How to grow pineapple - a tropical exotic at home. How to plant a pineapple from the top at home How to properly cut off the top of a pineapple to plant

28.10.2023

Hobbyists successfully grow a wide variety of plants at home, including exotic ones. It's not too difficult to grow pineapple. You just need to properly prepare and plant its green top, and then provide the plant with appropriate care. And in order to do everything correctly, it is better to follow the step-by-step instructions with videos and photos exactly.

A blooming or fruiting pineapple looks very unusual in the interior. His appearance evokes admiration and even some surprise. In ordinary home conditions, it is not found very often, although many gardeners are interested in trying to grow it. With proper care, this exotic plant takes root well in an apartment. Under favorable conditions, after 2.5-3 years it can bloom and begin to bear fruit.

To plant pineapple in apartment conditions, use the green top of the fruit. For an experienced gardener, in principle, there is nothing complicated in this process. You just need to properly root the apical part of the plant. But in order for your attempt to plant an exotic plant to be a success, you need to pay attention to the following points:

correct choice of fruit;
careful preparation of planting material;
planting the green top in the ground.

With good care, pineapple can bear fruit at home

If everything is done correctly, the top will take root in the ground. In the future, when the plant takes root, it will need to be provided with appropriate care so that it grows and develops normally. If conditions are favorable for the pineapple, in a few years it will bloom and bear fruit. They are edible, but will be smaller in size than plants in their natural environment.

Choosing a fruit for planting

The correct choice of fruit is of great importance for successful planting of pineapple. It must be ripe, without rot or damage. Unripe or overripe fruits are not suitable for planting. But special attention should be paid to the green top of the pineapple, because it is what is used for rooting.

The apical part should be strong and healthy, without any signs of rotting, and the leaves on it should be fresh, rich green in color, without brown spots. If the foliage on the fruit is limp or has begun to dry out, then it is better to put that fruit aside and choose another, healthier one.

Attention! For planting pineapple, it is preferable to use fruits purchased in spring or summer. Those purchased in winter may become frostbitten, and such planting material is no longer suitable for cultivation.

If you have any doubts when choosing a pineapple for planting, it is better to buy two fruits at once, but take them from different stores. So the likelihood that at least one of them will be suitable will be much higher. And many gardeners do just that, then root two tops at once, with the expectation that if not both, then one will definitely take root.

Preparing the top of a pineapple for rooting

After purchasing a pineapple, the fruit itself can be used for its intended purpose, that is, eaten. For rooting, you only need its top with leaves. It must be carefully separated from the fruit itself. You can do this in one of two ways:

Pineapple top for planting

unscrew the top;
cut the apical part from the fruit.

If the pineapple is ripe, the top part twists out quite easily. To do this, you need to take the fruit itself with one hand, and with the other, grab its green top and start twisting it. It is necessary to hold it by the place closer to the base, and not by the leaves, so as not to damage them. Too much force applied when unscrewing can damage the apical part. Therefore, if it is not possible to separate it from the fruit in this way, it is better to act differently - cut out the green top.

To cut out the top, use a sharp knife, holding it at an angle of 45 degrees. Having carefully separated it from the fruit with a tool, you then need to carefully peel off the pulp, otherwise the top may rot in the future. You just need to act extremely carefully so as not to accidentally damage the points on it from which roots will then grow. With either method of separating the top, you will then need to remove the lower leaves by about 3-4 cm.

The apical part prepared in this way is often rooted in warm and settled water, using a container of suitable size, preferably made of dark glass. The top is lowered into the liquid with its bare part, placing the container with the plant in a warm and well-lit place, but not in the sun. The water is changed regularly, every 2-3 days. Roots should appear within a few days. When they grow to 2-3 mm, the plant can be planted in the ground.

Landing in the ground

To plant the top, you need to take a fairly large container with a height of 20-30 cm and a diameter of about 30-35 cm. If such a pot is not at hand, you can first plant the top in a smaller container, and only then, as the plant grows, move it to more suitable. At the bottom you need to lay out a drainage layer of expanded clay or pebbles, and on top of it fill the pot with nutritious soil, leaving some distance to the edge.

Stages of planting a pineapple

To moisturize and additionally disinfect the soil, it is better to pour boiling water or a solution of potassium permanganate well. About a day or two after this, pineapple can be planted in such prepared soil.

Advice. For planting, you can use ready-made purchased soil intended for bromeliads, or prepare the soil for pineapple yourself from humus, peat and river sand in equal proportions.

