Well that settles it. I will not be growing one. That seems like way too much effort for such a little fruit and then poof its dead and I have to start over. Thats the one thing about bromeliads that I dislike, after they bloom they die. Too me that seems like a waste of money and love lol. Thank you for your reply!!

Steve

It's funny, because that's one of the things I really like about bromeliads, is that after they bloom they propagate themselves. But then, I grow mine for the foliage; I don't necessarily care whether they ever bloom or fruit.

I agree, Mr. S. They are a never ending supply of color and interest.

I agree that they have beautiful foliage and that they have no problems propagating themselves. I like to take small plants are grow them large so they will bloom but if they die after it, its kind of hard for me to say good bye. I do have two bromeliads both of which are from shoots. They grow well and arent too picky but its always sad when they die.

Steve

The mother pineapple can actually send up a second fruit from... somewhere. It's referred to as a rattoon fruit. I think, so it's not like they die IMMEDIATELY after fruiting.

If the fruit you get from a pineapple is small -- like, baseball-sized instead of commercially-grown-pineapple sized -- it might mean the plant is too small when it flowers. I think three feet in diameter is probably the minimum size you can get normalish-sized fruit from, although I've heard some people say they need to be about five feet in diameter. Of course, there are also varieties of pineapple that just stay really tiny.

Also if you don't want it to flower and die, you could probably just keep it indoors most of the year. That'll really stunt its growth and it'll take forever to do anything. Keeping it potbound might not work, though.

Pineapples are pretty easy and I'm usually terrible with bromeliads. The only big issues are that they're sort of rot prone when not in active growth (they're technically succulents. The thing with epiphytic bromeliads where you fill the cup with water is not really a good idea with pineapples) and they need a lot of fertilizer when they ARE growing because they tend to develop some sort of mineral deficiencies. I think it's iron or something. Or at least mine do. It makes the new growth yellow and really narrow. You'll know it when you see it.

Also they can get incredibly sharp.

Thank you for all your help guys. I decided to grow one. I left the crown out over night and potted it up last night in a well draining mix. I hope it will root out, because they are a beautiful plant. And if it dies, it dies. Thats the nature of nature I guess. Thank you for your support. I will report and post pictures when i get new growth or a dead pineapple crown :)

Steve

Two questions:

Did you remove as much of the fruit from the crown as possible? Ideally, you just want to grab the leafy stuff on top of the fruit, twist, and pull it out. That's what you're growing. Also it seems to help if you slice off thin layers of the developing stem tissue till you see root buds.

Even if you cut the top off, it can still work. You just need to get all/most of the fruit off, because the fruit will start to rot which, in turn, can rot out the part you're trying to grow.

Second, did you use rooting hormone? Not helpful or necessary with all plants, but it makes a *big* difference with pineapples, especially if it has fungicidal compounds in it as well.

Good luck!

I have 3 pineapple plants in pots they now have suckered I think.

We actually started them in the house and then planted them in the ground. When we moved we dug them up and brought 5hem with us. I almost gave up on them because it did not seem like they were going to fruit. Them after 2 weeks of ignoring them there it was fruit beginning to grow. I love them every one that comes over is taken away by their beauty.

@plant_junkie, how about an update. I'd love to hear how you made out.