Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
karate626

Picture of my planted pineapple top!

karate626
12 years ago

{{gwi:86914}}

Just thought I would post a pic of the pineapple top I planted. The fruit tasted heavenly! I planted it in a planter outdoors that has fast draining soil. It gets full sun in Ocean View Delaware. I hope the breeze and dryness doesn't harm it. I won't be back at my second home (where it is) until July. I hope it is a nice little plant versus a shriveled up plant when I come back. I will post a pic regardless in a few months!

T.J.

Comments (24)

  • blueszz
    12 years ago

    Keep us updated, would love to see if your attempt is successful!
    Nicole

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    12 years ago

    Is this planter going to be watered?

  • birdsnblooms
    12 years ago

    Was it first rooted?

  • amccour
    12 years ago

    I think pineapples are semi-succulent, it might benefit from a lighter potting soil.

  • karate626
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    The pineapple had little brown roots and little raised white spots (I promise it wasn't scale) that looked like a thing root will grow from of. I did this as a last minute thought. We were eating the pineapple and I thought I might as well try planting it. I found a old planter with a lot of weeds. I weeded it and placed the pineapple there. I then watered 3 times throughout the day to moisten the soil. If it grows roots I will buy a nicer pot and better soil. I left my beach home about 3 hours after planting it so it was a kind of last minute thing. There is a 40% chance of rain this Wednesday so I hope it gets enough to encourage rooting.

    T.J.

  • birdsnblooms
    12 years ago

    Karate, considering the pineapple was a freebie, 'purchased as an edible,' it's an experiment.
    It's not like you spent 30.00 for a Bromiliad 'pineapple.' Right?

    Bromilads are succulents, but when rooting they need more water.
    Well-draining soil is fine, but if a rooting/new plant is left unattended, I believe a little heavier soil should be added so it doesn't dry too fast.

    Hopefully, it will rain, like most other states in the country.

    If it roots, and you decide to pot, don't spend a lot of money. After fruiting, mom Bromiliads die.
    Most Broms send out baby shoots, which can be detached w/roots from mom,, then repotted.
    I don't know how it works with pineapples, unless it grows baby fruit, and the fruit is used as an offshoot.

    I hope when you return, your Pineapple is a healthy, happy plant. Toni

  • dellis326 (Danny)
    12 years ago

    I don't know if I would call pineapples succulent, They like things wet. There is a dry season where they are often grown but it isn't like it is when it gets dry here in the states. I have one growing in semi-hydro in a compost, pumice and wood chip medium so it is always very wet.

    I've also grown them in a bowl of water, out in my garden(which I let die in the winter)and in a regular soil/pot set up. The semi-hydro is the best.

    They usually send out pups before or when they start to flower, the fruit takes a long time to mature and then then mother plant dies but the pups keep going. Plus you can start out a new one from the top of the fruit if it gets mature enough.

    Danny

  • karate626
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks for the info guys! My Grandmother will be down at the house this weekend and the beginning of next week so she will water it then. I hope it rains this Wednesday and can tide over until then. It is kind of an experiment. I'm going to do this again regardless how this works in August when I'm down for almost a month.

    T.J.

  • puglvr1
    12 years ago

    Good news is I've noticed my Pineapples grow with out too much water. I don't water mine often...but mind you they do need some water to help them along. I've just noticed that they aren't water guzzlers. Best of luck and hope it grows for you!

    Here's mine that I planted about three years ago...I got one pineapple after about a year and half and these two(twins) came from the original plant...not bad from "one" grocery store bought top. These two fruits came about a little over a year after I picked the first fruit.

    You can see this has suffered from our few nights of winter freezes here and yet it keeps on growing. We hit several nights of low to mid 20's and all it suffered was some leaf burn. I do have it planted right next to a south wall of my house which I'm sure helped...but I didn't cover them.
    {{gwi:86916}}

  • Cricket_Love
    12 years ago

    How much did you cut up to the green? I would LOVE to try this!

  • dellis326 (Danny)
    12 years ago

    All you have to do is twist the top off the fruit rather than cut and pull a few rows of leaves off using a downward pull. 3 to 4 rows is usually enough, you'll see small white nubs under the leaves, these are roots that will grow when planted.

    Pick a fruit that still has leaves in the center. sometimes they get cut off at some point in the process of getting from the field to the store. A fruit that is mostly brown towards the top and yellowish(rather then greenish) towards the bottom is ripeist, Pineapples do not get any riper after they are picked but start to ferment, not sure if ferment is the right word but anyways, so if you wait to eat it they'll be more acidic but not sweeter.

    {{gwi:86918}}

  • birdsnblooms
    12 years ago

    Actually pineapples, which are Bromiliads, are considered succulents.
    One of my plant book explains why they're succulent, I'll have to read the chapter.

    Pug, your pineapple is soooo nice..WOW! The leaves look variegated?? Or is, what I'm seeing the angle of the sun, shining on the leaves?

    Danny..your pineapple is huge! It is on steroids? lol..

    I feel like running out and buying a pineapple..lol. Toni

  • dellis326 (Danny)
    12 years ago

    I grow it in a compost and bark mix sitting in water all the time and give it General hydroponics Flora Nova "grow" every 3 or 4 weeks. Planted in 5 quart paint bucket with holes melted through around the bottom and sides. I've been growing it this way for four years.

    The shelf above it is 3 feet high so I guess it's about 4 feet tall. Pineapples really need full sun and mine only gets about five hours a day so instead of flowering it keeps growing.

  • birdsnblooms
    12 years ago

    Danny, some people grow Crassula/Jades in water..How they succeed, I don't know.. :)

    A 4' Pineapple is huge..Did you start it from a store-bought fruit or nursery?

