly accustomed to higher temperatures and brighter sunlight. From a constant outside temperature of around 20 degrees Celsius, the pineapple plant can go outside.

multiply

Since the fruit-bearing pineapple plant in particular needs at least two years to grow a fruit, it is worth propagating in order to enjoy numerous pineapples for consumption.

child

The safest and easiest way of propagation is via Kindel or also called scions. These are already finished child plants that grow regularly on the mother plant. To turn them into a full-fledged and strong pineapple plant.

Proceed as follows:

  • expose about two to three centimeters of the upper root ball
  • use a sharp knife to cut off the child with a height of at least 20 centimetres
  • seal the cuts with charcoal ash or sulfur powder
  • use a substrate as described in the "Substrate" section
  • use a seed pot or pot about 10 centimeters tall
  • fill the plant container with substrate
  • press a hole in the substrate with your finger so that it reaches to the first rosette of leaves after insertion
  • now place the seedling in it and lightly press the substrate
  • water the sapling moderately with lime-free water
  • stretch a transparent plastic film over the plant container
  • place the new plant in a warm, bright spot out of direct sunlight
  • open the plastic wrap every eight to ten weeks and moisten the soil with lukewarm, lime-free water
  • as soon as the first rooting can be seen, it can be repotted
  • after repotting, the plant is cared for like an adult plant and receives its first nutrient fertilizer
  • optimal propagation time: May/June

Diseases

Pineapple plants are generally not very susceptible to diseases. If these occur, these are usually the result of incorrect care, which are mainly due to too much moisture.

root rot

When a pineapple plant is kept too moist or exposed to waterlogging, root rot usually occurs. This draws attention to itself with decreasing stability of leaves and trunk, as well as yellowing of the leaves. Often there is also fruit rot.

A stuffing or digging out of the bed and removing rotten root parts helps here. If the disease is far advanced, the root can be reduced by two thirds, and the foliage should also be cut back accordingly to encourage new, vigorous growth. The pineapple plant is then planted in a pot or bucket filled with dry substrate. After potting, water the pineapple plant only slightly in the first few days before you can continue with the normal care.

pests

mealybug

A typical pest infestation for pineapple plants is the so-called pineapple mealybug. It is the cause of pineapple wilt and kills the plant by sucking on the roots.

The mealybug is difficult to recognize because it is in the ground. As soon as a wilting stage is noticed, the pineapple smear should be reacted to if there is suspicion and the plant should be isolated as a first step. The pineapple plant has to be potted out or dug up and the roots have to be sprayed off with high water pressure.

Allow the plant to drain for a few hours and then pot it in dry, fresh, nutrient-rich substrate. The plant usually recovers within a few weeks and can be cared for as usual.

sorts

Numerous strains are available, although only a few are grown for commercial use. Basically, it is divided into five groups of varieties.

Cayenne varieties

  • characterized by their special sweetness, such as Smooth Cayenne, Kew, Hilo and Baron Rothschild

Queen strains

  • which are smaller than Cayenne varieties and have only a few fibers, such as Natal Queen or Ripley Queen

Spanish varieties

  • that are very high in fiber, such as Singapore Spanish or Red Spanish

Pernambuco varieties

  • from Brazil and Venezuela that do not have fibers, such as Abacaxi or Paulista

Perolera varieties

  • which convince with a strong pulp

Category:

Garden plants