Pineapple plant ∗ The 10 best planting and care tips

Characteristics

• Scientific name genus: Pineapple
• Family: Bromeliad family (Bromeliaceae)
• Origin: South America
• Type: herbaceous fruit plant
• Growth height: 60 to 150 cm
• Flowers: cone-shaped, many-flowered
• Flowering period: July to January
• Root: adventitious roots
• Leaf: lanceolate, toothed
• Fruit: berry
• Use: decorative ornamental plant
• Hardiness: not hardy

blossom

The flower is the attractive centerpiece of a pineapple plant, surrounded by a lush rosette of leaves. Even in the early stages, the flower shape is reminiscent of the decorative fruit. The following characteristics characterize the flower of a pineapple plant:

• shape: cone-shaped to spherical with a tuft of leaves at the upper end
• inflorescence: spiked with up to 100 individual flowers, arranged in spirals
• bracts: 3 short, fleshy sepals and 3 longer, purple or violet petals
• inflorescence stem: up to 30 cm long, much shorter in ornamental pineapples

It takes a little gardening persuasion to get your pineapple plant to flower. The following video shows how the trick works:

Green Lifehack - Make pineapple plant bloom

root

A pineapple plant roots in two places. Because bromeliads are terrestrial, the main roots sprout from nodes at the base of the stem. These adventitious roots branch numerously in all directions. The roots reach a depth of up to 100 centimeters and spread laterally up to 200 centimeters.

A pineapple plant can also develop roots in the leaf tuft. These root strands grow from the leaf axils to a length of at least 10 centimeters. If water and nutrients accumulate in the rosette of leaves, the mini-roots pass the valuable goods on to the leaves, blossom and fruit.

leaves

The leaves of a pineapple plant gather in a sprawling rosette. The following features shape the foliage of an ornamental pineapple:

• Shape: narrow, linear to lanceolate
• Length: 50 to 120 cm
• Width: 2 to 7 cm
• Leaf margin: sharply toothed, curved upwards
• Leaf cross-section: crescent-shaped
• leaf tip: thorny, acuminate
• Consistency: thick, flexible

A crest of leaf-like, toothed bracts is enthroned on the ripening fruit.

fruit

The fruit of an ornamental pineapple is edible. One can argue about the culinary pleasure of consumption. The healthy ingredients in the yellowish-golden flesh of a pineapple are undeniable. The following table lists the data:

Please note: Eating an unripe pineapple is unhealthy. There is a risk of nausea and stomach cramps.

plant stalk

The growth of root from the leaf axils turns every pineapple tuft into an XXL cutting. Resourceful hobby gardeners don't miss this opportunity and use the stem for pineapple propagation for free. The following instructions explain how easy it is to grow an ornamental pineapple:

materials and tools

• 1 ripe pineapple (ideally unrefrigerated flying pineapple)
• 1 sharp, disinfected knife
• 1 glass
• 1 planter with drainage hole
• 1 plastic bag with string
• potting soil with pH around 5 (coconut soil, palm soil or cactus soil with sand)
• expanded clay,(€19.00 at Amazon*)lava granules(€14.00 at Amazon*) or grit
• charcoal powder
• Stale tap water or collected rainwater
• Thorn Resistant Gloves

prepare fruit

Take the fruit in one hand. With the other hand, turn the tuft of leaves back and forth a few times. If the stalk has separated from the pulp, pull out the tuft. Remove several rows of the lower leaves. In this process, you expose the shoot points of the roots. Use a knife to cut off the yellowish, fibrous remainder of the flesh, making it smooth and straight. In the last step of the preparation, dip the damp stalk in charcoal powder to prevent rot and mold growth.

root the leaf tuft

Let the prepared offshoot first root in water. This is beneficial for rapid root growth and a great experience for the whole family. That is how it goes:

1. Let charcoal disinfected stem dry for 3 to 6 hours
2. Pour room-warm, soft water into the glass
3. Put the stalk in the water up to the lower edge of the leaf rosette

Place the tuft of leaves in a glass of water on the bright, warm window sill at ideal temperatures of 20° to 25° Celsius.

Plant rooted stalk

If small roots with a length of 5 to 6 millimeters have formed on the leaf tuft, you can plant the stalk. To protect against waterlogging, cover the bottom of the pot with drainage expanded clay or lava granules. Fill the growing pot with permeable substrate and moisten it with a fine spray. Create a small hollow in the potting soil. Plant the rooted offshoot in it up to just below the first leaves. Finally, put the plastic bag over the pot, which creates a warm, humid microclimate. Ventilate the hood for a few minutes every day.