    The other day, our local grocery store had pineapples, 2 for 3.00. I don't care for their taste, but they sure make pretty plants. Toni

  • amccour
    12 years ago

    I've noticed that pineapples can *survive* quite nicely in lower-light environments, just don't expect them to grow at any appreciable rate.

    Also if it hasn't been mentioned yet, consider wearing gloves when preparing a pineapple top. The combination of spiny leave and bromelain or whatever it is incredibly bizarre feeling. It doesn't really hurt, but...

  • birdsnblooms
    12 years ago

    The thing about Bromiliads..When we buy them from a nursery, in bloom, it doesn't matter what type of light they get. But, when offshoots are removed and potted, in order for them to flower they need very bright light.
    Even then it takes 1.5-2 years to bloom..at least that's the time it took for my old A. fasciata to bloom.
    It probably works the same with pineapples. They'll do okay in shade, but if a baby pineapple is expected, it'll bright sun.

  • dellis326 (Danny)
    12 years ago

    Toni; It was the top of a store bought pineapple. I love pineapples and get them all the time, you should try grilling them. My girlfriend always tosses out the tops when I'm not looking because she doesn't want the house full of them. I hate to admit it but she is much more sensible about me filling our house with plants than I am. I would start getting rid of furniture for more plants if I could.

    Bromelain acts as an anti-inflammatory if taken on an empty stomach, Not FDA approved for that use but in my personal experience, it works to some degree. Bromalain also comtains protein-digesting enzymes and is used in many meat tenderizers so if you get pineapple juice and/or sap from the plants(it is in the whole plant, not just the fruit) on your skin you are potentially are digesting your skin. It probably bothers some people more than others but it's more or less harmless.

    Nursery plants are often treated with hormones, chemicals or ethylene gas to get them to flower at smaller sizes. It isn't how they naturally grow.

    Also, amccour is right about the spikes. I often wear a full face shield to tend to my other plants near that thing so it doesn't harpoon me. learned that the hard way. . .

  • birdsnblooms
    12 years ago

    Danny, toss out the furniture and fill your house with plants..lol..
    I'm sure your g/f would love that! lolol

    Think I had grilled pineapple, but that was long ago. It's not a bad-tasting fruit, just not my favorite.

    Wearing gloves is a good idea. Pineapples are hard to cut. To be honest, it's been so long since I've purchased a pineapple, I don't recall how to cut. Is the core left on or a straight slice along the top?

    Herbals are never FDA approved..Notice that? They want to sell high-cost meds..More than half that can make people sick, or worse.

    This conversation reminds me of Seinfeld episode where George goes to an herbalist instead of the hospital, 'to save money.' He drinks an herb, and his fact turns orange. lol Toni

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    12 years ago

    This thread has inspired me. Tonight's dessert = pineapple (with a little toasted coconut, rum, and coconut milk over 'nilla wafers.) Tomorrow's gardening adventure = "planting" the top!

  • dellis326 (Danny)
    12 years ago

    Cut out the core if you eat it raw, Leave it or cut it off if you grill it. The heat will soften it.

    Herbals aren't FDA regulated for medical use because there is not a way to insure potency of the product. Plants grown in one part of the country will probably not be exactly the same as those grow in some other place. the sun will be different, weather will be different and so on. Some medicinal substances come from the environment the plants grow in and not just from the metabolism of the plant.

    Extracts and derivatives from plants have been approved but if it can't be patented most of the "big pharmacy" corps usually won't bother with it because they can't get exclusive rights to it.

    purpleinopp; Twist the top off rather than cut it. it'll be easier to clean up to plant.

  • birdsnblooms
    12 years ago

    Purple..I don't know how many times over the years I've said, Gardenweb causes Plant Addiction. lol.

    Danny, what about herbal stores? Are they no different than Health/Vitamin shops?

    It's better 'big pharmacy' corps don't bother with herbs. Prices would be sky high.

  • dellis326 (Danny)
    12 years ago

    "It's better 'big pharmacy' corps don't bother with herbs. Prices would be sky high. "

    Yeah I agree with that!

    I don't really know what you're asking about Herbal shops. The few I have had personal experience with were smaller local shops and one Chinese natural pharmacy (not counting Whole Foods). Its an issue of consistency, if your making a tea mix or grinding up the herbs then there is going to be some variation from batch to batch due to variation in conditions the plants went through during the growing season and strain/subspecies. Take for example ginseng. ginseng from China is a different species then the ginseng from Wisconsin or Michigan. more or less they can be used for the same thing but they're different. Even Wisconsin ginseng is different than Michigan ginseng because the growing conditions are not the same and even from one year to the next, one could have a high potency then the year before.

    wait. . . weren't we talking about pineapples . . .

    Danny

  • karate626
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I think it's time for an update! So this pineapple was planted memorial day 2011 in a little white pot that had some old sand from the yard at my beach house in Delaware. I came back in august and it was looking rough, but still had some green and was bone dry so I watered it. I thought I would be back there labor day but that didn't workout. So it finally got brought in today. I can't believe it is still alive on Christmas in zone 7! The part I planted is mostly dead but it has grown 2 huge new pups. I will be planting it in the ground come spring! Here's a pic from early today.

    {{gwi:86920}}

    I still have to trim the frost burnt edges but I have to say I'm impressed with its growth. If anyone was wondering, it is a Valencia pineapple from Wal-Mart.

    Happy holidays!
    TJ

  • dellis326 (Danny)
    12 years ago

    That's pretty cool, I wouldn't have expected it to grow new pups. Looks like you got to it just in time too. Snip off that brown and give it water and sun and soon it'll be looking great.

    Take off whatever is left of the original head but leave the bottom end of it if it is still firm and if the pups do not have roots of their own yet.