Exotic lovers who do not yet know how to grow pineapple at home will be surprised to learn that it is very easy to do. There is a lot of planting material - you can buy fresh pineapple in any supermarket. It is desirable that it be ripe, without rot and not frostbitten.
Where and how are pineapples grown on plantations?
There are pineapple plantations in many tropical countries. The leader in its cultivation is the Hawaiian Islands. A third of the world's harvest of these delicious fruits ripens here.
To stimulate fruiting all year round, use acetylene, which is formed after combining calcium carbide with water. The resulting solution is poured in strictly measured doses into the rosette of leaves, after which the pineapple begins to bloom. After fruiting, the bush dies; for plant propagation, young shoots of axillary buds and the top of the fruit are taken.
How to grow pineapple from seeds at home
Cultivated varieties of pineapple do not have seeds. By seed method grow decorative forms plants with beautifully colored leaves and smaller fruits that are inedible.
Known species, the seeds of which can be bought in the store:
1. Pineapple bract striped. On the bright green leaves, reaching a length of 60 cm, cream and pinkish stripes are visible. The fruits are inedible.
2. Dwarf pineapple nanus. Blooms in spring soft pink flowers in the second year of life. The leaves are about 45 cm long, covered with silvery hairs. The ripe fruit is the size of egg inedible.
3. Pineapple large-tufted variegated. Ripe pineapples can be eaten; they are a little smaller than in the store, but sweeter and more aromatic. The leaves have pink and beige stripes.
To germinate seeds, take a plastic container from under the cakes and make holes in the bottom to drain the water. The container is filled with a substrate consisting of peat and sand or vermiculite.
The seeds are laid out on the surface, moistened with warm distilled water with the addition of “Fitosporin”. Cover the container with a transparent lid or bag and place it in a bright place. Good results allows seeds to germinate on a radiator or heating pad.
Without bottom heating, germination takes 2 or 3 months, with heating it takes about 30 days. The greenhouse should be ventilated twice a day and the substrate should be moistened as needed.
Daylight hours for emerging seedlings should be at least 14 hours. When sowing seeds in winter, they are illuminated with a fluorescent lamp. The greenhouse is not cleaned.
When the rosettes of leaves in the crops reach a diameter of 5 cm, they are planted in separate small pots. For planting, buy soil for orchids or bromeliads at the store. You can prepare the substrate yourself from leaf soil, garden soil, vermiculite and crushed pine bark in equal parts. Pots with seedlings are placed in bags without closing tightly. During the first time after transplantation, the plants are shaded from the sun.
Grow indoor pineapple interesting not for his sake delicious fruit. Decorative exoticism always attracts lovers of a green corner at home. Pineapple leaves, spreading, prickly and juicy, are very decorative. It is not difficult to create conditions for it in an ordinary apartment. If everything is done correctly, the indoor pineapple will reward you with flowering and fruit. Several years will pass and a photo of an indoor pineapple that you grew will decorate your home album.
Primary requirements
Pineapple is herbaceous plant, which grows almost meter-long prickly leaves. A native of arid tropics loves light and warmth; in summer he can live on outdoors, but low temperatures are detrimental to pineapple. IN room conditions he loves warmth and the absence of any drafts. Lighting, even in winter, should not be less than 6 hours, while winter time it should be kept near a south window or.
The drought-resistant plant does not need frequent watering. It is not picky about soil and food, but it has its own preferences. Caring for a tropical resident is easy, and it can be grown at home.
Planting a pineapple
For planting, a tuft of leaves located on the berry is used. Pineapple is chosen for planting in the summer from a fresh harvest. A sign that the berry was picked recently will be healthy, living foliage at the top of the fruit. So you need to choose a plant with the most powerful and healthy foliage.