In properly prepared soil, make a hole slightly larger than the cutting of the top of the pineapple, lower it along the lower leaves and press the soil around it. To protect the roots from rotting, you can additionally add a little ash or crushed coal to the hole. The plant is placed in a warm, illuminated place, avoiding direct sunlight. At a temperature of 25-27 degrees, the top will take root in the ground within 1.5-2 months.

In summer, the pineapple can be placed on the balcony, protected from the rain. In autumn and winter it is usually kept on the windowsill or close to the window. But at the same time, you need to pay attention to ensure that it is not in a draft. Caring for the plant will consist of regular watering, only without excessive waterlogging of the soil, spraying and wiping off dust from the leaves, and fertilizing every 1-2 months.

A blooming pineapple or a plant with fruit set looks very beautiful in the house. It can become a real decoration of any flower collection. Even a novice gardener can grow it on his own from the green top, because there are no big difficulties in this process, especially if you follow the instructions.

Growing Pineapple: Video

Usually in our area we are used to buying pineapples in supermarkets or markets. But did you know that with patience, you can grow pineapple at home? It turns out that this is not at all as difficult as it might seem. There are two main ways.

How to grow pineapple at home from seeds

This method of growing pineapple is considered quite complex and time-consuming. It is important to know that only purchased seeds are suitable for this purpose, because those pineapples that are sold in supermarkets either do not contain them at all, or the seeds in them are immature and absolutely unsuitable for germination. Therefore, in order to purchase high-quality seeds, you need to order them or buy them in specialized stores. In addition, the method of growing pineapple from seeds will take you from 5 to 8 years, which is not profitable in every sense.

How to grow a pineapple from a cut top

It is much easier to grow a pineapple from the top of a mature fruit. We will stop at this option and look at everything step by step, since at home this is the easiest method, which in 90% of cases will lead to successful cultivation of pineapple.

So, first you need to choose the right fruit, since this will determine what the final result will be. When shopping, you should not rush and do not take the first pineapple you come across. Pay attention to the peel - it should be golden yellow. Pay special attention to inspecting the apex of the fetus. Its leaves should be undamaged, green, hard and elastic. To experiment, take one of the inner leaves with two fingers and lightly pull it towards you. If the fruit is of high quality and ripe, then the leaf will smoothly return to its place. Under no circumstances buy a pineapple whose leaves are frozen, dry or stained - most likely, nothing will grow from such a fruit. The best time to buy fruit is summer or the first half of autumn.

Now you need to carefully separate the top of the pineapple from the rest of the fruit. It can be carefully unscrewed if the fruit is soft and ripe enough. But twist it in such a way that a small inner stem is preserved. Or, if you want, you can cut off the green “tuft” with a knife, but so as not to damage the inner stem - leave it about three centimeters. Then clean off the excess pulp to prevent it from rotting, and place the resulting top in a dry place to dry for about two weeks.

The next stage is root germination. If at this stage something goes wrong, you will no longer be able to grow a pineapple from the top, so it is better to prepare 2-3 tops for germination at the same time.

Experts advise germinating roots in ordinary water, preferably settled water. A dark glass jar works very well as a container. Secure the top of the pineapple over the jar so that its lower part is immersed in water by about three to four centimeters. Place the jar in a warm but well-lit place, and so that there are no drafts, the ideal place is on the windowsill, since there is light and heat from the radiator nearby. Do not forget to change the water in the jar every two to three days, otherwise it will quickly become cloudy and acquire an unpleasant odor. Monitor the process periodically, in about a week the roots should sprout, and when they reach a length of about three millimeters, the top can be planted in the ground.

Next, after the roots appear, you need to grow the pineapple in a pot. A container with drainage is best so that excess moisture does not remain in the pot. The diameter of the container should be wider than the diameter of the green top of the pineapple. Place a layer of expanded clay or drainage pebbles at the bottom of the pot, and fill it with specially prepared soil on top. You can make a suitable soil yourself by mixing peat with coarse river sand in a 1:1 ratio. However, you can also buy ready-made mixtures in stores. A couple of days before planting, pour boiling water over the soil in the pot generously (but in moderation) - this will disinfect the soil and create the degree of humidity necessary for growth.

When everything is ready, for the subsequent cultivation of pineapple from the top, it is necessary to plant the “tuft” in the ground, after making sure that the roots have sprouted sufficiently. Plant it so that only the top and leaves remain above the soil, and the entire lower part with roots should be in the ground. After planting, lightly compact the soil around the plant, water it and cover with a glass jar or transparent polyethylene. Then place the pot in a warm, well-lit area in your home. It is recommended that the air temperature be on average +25°C. Use enough water for irrigation so that all the soil in the pot is moist, but not excessively. Usually watered 1-2 times a week.

