Post #16191 by traderfranks on Thu, Dec 12, 2002 7:32 PM

Pineapple plants are easy to grow, but equally easy to kill. If you don't plan on eating the fruit, then remove it and cut off the crown (the leafy stem at the top of the fruit. If the crown looks healthy than use it to start a new plant. The leaves should be green and the stem (core of the crown) should be firm. If the crown looks questionable, select another one from a store-bought fruit or look for healthy looking suckers from beneath the fruit or at the base of the plant. Remove all the fruit tissue from the crown and pick of some of the leaves from the base of the crown so that you have about an inch of clean stem. Then bury the stem in moist, but not wet, potting soil in an appropriately sized pot. You should choose a potting soil that drains easily because pineapple roots need good aeration. Water only when the sub-surface soil is approaching dryness. When you do water, water until you have flow-through (never use a pot without holes). Use a liquid fertilizer like miracle-gro at levels recommended for house plants and water the entire plant (leaves and all) because pineapples form adventitious roots in the leaf bases and these contribute to water and nutrient uptake. Pineapples appreciate bright light and warm temperatures. They need to reach a fairly large size before they will flower. Ethylene, a plant hormone, induces flowering in pineapples if they are large enough to flower. When you have a big plant, place a ripe or over-ripe apple in the center of the rosette. A flower stalk may follow in about a month. The fruit will not be large or of good quality if grown indoors. Commercial growers treat fruit with gibberellic acid, another plant growth regulator, to increase fruit size. Low indoor light levels will limit fruit size and sugar levels because photosynthesis will be limited. If you have any other questions send me an email.

Lono (Ph.D. in horticulture)
[email protected]
http://www.tikigardens.com