At home, unscrew a bunch of greenery from the base of the fruit with a smooth turn along the axis. I can do it male hands. If you don’t have enough strength, use two people to unscrew it, one holds the fruit, the other unscrews the tuft. You can simply cut off the top with a clean knife and remove the pulp from the column. After this, it is necessary to remove the lower leaves by 2-3 cm, freeing the column. There you can distinguish dark spots; these are the beginnings of roots, like on a clove of garlic before planting. Dry the wounds by sprinkling with or crushed coal.
The twisted tuft should hang upside down in a calm, bright place for a week or longer. At this time, the rudiments of roots begin to form. In the future, the plant can be kept in contact with water or planted immediately.
When growing roots in water for planting a pineapple, it is important that the jar is dark, the liquid is changed every two days, and the plant barely touches the surface. After two weeks, the roots will grow 2 cm, it’s time to plant in the ground. You can also root a dry seedling, but at the same time keep it under a hood, creating a special microclimate.
The plant is planted in a small container with good drainage, a drainage layer of expanded clay and in soil made from equal parts of sand, humus of leaf soil, etc. The soil should be steamed and treated with a strong solution of potassium permanganate. Planting is done in moist, but not damp soil. Rooting occurs within two months. A sign that the plant has taken root will be the appearance of young leaves; the old ones gradually dry out and need to be trimmed.
After new leaves appear, the plants are watered from above, so that there is always water in the funnel of the leaves. This is the requirement of plants in arid areas to collect atmospheric moisture in reserve.
Pineapple care
Rooting and making a plant live at home is not enough. It is necessary to create conditions for the plant to bloom. To do this, you must fulfill the conditions of containment:
- watering and fertilizing the plant;
- transshipment or replanting and soil requirements;
- provocation of fruiting;
- other features of pineapple.
The mode of watering and fertilizing plays a role in caring for indoor pineapple. decisive role. The plant does not like waterlogging of the soil and stagnation of water in the pan. Therefore, watering is moderate, for an adult plant once a week. But in the summer, spraying is useful for plants outdoors. In this case, part of the water evaporates, and part is absorbed from the sheet funnel. This is an emergency supply provided by nature; it should be inexhaustible. If the plant is accidentally overwatered, the soil remains damp for a long time, does not drain well, it is necessary to change the substrate, but be as careful as possible with the root system.
The plant should be fed once a month. The best organic fertilizer For pineapple, mullein is considered. Organic fertilizing is done in spring and summer to increase green mass. Fertilizing with minerals liquid fertilizers for flowers, it is used interspersed with mullein at half the rate. Apply liquid formulations during the growing season after 2 weeks in full dose . A special feature of pineapple is its feeding method. Fertilize the plant with water and diluted fertilizer into a rosette of leaves. No fertilizing is required in winter.
Water for irrigation should be warm, about 30 degrees, the soil dries out between waterings.
The plant is replanted annually. In this case, soil for cacti is used, or prepared independently, with the necessary ingredients of peat and leaf soil to create the desired acidity. The sand should be coarse. Charcoal, brick chips, vermiculite and perlite will only increase the nutritional content in the soil.
The root system of indoor pineapple is weak and transferring the plant after a year of life into a larger container is mandatory. But for an adult plant, a pot volume of 3-4 liters is sufficient. When replanting a plant, you need to remember that a large pot is harmful for a houseplant, since the soil, which is not filled with roots, turns sour. On the other hand, in a more spacious pot, children will develop even before the plant bears fruit; you can grow a new replacement pineapple in advance.
When transplanting a plant, the neck should not be buried.
Several years have passed, and the homemade pineapple is not going to bloom. Then you need to speed up fruiting. This is another feature of pineapple. If the plant has spread its leaf blades to 0 cm, has grown to 25 cm and is already a year and a half old, you can try to provoke flowering with ethylene fertilizer. To do this, leave a spoonful of calcium carbide for a day in a sealed jar and drain the clarified liquid. For seven days in a row, pour 50 grams of the resulting ethylene water into the rosette of leaves. Within a month and a half, you can expect the peduncle to advance. If this does not happen, it means that the indoor pineapple has not yet reached the stage of maturity. 