It will take 2 months for the plant to fully root. All this time, watch the seedling: ventilate the room, make sure there is enough sunlight and the temperature is maintained. Dying leaves from the “tuft” must be carefully removed, and the emerging young leaves in the center should be lightly sprayed with warm water. For irrigation, it is better to use melted water or boiled water. Water temperature - no more than +30°C. You can add just a little citric acid to the water.

After two months, the plant will be well rooted and should be transplanted into a larger pot so that the root system has enough space to grow properly. Covering the top with a cap or polyethylene is no longer necessary. Repeat this procedure every year, eventually increasing the volume of the pot to three liters.

In summer, you can keep the plant on the balcony, but in a place protected from rain. A home garden greenhouse is also suitable. Make sure there is always enough light and the soil in the pot does not become dry. During the growing season (from February to September), it is necessary to feed the plant with mineral fertilizers once or twice a month, and treat the leaves with iron sulfate by spraying. In cold autumn and winter, you can keep the pineapple on the windowsill, but do not let the plant freeze and avoid drafts.

After about 2 years, the first flowers should appear. If there are no ovaries by this time, use the following recommendation: prepare an aqueous solution of ethylene to feed the plant. The solution is prepared as follows: dissolve one teaspoon of carbide in half a liter of water and leave to brew for one day. Then pour the solution into a clean container so that the sediment remains the same. Water the pineapple with this solution every day at the rate of 50 milligrams of liquid at a time. Fumigating the plant with smoke from burning coals also stimulates the flowering process well. You can do this procedure twice with an interval of 10 days.

During the flowering period, the apical rosette will grow and root buds will appear in it. Each root bud must be carefully separated from the plant - it is also capable of blooming and bearing fruit, so it should be transplanted into the ground, each separately. After flowering, do not forget to remove old, dried leaves. If the plant has grown well and abundantly, then the fruit can be quite large. The ripening period for the fetus is usually four to six months.

As you can see, growing a pineapple from the top at home is not so easy, but the process is quite easy to master. By carefully observing all the conditions, in about three years you will be able to have your own pineapple plantation, which will definitely surprise your friends and acquaintances!

Video on how to grow a pineapple at home from the top

A lover of exotic plants will at least once think of growing a pineapple with his own hands. Not every gardener knows how to grow a pineapple at home from the top, creating comfortable conditions for it to grow and bear fruit in a city apartment or house. In fact, this is quite feasible for a person who does not have much experience in growing plants.

How to plant pineapple at home?

To figure out how to plant a pineapple at home and how to grow it, you need to know what natural conditions are familiar to it. Pineapple is a herbaceous plant of dry and warm plains, similar to a bush with hard leaves, from the center of which a peduncle grows. The fruit that we usually see on supermarket shelves is set on it.

Planting pineapple at home can occur in several ways:

“palm” (apical leaves) of a ripe pineapple;
“babies” (side shoots) from an adult plant;
seeds.

Pineapple is capable of producing lateral shoots. You can plant them directly in a pot with suitable soil and grow a pineapple from them. It’s fair to say that you still need to find someone from whom you can get hold of such “babies,” because not everyone grows pineapples on their windowsill! Is it possible to grow a pineapple from the top? Without a doubt, it is possible! Buy a ripe pineapple, separate this “palm” from it, plant it in the ground, and eat the pineapple to your heart’s content.

How to plant a pineapple from the top?

Before you can admire your own pineapple on the windowsill, you should learn how to grow a pineapple without making mistakes. First you need to find a suitable pineapple for sale for this purpose. It is better to buy pineapple for planting material in summer or early autumn. The fruit should be ripe and exude a delicate aroma, its peel should be golden in color, its leaves should be green and elastic. Do not take a pineapple if its leaves are dried out or frostbitten, have a gray “dusty” color, or have spots (which may indicate damage by pests).

How to trim a pineapple for planting?

The easiest way to prepare planting material is to literally unscrew the “tuft” of leaves from the fruit. Algorithm of actions:

Wear gloves to protect your hands from the thorny leaves.
Cover all the leaves tightly with the fingers of one hand closer to the base.
Hold the fruit firmly with your other hand.
Slowly but firmly turn the top, as if you were removing a screw.

