How to grow Pineapple

Where to plant

Plant pineapples in full sun in well-drained soil. They do best in moderately fertile sandy loam that is neutral to mildly acid, and they cope with sandy and alkaline soils if watered and fed. Avoid any spot that floods, as wet roots rot.

Pineapples grow best between about 68°F and 86°F (20°C to 30°C). Growth slows below 60°F and above 90°F, and plants die below about 28°F (minus 2°C).

• South Florida: easy outdoors. Plant tops or slips in a sunny, well-drained spot and cover plants in a rare cold snap.
• Central Florida: grow outdoors and cover plants on frost nights, or grow one in a pot you can move under cover.
• Hawaii: grows outdoors year round at low elevations.
• Everywhere else, including North Florida, the Gulf South, Texas and Southern California: grow pineapple in a pot and bring it inside or under cover before cold weather.

Choosing a variety

Most home growers start from the crown of a supermarket fruit, usually MD-2 (sold as Del Monte Gold), Tropical Gold or Smooth Cayenne. Older types such as Red Spanish, Queen and Sugarloaf are grown too but can be hard to find.

How to plant

1. Twist or cut the leafy top from a ripe fruit, keeping only the top 1/2 to 3/4 inch of flesh.
2. Leave it to dry in the shade for one to two days so the cut surface seals.
3. Plant it upright in well-drained soil or potting mix, just deep enough to hold it steady.
4. Water it in and keep the soil lightly moist, not wet, while new roots form. Slips and suckers from an older plant establish faster than crowns.

Watering and feeding

Water during dry spells. Plants in sandy soil may need watering once a week, but avoid keeping the soil wet, as overwatering leads to root rot.

UF/IFAS suggests a small amount of a balanced dry fertilizer every 8 weeks, starting with 1 to 2 ounces and increasing as the plant grows, with occasional foliar sprays of minor elements in the warm months.

Pruning and care through the year

A plant usually flowers once it has 70 to 80 leaves, after about 14 to 18 months. Cool weather or a dry spell can trigger flowering. You can also encourage it by putting ripe apple slices in the center of the plant, as the ethylene gas they give off helps start the flower. The fruit takes another 5 to 7 months to ripen.

Harvesting

Pick when one third to two thirds of the skin has turned from green to yellow and the fruit smells sweet. Cut or twist it from the stalk.

Each plant fruits once from its center. After harvest, keep one of the side shoots and remove the rest; it grows on to give the next fruit, called a ratoon crop. Plant the spare shoots to start more plants.

Growing in pots

Use a 3 to 7 gallon container with drainage holes and a clean, free-draining potting mix, and keep it in full sun. A bigger pot gives a bigger plant and fruit. In cold areas, move the pot indoors to a bright window or a heated sunroom before nights drop toward freezing.

Propagation and saving seed

Besides the crown, a pineapple grows offshoots called slips (below the fruit) and suckers (from the stem). These are larger than a crown and fruit sooner. Snap them off once they are a good size and plant them as you would a crown.