Plant an unrooted stem

You can skip the rooting in the water glass and plant the prepared stalk directly in loose, slightly acidic soil. In this case, we recommend a transparent planter so that you can see the growth of the roots. This procedure is recommended if handling the delicate roots on the offshoot is too delicate for you.

Location

The transparent hood has done its duty when the leaf tuft is fresh. The pineapple plant should continue to linger in its bright, warm window seat. The optimal location should be like this:

• Off-sun with 3 to 4 hours of sunshine in the morning or late afternoon
• Ideally on the west or east window
• On the south window with shading to protect against the blazing midday sun
• Warm with constant temperatures above 18° Celsius, during cultivation 25° Celsius

A high humidity of 60 percent in the immediate vicinity of a pineapple plant optimizes the site conditions. Avoid a place above the active radiator. Set up a humidifier. Fill the coaster with lava granules and water. The evaporating moisture simulates a rainforest climate, while the inorganic material prevents harmful waterlogging.

digression

Color Revolution Pink Pineapple fails

Maintain pineapple plant

A pineapple plant that you grow yourself is easy to care for. The following tips provide a compact overview:

Pour

Your pineapple plant benefits from an evenly moist substrate without waterlogging. The tropical beauty copes with short-term dryness better than wet feet. Always water after a finger test with room-warm, soft water. If in doubt, it is better to spray the leaves and let the soil dry for a few more days.

Fertilize

Add a liquid fertilizer to the irrigation water every two weeks from May to September. From October to April, extend the fertilizing intervals to four to six weeks.

repot

You should repot a pineapple plant every two years. The best time is in spring. Choose a spacious planter that will accommodate the sprawling growth of the leaves. There should be at least three fingers of space between the root ball and the edge of the container. Use a well-drained, slightly acidic, peat-free substrate.

hibernate

Your pineapple plant would prefer to spend the winter in its usual location. If there is an active radiator under the window seat, a change of location is recommended, far away from rising, dry heating air. It is important to note that the tropical plant is not exposed to temperatures below 18° Celsius in winter.

Dry tips - what to do?

If the humidity is too low, the pineapple plant reacts with dry tips. Spray the leaves regularly with lime-free water. Unfortunately, dried leaf tips cannot regenerate. Cut off the brown tissue just before the green leaf area.

Popular Varieties

Specialist shops have beautiful varieties available for cultivation as houseplants:

• variegated: decorative ornamental pineapple, leaves with ivory-colored, sharply serrated margins.
• baby pineapple: Ornamental pineapple in small format, 15 to 30 cm tall, fruit diameter 9.5 cm.
• corona: compact growth, colored foliage, fruit not suitable for consumption.

FAQ

How do pineapples grow?

Pineapples grow as herbaceous plants and root in the ground. The club-shaped trunk does not become woody and grows up to 35 centimeters high. Distributed over this trunk are up to 120 centimeters long, narrow leaves that are arranged in a spiral to form a sprawling rosette. An inflorescence up to 30 centimeters long rises from this vegetation cone. The cone-shaped flower consists of numerous individual flowers and looks very similar to a pineapple fruit. Fruiting takes place with or without fertilization as a berry fruit association with yellowish flesh.

How big does a pineapple plant get?

A potted pineapple plant is 80 to 100 centimeters high and 60 to 80 centimeters wide. The specialist trade offers small varieties, such as baby pineapples, mini pineapples or dwarf pineapples with a height of 15 to 30 centimeters, especially for cultivation as houseplants. The compact variety "Corona" grows up to 45 centimeters tall.

Harvest pineapple. How does it work?

You can recognize a pineapple that is ready to harvest by its juicy green tuft. The skin is light brown to orange in colour. The flesh yields elastically at the slightest finger pressure. At the same time, the fruit exudes its typical pineapple scent. For harvesting, you need a sharp knife and thorn-proof gloves. Use one hand to stabilize the fruit while using the other hand to cut off the pineapple and stem.

Are pineapples poisonous to cats?

There are different statements circulating on the internet about this question. We wanted to know for sure and asked veterinarians. Ripe pineapples are poisonous to cats in large quantities. If your darling nibbles on an unripe fruit, even small amounts can trigger nagging stomach problems and nausea.