How to Grow a Pineapple
A freshly harvested ripe pineapple.
Pineapple, with it succulent sweet sour juicy flesh, is one of the most well loved fruits on the planet, and has been so for a long time. For me personally, it was one of the most exciting things about moving to the tropics as a gardener, as they happen to be my favorite fruit. They take two years to grow, but the wait is well worth the effort if you have a long term space to grow them. I've had one freshly cut homegrown pineapple myself, and I can say without a doubt it was the best one I had ever had. Not only are they fun and easy to grow, pineapples make a beautiful addition to any tropical garden.
Pineapples have an interesting history as being a symbol of royalty. When I lived in Cleveland I read a great little book called "Pineapple: A World History". It spoke of how the rich use it in all sorts of decorations and how they served it at parties as a sign of wealth. It wasn't until I read this book that I began to see the symbol of pineapples everywhere, especially in wealthier or previously wealthier properties. The pineapple, because of how long it took go grew and how far they had to ship it to enjoy it, was a sign that you had a lot of money. If you had pineapple sculptures around your house, it was used to let everyone else know just how wealthy you are. The poor people in Europe would buy pineapple, one dried square at a time to be able to enjoy the esteemed fruit of royalty. For the most part, dried pineapple was the only way the poor could enjoy the fruit as it cost a fortune at the time to ship it fresh from the places it grew. At the time, shipping was slow and somewhat unreliable comparatively and half the time the fruit showed up rotted or nearly so. A race to cultivate it began in Europe, which was quickly accomplished by the Dutch, being known throughout history as the people able to grow anything anywhere. They grew it in hot houses and sold it at a premium price as it was the only fresh pineapple in Europe. Oddly enough, in more recent times, it has become a symbol for cannabis, maybe having something to do with Pineapple Express. The origins of when that started is unclear for me, but I know it has to do with weed and probably the internet. As a stoner, I'll say there's no better way to enjoy pineapple than by being really really high.
When we were driving through the farming areas of middle Mexico, we passed field after field of growing pineapple. They basically look like vast rows of spikey plants, some fields with fruit, some still in their first year of vegetation. The sight of this was exciting to me, as I finally had moved to a place where growing pineapple makes sense. When we moved into our house on our hill, one of the best features of the garden was a pineapple plant, as well as the banana trees. There was an almost fully formed pineapple, although it was small due to lack of water. That pineapple ripened in our time here, a couple months ago at this point but it's still the best tasting pineapple I have ever had. It was incredibly sweet, juicy and flavorful.
After enjoying the fruit, I took my top from my pineapple and planted it in a plastic two liter with the top cut off and holes in the bottom. It got a peat moss based potting mix soil blend. When I cut the pineapple, I started by cutting off the top spiky part with about a centimeter of the top of the pineapple still attached to the spiky top. I planted this, pineapple chunk and all into the top layer of the soil. After about 6 weeks of waiting and regular watering(not too much or you'll make it rot!), I noticed that there are white healthy roots in the container, a sign that I was successful in starting my pineapple plant. I'll admit this was my inspiration for this article, as I hadn't realized quite how easy it was to get the plant to start. Something to keep in mind is that while you need to water your pineapple top regularly, do not over water. Add water only if the soil is dry, if not let it be. I've actually tried to grow pineapple in the past, always overwatering and causing it to mold. Eventually, I'll plant the pineapple plant outside and in a couple of years it'll produce one pineapple, genetically identical to the one I ate a few months ago. While I'm sure the owner of my house was sad she didn't enjoy the pineapple she planted, she'll at least have another in a few years to enjoy.
This is my recently rooted pinapple top.
This isn't the only way to grow a pineapple however, as I've read about another one and intend to try it myself and share the pictures in this article. Supposedly being the more successful route than the one I just mentioned, this requires an old pineapple plant that's already been harvested, which is something that most people do not have. After you harvest the pineapple, if you leave the plant for a few months it'll start to grow starts, shown in the photo below, taken of my pineapple plant outside. Once it does, you break those off (Shown in another picture below) and plant them just as you would the top. You can get several plants off of one plant this way from my understanding and they should be genetically identical to the original pineapple as well. There's less chance of mold as well, something that I've learned is an ever present threat here in the tropics.