Pineapple smoke can trigger flowering. Once a week for a month, you should leave a smoking cigarette or paper smoldering on coals near it. In this case, the plant must be covered with film. Such “fires” will lead to the formation of a peduncle.
Pineapple flowering begins with the formation of a bud at the top, and within two months it moves up on the peduncle. Over the course of two weeks, blue flower lights flash on each cone gradually and only for one day. In the photo, the pineapple blossom is not accompanied by aroma, but the amazing smell lingers in the room throughout the flowering period. Afterwards the handsome pineapple itself is poured. This event takes up to six months. Like everything in nature, pineapple develops in cycles. Having devoted its energy to the formation of seeds, it slowly dies, producing numerous shoots. You can plant and grow a new indoor pineapple.
Video about ripening pineapple at home
I learned how to grow pineapple at home... it turned out to be an exotic, very beautiful flowerpot at home.
A pineapple(Latin Ananas, English Pineapple) is a genus of herbaceous tropical plants of the Bromeliad family (Bromeliaceae).
Pineapple is a herbaceous perennial with a greatly shortened stem and a dense rosette of leaves. The leaves are hard, linear, xiphoid, 50-120 cm long and 3-6 cm wide, serrated and spiny at the edges. Mature plants can grow up to 1 meter tall and up to 2 meters in diameter. A fleshy stem grows from the basal rosette of leaves, at the top of which a peduncle up to 30-60 cm long is formed. The inflorescence is spike-shaped, ending at the top with a “sultan” - a rosette of small bracts. It is this rosette that can be seen on pineapple fruits that are sold in stores. The spike-shaped inflorescence contains more than a hundred greenish-white or slightly purple inconspicuous flowers. Each flower is covered with a red or green bract. Flowering is long lasting, about one month. First, the flowers at the bottom of the inflorescence bloom, then those adjacent to them, and so on until the top. The infructescence formed after the fertilization of numerous flowers of the inflorescence, according to appearance looks like a big meaty one pine cone golden yellow color. Thus, the pineapple fruit is a composite fruit, consisting of many ovaries fused with bracts and the axis of the inflorescence. The fruit has a cylindrical, conical or ellipsoidal shape. The top is covered with scales.
Pineapple comes from Brazil and came to Europe at the end of the 18th century. After 30 years, the British managed to get pineapple fruits in a greenhouse for the first time, and from that time on, it began to be grown everywhere in greenhouses along with grapes and oranges - as a favorite dessert of rich people. Gardening books published in the 19th century described in detail how to cultivate pineapple. At the end of the 60s, trade exports of pineapples arose from the Azores Islands, where this plant began to be grown on an industrial scale, and interest in indoor breeding faded away
In the tropical regions of America: Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela, Colombia, 8 types of pineapple grow; widely cultivated in the tropics and subtropics of both hemispheres. The leading pineapple production areas are the Hawaiian and Azores Islands, as well as the Philippines, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, Ghana, and Guinea. Plantations in India expanded significantly. In Russia, pineapples can be grown in greenhouses. In greenhouse collections there are 4-6 species, in indoor culture 2-3 species are used.
Currently, it is cultivated - at home as pure ornamental plant, and if a small fruit appears on it, this is an additional reward for the owner.
Kinds
Pineapple large-tufted(Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.s).
Synonym: Pineapple (Ananas ananas (L.) Voss); A. duckei (Ananas duckei hort., nom. Inval); A. sativus (Ananas sativus Schult. & Schult. f.); A. sowing diff. duckei (Ananas sativus var. duckei Camargo, nom. nud.); Pineapple bromeliad (Bromelia ananas L.); Large-tufted bromeliad (Bromelia comosa L.).