It is important not to overdo it here. The top of a ripe fruit should come out without any problems, but if that doesn’t work, it can be cut out with a sharp, clean knife. Here's how to properly trim a pineapple:

Stepping back 4-5 cm from the tuft, make a cut.
Holding the knife at 45°, cut out the leaves along with the root base from the pulp. Don't damage the core!
Make sure that the pulp is completely cleared from the root, otherwise the rotting process will begin when planting.

Sprouting pineapple begins with preparing the top. The easiest way to grow a pineapple at home from the top:

Remove the lower leaves (2-3 cm), exposing the growth points of future roots on the plant trunk. Then, when you plan to put the tuft directly into water, you can not dry it, but pre-treat it with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
As a vessel for germinating the cuttings, take an opaque container (or an ordinary cup).
The water should be at room temperature, clean, and settled. The water should be changed every two days, without allowing it to become cloudy. Keep an eye on the water level.
The petiole should be lowered into water to the height of the growth points of the roots, without immersing the leaves of the tuft in the water.
Place the container with the cutting in a warm, bright place, protected from direct sunlight, temperature changes, drafts and pets. In about 7-10 days the roots will hatch. When they get stronger and grow 2-3 cm, the plant can be planted in the ground.
Before planting, remove it from the water, dry it on a paper towel for several hours, treat it with ash or activated carbon, then proceed to planting.

Another way to grow a pineapple is to root the prepared top without first germinating it in water. The top is cut from the pineapple according to the above algorithm. The base needs to be dried for a couple of weeks before planting, hanging the “palm” with the leaves down so that the wounds on the cuttings heal. Before planting, flower growers treat the petiole with ash, crushed activated carbon to disinfect and prevent rotting.

Prepare a small clay pot. Place it loosely in it, make a depression in the moss and lightly press the base of the tuft into it. Place the pot with the seedling in a bright, warm (23-25°C) room away from direct sunlight. Spray the rosette of leaves regularly with a spray bottle. You can cover the plant with a transparent cap to create a microclimate. Don't over-water! If young leaves appear in the center of the rosette, the plant has taken root and is ready to be planted in a permanent place.

So, we have a sprout with roots. In which pot should I plant a pineapple germinated in one of the following ways to create suitable living conditions for the plant? The pot must have a drainage hole. To begin, take a pot slightly larger in diameter than the tuft itself, about 15 cm. You should not take a large container at once. It is better to subsequently transship, increasing the size of the pot to the required size. Since pineapple roots are close to the surface, a very deep container is not required.

Let's start planting:

Prepare the ground. A couple of days before planting, disinfect it by spilling it with a solution of potassium permanganate or boiling water. At the time of planting, the soil should be slightly moist, but not wet.
Place expanded clay and vermiculite at the bottom of the pot about a third of the height of the container.
Fill the pot with prepared soil, make a depression in the center, the size of which will allow you to freely place the roots and cuttings at a height up to the level of the leaves.
Place the tuft in the hole, being careful not to damage the roots. Hold the seedling with one hand, and with the other, carefully fill the space around the petiole with soil, lightly pressing the soil with your fingers.
To make the plant immobile, you can fix it with wooden or plastic sticks.
Water the plant with a small amount of water or spray the soil with a spray bottle.

Soil for pineapple

Land for planting pineapple is available for sale - this is soil for planting bromeliads. You can make the soil yourself by mixing in proportions

peat – two parts;
river sand - one part;
forest land (or turf land) - three parts

Pineapple in a pot - how to care?

When the plant has new green leaves, the first stage can be considered complete. However, in order for a decorative pineapple in a pot to grow and develop without problems, it requires proper care:

The location is a very bright place, without direct sun.
Temperature range – 23-27°C
Watering is plentiful, but not frequent. The soil should dry out between waterings.
Feeding - every two months.
Spraying from a spray bottle daily; pineapple loves moist, warm air.

That's all the wisdom on how to grow a pineapple at home from the top! You can create an entire plantation on the windowsill, surprising guests and delighting your home with the aromatic fruits of pineapple. By following simple rules of care, it is possible to get a beautiful, strong, amazing exotic plant from seemingly useless leaves that are usually sent to the trash bin.

Indoor plants, the fruits of which are well known to us from fruit stands, have always been particularly popular. Pomegranates, bananas, avocados, tangerines and lemons can be grown not only in the tropics, but also on your windowsill. The indoor pineapple is no exception. It's not the most common of fruit plants, but it's definitely one of the most famous. The exotic appearance of pineapples is valued as much as their ability to bear fruit. And even the difficult nature of this plant does not deter people from growing it on windowsills.

Indoor pineapple. © 陶澤中

How does an indoor pineapple differ from a cultivated one?