My pineapple plant today, with it's start still attached. From my understanding, if I leave the plant be I'll get a few more starts out of it.
Here's a view of the start a bit closer.
A slightly but still useful photo of the start after I broke it off bu before I planted it.
My newly planted pineapple start.
Once you have a rooted pineapple plant, it'll need to be transplanted in a spot where it gets full sun, all day if possible. Our pineapple was planted in our very sunny driveway, at the top of a mountain in Acapulco. Pineapples require a lot of sunlight and warmth to thrive. They are extremely cold-intolerant and don't do well in cold climates. If you live in the far north, I'm talking like Ohio or Michigan or something even farther north, you can still grow pineapple. You'll just have to do it like the dutch did, in a hot house or inside under grow lights with lots of warmth. This was something I attempted many times, without much success as I over-watered my tops and made them rot.
It is drought tolerant, although for bigger pineapples you must provide a good amount of water and nutrients. From my understanding, pineapple is a near desert plant so what is a good amount for basil is not necessarily a good amount for pineapple. Just watch the soil moisture level, if it looks dry and is so a few inches down(do this by inserting your finger into the soil), water it. Pineapple doesn't necessarily wilt like other plants(although it's spike leaves do somewhat curl when it's thirsty), so it's best to just pay attention to soil moisture...which I realistically recommend to do with any plant you grow. Our pineapple had been neglected for the most part as our house was currently only being used as a vacation house by the woman who had it built, she put in a large somewhat low maintenence ornamental garden, complete with banana trees, and basically paid her nephew to water every once in a while. This gives you an idea of about how much your pineapple should need.
You'll have about one year of vegetative growth, in which the plant sends out those sharp green spikes for leaves. It takes about another year for it to flower and for the fruit to ripen once it's ready, but is fairly low maintenence in that time. Much like artichoke and asparagus, growing pineapple is a long term investment as a gardener. I've heard of people growing them in containers, although they'll need more attention in terms of watering, nutrients, sunlight and warmth.
You know your pineapple is ready to harvest when 2/3 or more of the outside flesh is yellow. Wait until it is mostly colored for the best tasting fruit. Once it's ready, cut it at the base of the fruit with a knife and refrigerate until you are ready to cut it and eat it. It'll probably start oozing and dripping water as mine did, a sign of deliciousness to come. To a person who has never cut open a pineapple, it can be a bit of a daunting task, I know it was for me when I was younger. You start by cutting off the top, leaving that centimeter or so of the top of the pineapple for the sake of growing it. This can be done with any pineapple top, although you will have better success planting fresh pineapple tops. If you live in the tropics, you'll probably have better success with storebought pineapples than someone in Michigan would, but it's possible regardless of where you live if you know what you're doing. Cut off the bottom after, about a centimeter from the bottom to get the rough skin off. To peel the rest of the thick and spiky outer coat, cut down the side from top to bottom, just on the other side of the skin. You essentially cut the skin off, one sheet at a time until you're left with a core wrapped in pineapple flesh. To remove the core, as it is tough and not easy to eat, just cut just on the edge of the core straight down through the fruit, on all four sides till you are left with a square core and four big hunks of flesh to cut up and eat. If it's a really good pineapple, I'll eat the core like a corn cob to remove the flesh still coating it.
As a gardener, pineapple has been something I've always wanted to try to grow, as it's my favorite tropical fruit for sure. I'd recommend anyone with a spot of full sun that they intend to stick around for a few years embark on planting it, as there's nothing like a fresh pineapple. It doesn't even compare to what you buy in the stores, not even here in the tropics where they are farmed. I've bought many pineapples since being in Mexico and while they've been way better than the ones I've gotten in Ohio, none compare to that one pineapple I ate just a few months ago. I'll plant a pineapple here to replace the one I ate at least, but there's a good chance that one of these plants will travel with me to my next home, so I can enjoy another delicious pineapple in a few years. I know from here on out, pineapple is on my list of things to grow.