This land plant with a strongly shortened stem and a rosette of rigid linear sword-shaped leaves, in adulthood it has a height of 1 m and a diameter of 2 m. The leaves are gray-green, grooved, strongly narrowed towards the apex, covered entirely with scales, with sharp spines along the edges. The flowers are bisexual, 8 cm long, 4 cm wide, spirally arranged in simple dense spike-shaped inflorescences, where they sit in the axils of wide cup-shaped bracts. Petals are 1.2 cm long, pinkish-violet, sepals are not fused, spiny along the edge. After flowering ends, a compact golden-yellow infructescence is formed. The main axis continues to grow, and a shortened vegetative shoot, a “sultan,” is formed at the top of the fruit. Blooms in March-April, July, December; Maturation of the infructescence lasts 4.5-5 months. Originally from Brazil, found on open places, forest edges, in sparse grass stands. In Europe in culture since 1650.
There is the most striking form of variegatus, distinguished by its smaller size and white longitudinal stripes along the edges of the leaves.
Pineapple bract(Ananas bracteatus (Lindl.) Schult. & Schult. f.) - the most beautiful view with a bright greenish color with yellow, white stripes and curved leaves 35-70 cm long.
Dwarf pineapple(Ananas nanus (L. B. Sm.) L. B. Sm.) Synonym: A. pineapple-shaped diff. dwarf (Ananas ananassoides var. nanus L. B. Sm.). This is new dwarf variety 20-30 centimeter leaves.
Pineapple(A.savitus Schult) is practically not bred as an ornamental plant, but they often try to grow it out of pure curiosity. Sometimes a pineapple can be grown from the apical pappus after using the fruit for food, although the risk of failure is very high.
Care
Illumination
Light-loving, especially variegated forms, requires straight sun rays. In the autumn-winter period, it is advisable to illuminate the pineapple plant for 8-10 hours a day at a distance of about 20 cm. It is best to use fluorescent lamps here. For one mature plant One LB-20 lamp is enough. When growing a pineapple on a windowsill, it is not recommended to rotate it: growth will slow down. It develops quite normally with one-way lighting. Indicator good lighting Plants have large erect leaves, light crimson coloring of the tips of young leaves. Those who do not have the opportunity to place plants on the sunny side can be offered to use additional lighting all year round. The only difference is that for summer additional illumination, 4-5 hours are enough.
Watering
In the warm season, the rosette of leaves should be constantly filled with water by 2/3. The water is changed once every 2 months. Make sure that the soil in the pot has time to dry out between waterings. Water for irrigation should be soft, preferably rain, and always warm.
During the main summer growing season, the plant requires abundant soil moisture. When watering in the summer, make sure that the earthen ball is completely saturated with moisture, but between waterings it must dry out sufficiently. Water for irrigation is taken after settling for a day or boiled. Tap water It is best to boil and acidify to pH=5. You can acidify water with sulfuric, citric or oxalic acid. Experience shows that despite the temperature of the soil and the surrounding air, the ground must be watered with water heated to +30+35 °C. In winter, the soil temperature on the windowsill drops significantly. Sometimes it reaches +13+15 °C, and pineapple slows down its growth already at a soil temperature of +20 °C. At this time, you must completely stop watering.
Air humidity
Needs regular spraying, especially in winter if the temperature is high. In summer, spray pineapple twice a week, in winter once every seven days.
Temperature
Doesn't like standing on a cold floor or windowsill. Pineapple loves warmth, especially in winter: the ideal temperature for it is 18-21 °C. To obtain basal suckers, keep the plant in a slightly cramped pot at a temperature 5°C below the specified temperature. The maximum temperature for pineapple is 25 °C. To ensure that plants develop normally in unfavorable times, heat the windowsill and maintain the soil temperature within +22+23 oC.
