Grow the pineapple plant yourself

In the future you can pull your pineapple yourself 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 growing and care instructions, you will learn how to do it correctly and how to successfully propagate your pineapple.

Characteristics

• Plant family: Bromeliad (Bromeliaceae)
• Genus: pineapple
• Common name: Ananas comosus
• Origin: South America
• herbaceous, perennial bromeliad
• 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 appearance as an ornamental plant and beguiles the senses with its fine, sweet fragrance. The needs of a pineapple can easily be met both in terms of propagation and cultivation, as well as all-round care.

care

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

Location

In general, the pineapple plant likes it light. It can be full sun during the vegetation phase, but should be avoided in winter during the rest phase. She cannot stand the hot midday sun in summer.

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

A substrate with a mixture of white peat and sand is ideal for the garden bed. In addition, substrate enriched with perlite optimizes water permeability and minimizes the risk of damaging waterlogging.

sowing

As a self-sterile plant, pineapple plants that produce fruit do not offer seeds. Pineapples that are exclusively non-edible sometimes have few seeds underneath their skin.

In the trade, seeds are also rarely offered, as it takes significantly longer to produce a ripened fruit when sown. 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 medium
• press the seeds about one centimeter into the substrate
• put a thin, loose layer of substrate on top and moisten the soil well
• put a glass or a transparent plastic film over the seed tray
• keep the growing medium evenly moist
• Once the new plant has reached a height of between four and six centimeters after germination, it can be pricked out
• repotting takes place when roots can be seen

Basic information when sowing:

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

Cultivation

A pineapple plant is grown with a conventional pineapple that you bought in the supermarket. When buying, you should make sure that the pineapple has fresh green leaves, that the flesh gives way to a minimum when pressure is applied and that it emits a clearly sweet smell.

Then proceed as follows for cultivation:

• Use a sharp knife to separate the top third of the pineapple with the leaves and pulp
• the pulp is cut so that the root systems are thinly enclosed
• the lower sheets are peeled off downwards
• Leaf tufts with stems are dried for two to three days
• fill a pot with a water drainage hole with a drainage made of potsherds or quartz sand
• use a substrate that is fortified with 25 percent perlite
• place the pineapple with half of the pulp in the substrate and press it 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 one or two days and moisten the soil
• as soon as the leaf rosette sprouts, it can be repotted in fresh substrate
• From now on, take care of the pineapple plant like an adult plant
• Growing temperature: at least 25 degrees Celsius
• Growing location: bright, but not full sun
• Humidity: 60 percent
• optimal cultivation time: from the end of April

plants

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

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

Repot

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

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

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

to water

Basically, the bigger the pineapple plant, the higher the water requirement. The soil must be kept evenly moist without causing 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 earth, there is still sufficient moisture.

• the irrigation water should be lime-free and lukewarm
• Rainwater is most suitable
• 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. Since the pineapple plant needs this for healthy and vigorous growth, it should be done by the end of March / beginning of April a nutrient and nitrogen-containing liquid fertilizer is administered every 14 days during the vegetation phase until around the end of October will. An additional potassium content is advantageous, while the phosphorus requirement of a pineapple plant is rather low.

Overwinter

The pineapple plant is not hardy, which is why it must be wintered and kept in a species-appropriate manner. The optimal winter temperature is between a minimum of 16 degrees Celsius and 25 degrees Celsius.

Since it pauses for 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.

The wintering lasts until around the end of March or beginning of April. From this point on, the pineapple plant can be used to higher temperatures and the brighter sunlight again. The pineapple plant can go outside when the outside temperature is constant at around 20 degrees Celsius.

Multiply

Since the fruiting pineapple plant in particular needs at least two years to produce a fruit To let grow, it is worth propagating in order to enjoy numerous pineapples for consumption come.

Kindel

The safest and easiest way of propagation is via Kindel or also called saplings. 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 the upper root ball about two to three centimeters
• Now cut off the child there with a height of at least 20 centimeters with a sharp knife
• seal the cuts with charcoal ash or sulfur powder
• use a substrate as described in the "Substrate" section
• use an approx. 10 centimeter large cultivation vessel or a pot
• fill the planter with substrate
• press a hole in the substrate with your finger so that it extends to the first leaf rosette after insertion
• Now put the sapling in it and lightly press the substrate on
• 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 place 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 roots 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 usually not very susceptible to disease. If these occur, they are usually the result of incorrect care, which are mainly due to too much moisture.

Root rot

If 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 yellow discoloration of the leaves. Often fruit rot is also evident.

Here, potting or digging out of the bed and removing rotten roots can help. If the disease is far advanced, the root can be reduced by two thirds, whereby also the foliage should be cut back accordingly to allow for new, vigorous growth force. The pineapple plant is then planted in a pot or tub that is filled with dry substrate. After potting, water the pineapple plant only lightly for the first few days before you can continue with normal care.

Pests

Mealybug

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

The mealybug is difficult to recognize because it is in the ground. As soon as a stage of wilting is noticeable, you should in principle react if you suspect the pineapple smear and in the first step the plant should be isolated. The pineapple plant should be potted or dug up and the roots should be sprayed with high water pressure.

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

sorts

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

Cayenne varieties

• which is characterized by its special sweetness, such as Smooth Cayenne, Kew, Hilo and Baron Rothschild

Queen varieties

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

Spanish varieties

• which are very fiber-rich, such as Singapore Spanish or Red Spanish

Pernambuco varieties

• from Brazil and Venezuela that have no fibers, such as Abacaxi or Paulista

Perolera varieties

• which convince with a strong flesh