Indoor pineapples are rightly called decorative. From the same cultivated pineapples that are grown in the tropical and subtropical zones of our planet, plants adapted to pot culture are still significantly different. Indoor pineapples cannot boast of species or varietal diversity. These are easily recognizable plants that justify their rather high price with their exotic appearance.

Pineapples are most widely represented in nature in Latin America. In the tropical forests of Paraguay, Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela, you can find 8 different species of these plants. As a cultivated plant, pineapples have spread far beyond their native Brazilian campos.

Ornamental pineapples are the result of long-term breeding and selection. We owe the appearance of this exotic fruit in indoor cultivation to the fashion for exotics for greenhouses and winter gardens. Pineapples, which at the beginning of their European history attracted attention in luxurious estates with amazing collections, are now increasingly found in ordinary living rooms.

Pineapples belong to the Bromeliaceae family; at a young age, and even before flowering, they can be easily confused with their brethren. True, the growth form of pineapples, unlike most epiphytic bromeliads, is terrestrial. In our country, pineapples are known only by their botanical name.

Growing pineapple near a private home (Hawaii). © Forest and Kim Starr

Features of indoor pineapple

Large-tufted pineapple (Ananas comosus) is the only species that can be found in potted form. It can safely be considered a fast-growing plant. This is not a very large plant, which during selection has acquired some compactness compared to the base species.

It has a shortened, reduced stem and hard, thick leaves that create a funnel-shaped rosette. Ensiform-linear, with a pointed tip, grooved, with very sharp spines, the leaves of adult pineapples can stretch up to 1 m, but in rooms they are usually limited to half a meter in size.

The grayish tint of the light green color is noticeable from afar. But the scales on the leaves can only be noted at close range. Pineapples cannot boast of a wide variety of colors, but in addition to ordinary green-leaved pineapples, you can find on sale more fashionable varieties with a longitudinal border or stripes on the leaves of a whitish color; in the right lighting they gradually turn pink.

Varietal pineapples, like the pink-white-green "Tricolor", do not differ in character from two decorative forms - the variegated white-green form (variegatus) and the cream-edged form (aureovariegatus). Pineapples gradually stretch out, but since the mother rosette is replaced after fruiting, pineapples in rooms remain compact.

The formation of babies begins after the infertility is fully formed. Pineapples look exotically strict. The clean lines of their leaves create a “spiky” silhouette; they look neat, bright and immediately attract attention.

Flowering and fruiting only decorate pineapples. Flowering begins under normal conditions in May, the plant does not lose its decorative appearance until the beginning of the dormant period in October-December, showing off first with an inflorescence, and then with a luxurious inflorescence with a bunch of rosette leaves on a shortened shoot at the top.

On powerful peduncles in simple spikelets of pineapple inflorescences sit far from simple flowers. Light purple, with bluish tints, the flowers are covered with cup-lanceolate, wide and very beautiful bracts, spirally folding into a spikelet. The general shape of the prickly star perfectly echoes the rosette of leaves. After flowering, those same legendary fruits ripen for four or five months.

Golden-yellow, formed by numerous ovaries fused with bracts, outwardly similar to a cone, the fruit gradually increases in mass and changes. The pineapple peduncle changes along with the fruit: at the top of the inflorescence axis, an apical shoot develops, shortened, similar to a mini-rosette, but still adding even more exoticism to the appearance of the plant.

Such shoots of pineapples are called sultans. From the moment of flowering to the beginning of fruit growth, at least 4.5 months usually pass, which allows us to call pineapples one of the most stable in terms of decorativeness and long-term fruit-bearing indoor plants. Despite its decorative status, indoor pineapple produces edible fruits.

Large-tufted pineapple (Ananas comosus) is the only species that can be grown at home. © Ohmymag

Conditions for growing indoor pineapples

Pineapples bloom and bear fruit only if they are provided with comfortable conditions all year round. These are heat-loving plants that do not tolerate hypothermia and require very intense lighting. In living rooms, pineapples usually get everything they need, but they can fit into a tropical conservatory collection.

Lighting and interior placement

One of the main problems of growing pineapple indoors is its light-loving nature. This plant can only be placed on a windowsill, without the slightest shading. Pineapple is not afraid of direct sunlight, but in summer it is better to protect the leaves from it. South or southwest windows are ideal for indoor pineapples, but if it is not possible to place the plant in such a place, then choose the brightest place in the house.

Pineapples respond well to artificial lighting. If there are signs of growth disturbance or insufficient level of natural light, the duration of daylight hours is increased with phytolamps operating for 10-12 hours. Plants develop poorly in completely artificial lighting, but they do not suffer in combined or partially artificial lighting.