Pot
In fact, the plant grows well in any container. For pineapple, it is better to take a pot that is low but wide in diameter. This form corresponds to the characteristics of the plant: its root system is located in top layer depth and does not go deep down. Wide dishes contribute to better soil aeration, which is very important for this crop. It is interesting to note that in natural growth conditions, each pineapple plant has two tiers of roots. The first consists of thin roots and is located almost at the very surface of the soil. The second includes radially located thin roots that go 1-1.2 m deep into the soil. Pineapple roots can also form in the axils of the leaves. At favorable conditions axillary roots grow strongly, reaching the soil cover. At home, the growth of pineapple and the two-tiered root system, nor the formation of axillary roots, is almost not observed. In large rooms where space allows, large specimens are transplanted into wide enamel tanks. The plant develops a powerful root system, so that under such conditions it is possible to obtain fruits weighing up to 1.5 kg.
Fertilizer
Throughout its life, pineapple requires increased nutrition, especially nitrogen, since it is a herbaceous plant. Depending on how quickly the pineapple gains green mass and takes on the appearance of a large, mature adult plant, it is prepared for fruiting. During the active growing season, the plant is fed with mullein infusion every 15 days. Preparation of the solution is traditional. A bucket (10 l) is filled 1/3 with manure, and the remaining volume is filled warm water. The solution is stirred periodically for 3-5 days. After fermentation has stopped (10-12 days), water is added to the bucket at a ratio of 1:8. Other types of fertilizer do not need to be used before fruiting, since the slurry contains all the basic nutrients and microelements.
With the right and regular care Like pineapple, it grows well indoors. Many lovers complain that pineapples become big, beautiful plants, but do not bear fruit. It must be admitted that pineapple requires stimulation to bear fruit at home. Even in areas where the crop grows naturally on plantations, plantings are sprayed several times for stimulation with a solution of naphthyl-acetic acid. However, more effective way plant stimulation, treatment of plantations with acetylene is recognized. The action of acetylene, in addition, helps to improve the quality of fruits. True, experiments have shown that treatment with acetylene cannot be carried out earlier than 3 months after applying nitrogen fertilizer to the soil.
At home, stimulation is carried out only after the plant is fully formed: the length of adult leaves is 60-70 cm, the thickness of the trunk at the base is from 6 to 10 cm. In this position, stimulation will be effective. There are several recipes. A well-proven method of stimulation is based on the use of carbide. A piece of carbide (10-15 g) is dipped into a jar (1 liter) of water. Immediately a violent evolution of acetylene gas occurs. When the reaction stops, an aqueous solution of acetylene remains with a small sediment at the bottom; 20-30 ml of this solution is poured into the leaf funnel, inside which the growth point is located. The same operation is repeated the next day, using the same prepared solution. It is possible to stimulate pineapples only in the warm season, when the plants on the windowsills do not require additional heating of the soil or artificial supplementary lighting.
According to another method of stimulation that causes flowering, the prepared plant is covered with a large plastic bag. Place a jar (0.5 l) of water under the bag. Every day a piece of carbide (5 g) is dipped into water. The active release of acetylene immediately begins. It is necessary to ensure that the bag is pressed tightly to the pot and the released acetylene does not evaporate from it. The operation is repeated 3 days in a row.
Many hobbyists stimulate the flowering of pineapples using smoke fumigation. However, both of the latter methods are less effective than pouring an aqueous solution of acetylene into the center of the rosette of leaves. 1.5-2 months after stimulation, a peduncle appears, emerging from the center of the plant. At this time, you need to watch the pineapple especially carefully. At first, the top of the peduncle has a pale light green color with a light crimson border. If you do not disturb agricultural practices, the peduncle (arrow) grows very quickly.
Trimming
The plant does not need pruning; remove only damaged or dried parts of the leaves, trimming them with sharp scissors, without affecting healthy tissue. To clean leaves, wipe off dust with a soft cloth and then wipe with a sponge soaked in water. room temperature. Do not use preparations to make leaves glossy. Pineapple is tolerant different conditions contents, does not tolerate cold drafts.
Reproduction
Seeds, suckers, supernumerary rosette of leaves.