You can change the lighting intensity for a pineapple, adjust the brightness by moving on the windowsill or between windows, focusing on the color of the leaves. Pineapples retain their attractive, intense, bright color only in good lighting. When shaded, the leaves turn pale and the plant, although it retains its viability, gradually begins to lose its compactness and decorativeness.

Despite the fact that pineapples are not the largest, in indoor cultivation they are limited to 50-60 cm in height; they are almost always twice as large in girth. Pineapple requires a lot of space and freedom; its “scattering” of leaves requires placement not in dense groups, but at some distance from other plants or individually.

In order for the rosette of leaves to develop evenly, it is advisable to rotate the pineapple in relation to the light source.

Temperature and ventilation

Recently, recommendations for new varieties of pineapple have stated that it is impossible to achieve flowering, fruiting and the greatest decorativeness from a pineapple without a cool dormant period. But, in general, pineapples not only do not require, but are also afraid of lower temperatures.

The minimum permissible readings for them are +16°C at night in winter. The plant responds well to normal room temperatures, even on hot summer days it feels quite comfortable. The optimal content is considered to be at an air temperature of +22 to +25°C. Temperature increases above 25 degrees Celsius, provided the spraying recommendations are followed, do not affect the beauty of its hard leaves.

The winter maintenance regime for pineapple does not require moving to places with lower air temperatures, but some changes in conditions (a drop of several degrees) will help the plant better withstand the period of reduced daylight hours. Only the lower indicators need to be strictly controlled, not allowing them to fall below +16-...+17°C.

Pineapple is not afraid of ventilation, but you should not expose the plant to strong drafts. In the summer, indoor pineapples can be taken out into the fresh air - onto the balcony or into the garden, but they must be protected from drafts. Pineapples cannot tolerate hypothermia of the root system.

Indoor pineapple with variegated white and green shape (variegatus). © 阿橋 HQ

Caring for pineapple at home

Pineapple cannot be called a difficult plant to care for. Typical funnel watering, standard fertilizing, no need for formation and love for spraying allow it to be included in the collections of both experienced gardeners and beginners. But when caring for a pineapple, do not forget about important little things, carefully observing the development of this plant.

Watering and air humidity

The intensity of moisture for pineapples directly depends on their stage of development. During the dormant period, water the plant carefully, allowing the soil to dry completely, but during the period of abundant growth, flowering and fruiting, watering should be very abundant.

Stagnation of water and constant dampness should not be allowed, but the soil should be consistently slightly moist. The transition from the period of frequent and generous watering to winter maintenance should be smooth. Watering is reduced gradually, starting in September. For pineapple, watering is most often carried out directly into the rosette of leaves, changing to classical watering methods this method familiar to bromeliads only during the dormant period.

The main feature of pineapple is the requirement for watering with warm water. It should not only be soft, but also 5-10 degrees higher than the ambient temperature.

Pineapple, like any other tropical exotic, loves high humidity. It is not necessary to install humidifiers and their home analogues for it. For the plant, you can limit yourself only to spraying, which is carried out as often as possible on hot days. During the dormant period, spraying is not carried out (except in cases of cultivation in very dry air). Pineapples tolerate showering very well.

Top dressing and fertilizer composition

Pineapples are fed only in spring and summer. This crop prefers standard fertilizing once every 2 weeks, regardless of the type of fertilizer used.

For pineapples, you can use both complex and separate organic and mineral fertilizers, alternating them during feeding. Pineapples respond very well to organic matter. Long-acting fertilizers are not used for pineapple, as are any analogues that change the soil's reaction to alkaline.

Pruning and shaping a pineapple

For pineapples, pruning actually comes down to removing dry or damaged leaves. Sections are carried out by partially cutting off healthy tissue adjacent to the affected ones. When trimming leaves, it is better to use sharp tools and disinfect the blades after each cut.

Transplantation, containers and substrate

You should only change the container for indoor pineapples when it is really necessary. If the plants have a place to produce babies, they have not formed in such quantities that the rosettes cannot develop normally, replanting should be postponed. The plant is replanted before active growth begins, at the end of February or March.

Indoor pineapples are grown in wide and shallow containers that correspond to their shallow, medium-sized root system.

For pineapple it is very important to choose the right soil. It should not just be loose or light, but also quite rough, permeable, allowing the roots to breathe freely. The best option for growing is considered to be a special soil for bromeliads or any substrate for epiphytic plants, to which turf soil has been added for easy compaction.

It is better to check the composition of the soil when purchasing. After all, pineapples are often sold in a regular soil mixture - for example, consisting of equal parts of peat, turf and humus soil with sand. The optimal pH value for pineapple is from 4.0 to 5.0.

When working with the plant, especially when dividing, it is worth protecting your hands, since the spines on the leaves are quite sharp. A high layer of drainage must be laid at the bottom of the containers. If separation is not carried out, then it is better to limit ourselves to transshipment. Usually, when planting a pineapple, the depth level is increased by 1.5-2 cm.

Diseases, pests and problems in growing

Pests are not frequent guests on ornamental pineapples. Only in a neglected state can false scale insects, spider mites and thrips appear on the plant. It is better to combat pests immediately, starting with insecticides, taking appropriate measures to correct the conditions of maintenance or care.

Common problems in growing pineapple:

drying of leaf tips in dry air;
rotting, lethargy due to waterlogging;
growth stops in the cold or when watered with not warm water.

Propagation of indoor pineapples

Despite their elite exotic status, pineapples are not at all difficult to propagate on your own. This plant is easy to grow even from seeds collected from ripe, overripe fruits. But much more popular are vegetative methods - separating daughter rosettes and rooting the apical cutting.

For cuttings in pineapples, the apical shoot that develops above the fruit is used. The sultan is carefully cut off with part of the pulp or broken out, twisting it out of the fruit, peeled from the lower leaves, exposing 2-3 cm of the stem, and the cut is allowed to dry for several days.

Root the apical shoots of pineapple in wet sand, maintaining a stable temperature from +20 to +22°C. Greenhouse conditions and covering with a cap or film are required.

Pineapple babies are simply separated during plant transplantation. Daughter rosettes are separated only when they grow to a height of 15 cm or higher. For rooting, you can use a peat-sand soil mixture and also cover the children with a cap or film.

If you already have an indoor pineapple growing at home, share your experience of growing it in the comments. This will be of interest to many readers of Botanichka.

Homemade pineapple cultivation is very simple. It is enough to buy this fruit in the store and properly root its top. The plant looks very attractive, so even before the first fruits appear, it will undoubtedly be a wonderful decoration for the home.

Is it possible to grow it at home and how to grow a pineapple at home from the top step by step, how to root it correctly - we will tell you in this article. Pineapple belongs to the bromeliad family and has the same appearance and requirements as other plants in this family. The size of the fruit depends on the method of cultivation and place of origin, as well as on the conditions prevailing there.

There are fruits on sale whose weight ranges from approximately 1 to 2 kg, however, on plantations some samples reach a weight of five or more kilograms. In Brazil, the plant grows up to 1.5 m in height, but in other conditions it can be much more compact.

The largest plantations are located in China, Mexico, Hawaii and the Philippines.

When grown in a pot, the fruit usually reaches a small size (just over 50 cm in height). It forms a rosette of long leaves arranged in a spiral. When grown correctly, you can get a fairly large plant that can bloom and even bear fruit.

Three forms of pineapple are grown at home and in greenhouses.

The A. comosus variety is characterized by green, narrow leaves and bears fruit well.
The A.comosus Variegatus cultivar has shorter and wider striped leaves. This plant looks very beautiful in the interior, decorating it, but rarely bears fruit.
The variety A. bracteatus Striatus is the largest plant compared to the above. Characterized by green-yellow leaves.

Growing pineapple - step by step, instructions with photos and videos

To grow this beautiful plant with tasty fruit yourself, first of all, you should buy the fruit along with a rosette of leaves located on the top of the fruit. This rosette is relatively easy to root. We will tell you how to do this below, starting with purchasing the fruit.

Buying fruit

First you need to choose the right pineapple in the store. You should pay attention to whether it has a full rosette of leaves along with the center. It is important to choose a fruit that is ripe and healthy, with beautifully colored green leaves. The plant should not have a brownish top. A flower sprout should protrude from the rosette - this will give us a guarantee that the plant will bloom.

How to root correctly?

To germinate roots, it is important to properly prepare the tail for planting so that the plant takes root. First, you should cut off the rosette of leaves at the top, leaving 1-2 cm of the fruit near the rosette; a photo of the correct cut is shown below.

The fruit fragment must be peeled with a knife in the form of a slightly rounded heel. Then we cut off the remaining pulp with a knife so that the fibrous part remains. It is important when preparing seedlings to remove all the pulp, otherwise it will begin to rot. If white dots are visible on the cut, these are root nodules; it is advisable not to damage them when cleaning.

Growing ponytail fruit, photo

Leaves should be torn off from the bottom of the rosette in an area of about 2 cm. To avoid damage to the roots growing from under the leaves, clear the leaves from the trunk, tearing them off perpendicular to the trunk. On some pineapples, after removing the leaves, already at this stage we can see small sprouted roots.

Germination and planting

Soak the planting material obtained in this way in water up to half of the fragment of torn leaves. After about 1-2 weeks they begin to take root. When the roots reach a length of several centimeters, remove the seedling from the water and place it on a paper towel. Let it dry for 2-3 hours. After drying, the seedlings are planted in soil intended for growing palm trees. The soil in the pot should not be too wet, but only slightly moistened. The entire section of the stem without leaves must be buried in the ground.

Growing pineapple - video

Of course, our little palm requires proper care.

Diseases and their symptoms

Pale leaves: This means that the plant is not receiving enough light. It should be moved to a more illuminated position.
No flowering: You should help the plant a little. Some pineapples take 18 or even 30 months to bloom. Such a long period on an industrial scale is not economically justified. However, people have learned to speed up this process. Wise scientists have noticed that pineapple blooms much faster if it is treated with ethylene gas. This gas is released, among other things, by some fruits. At home we can get it using apples. To do this, cut the apple in half, place one half of the fruit flat on the ground (cut to the soil), and place the other half on a leaf rosette. Cover the entire plant with a plastic bag and leave for 2 to 4 weeks. At this time, the apple will begin to release ethylene, which, entering the roots, will stimulate the appearance of flowers. When we see the first flowers, we should remove the bag and remove the apple pieces.
The lower leaves dry out, wrinkle and curl: this usually means that the plant is standing in a draft. It should be moved to a place more protected from drafts.
Dust on the leaves: Leaves should be wiped with a damp cloth.
Leaves are wrinkled and dying: This always occurs after fruiting. The pineapple dies after fruiting, but new plants can be grown from the socket.
Slow growth: may indicate that there is a lack of micronutrients in the soil. The plant should be fed with fertilizer for flowering plants.
Drying leaves usually appear if the plant is in a too hot and dry place. It should be watered and moved to a cooler place.
Yellow spots on leaves usually associated with the fact that our exotic plant was attacked by scale insects. This manifests itself as follows: brown spots begin to appear on the underside under the leaf. Pests can be removed with a cotton swab or cotton swab soaked in soap.

Beneficial features

This fruit is valued for its tasty, juicy and very aromatic fruits, which are eaten both raw and after cooking. We can buy it canned, in jams, compotes, juices and many other forms. A very important feature is that pineapple contains the enzyme bromelain, which facilitates digestion and helps you lose weight. Fresh fruits contain the most vitamins. Fruits from jars lose some of their beneficial properties during processing.

Pineapple is a great fruit for people who are on a diet because it contains a lot of fiber. Fiber speeds up digestion and removes toxic metabolic products.
Bromelain, found in pineapples, promotes weight loss and also acts as an anti-inflammatory, anti-edematous and analgesic, preventing the formation of blood clots.
The fruit is used auxiliary in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.
The fruits contain disinfectants and also have the ability to remove dead tissue without damaging new ones, therefore they are used to heal wounds, treat burns, bites, bruises and swelling.
As an aid, they can be used in the treatment of allergies and respiratory diseases, as well as digestive problems.
Pineapples are also used in cosmetics. Vitamin C contained in the fruit removes age spots and brightens the skin.
This fruit strengthens blood vessels. Organic acids and bromelain contained in the fruits gently exfoliate dead skin cells, and minerals nourish it. Pineapples are especially recommended for people with skin pigmentation and acne.
Pineapple is often used as an aphrodisiac.

Helper in the fight against snoring

If there is someone in the house who snores heavily, there is an ideal solution. Peaceful sleep will be ensured by a pineapple in a pot. Statistics show that snoring affects one in four adults – usually men.

According to NASA research, pineapple plants produce oxygen and improve air quality throughout the night. Thus, they help you sleep better and more quietly. For anyone who has had to run from the bedroom to another room because of their partner's snoring, this discovery may be a godsend.

Plants take 21 months to 2 years to grow and eventually produce a small fruit. If there are no snoring problems in the house, they can simply bring a little exotic into the interior.

Pineapple is one of those exotic fruits that we can grow ourselves. It is enough to cut off the top leaf rosette and plant it in a pot. It is very important that this part of the pineapple, which we put in the ground with the leaves, is dry, without pulp, otherwise the plant will rot. As a result, we will get an ornamental plant that improves the air and can even bear fruit.