Seeds
Pineapple seeds are small, measuring 1.5 x 4.0 mm, yellow-brown, sickle-shaped. They are extracted from well-ripened fruits, washed in a weak pink solution of potassium permanganate and dried in air. The substrate for sowing seeds can be leaf soil, coniferous soil, or a mixture of equal parts of peat soil and sand. In this case, the seeds are immersed in the soil to a depth of 1-2 cm, watered with settled water and covered with a transparent film or glass on top.
The crops are placed in very warm room(temperature should not fall below 20°C). The speed at which the first shoots appear depends on the temperature in the room. At a temperature of 20-24°C, seed germination occurs after a month and a half, at 25-27°C - after 20-25 days, and at 30-35°C, the first shoots appear after 15-20 days. Pineapple seeds germinate unfriendly, in different time. Thus, the germination of some seeds can take 5-7 months or more.
Caring for seedlings comes down to regular watering and spraying. Twice a month, apply fertilizing watering with a solution of mineral fertilizers or bird droppings at the rate of 15-20 g per liter. On hot days, young plants are shaded from the sun's rays.
When the leaves reach 6-7 cm, the seedlings dive into the loose substrate. It is prepared from equal parts of leaf, turf, peat, humus soil and sand with the addition of a small amount (about 5% of the total volume of the substrate) of charcoal. In addition, plants must be gradually accustomed to drier air, systematically opening the film cover.
Offspring
Like all bromeliads, the plant's rosette dies after flowering and fruiting. By this time, the pineapple has formed 2-3 root shoots. They are the easiest to propagate the plant. Don't separate them from mother plant until its leaves and inflorescence completely die off. By this time the shoots will reach half the height of their “parent”. Using a sharp knife, cut off the shoot along with the roots from the mother plant. It must have independent small roots, otherwise it will not grow. Plant the young plant in a small pot, lightly squeeze the soil at the base and water well. Cover the pot with a plastic bag on an arc support. Maintain the temperature at 24°C. Remove the bag daily for 5 minutes, but do not let the soil dry out. When new leaves appear in the center of the rosette, remove the bag.
How to grow a pineapple from a store-bought fruit in 4 steps?
Step 1 - choose pineapple
In any grocery store you need to choose a ripe pineapple, the main condition is that the leaves are firm, healthy, green (not yellow or brown). The skin of the fruit itself should also be golden yellow in color, not green. I recommend that you buy 2 pineapples for growing at once - you have more chances.
Carefully check the base of the leaves for gray spots, which indicate insect damage; this plant is not worth buying. Also, do not buy overripe fruits. A simple test for ripeness - gently pull back a pineapple leaf, if it easily returns to its original position, then the fruit is overripe.
Step 2 - preparing the top.
Take the entire bunch of leaves in your hand. Twist it hard and it will come out with a small stem.
(You can also simply cut off the top with the pulp, but in this case you need to make sure that all the pulp is removed from the trunk, otherwise it will rot and destroy the entire plant).
All pieces of pulp adhering to the trunk must be cleaned off in order to prevent rotting after planting. After clearing the pulp, you must carefully cut off the bottom of the crown until root buds appear (small dots or circles on the surface around the circumference of the stem).
You need to cut as little as possible so as not to damage the root buds.
Next, you need to remove several lower leaves from the bunch, exposing 2-3 cm of the trunk at the top.
Also, there may already be small brown roots at the base of the top. They will not grow in the future, but they cannot be removed or damaged.
After trimming and cleaning, leave the top to dry for a couple of days before the next step. This will heal scars on the tips of roots and leaves and prevent rotting.
Step 3 - sprouting the roots of the apex.
Exist various ways How to make the top take root, but the simplest and most reliable is to germinate the roots in water. You need to lower 3-4 cm of the trunk into water. A glass of water should be placed away from drafts, heaters and places with temperature changes.
The water needs to be changed every 2-3 days. There is an opinion that root germination is more effective in dark glass or plastic containers.
Step 4 - rooting the top
Once roots emerge, the pineapple needs to be planted in fast-draining soil. Ready-made mixtures “Cactus” or “Bromeliaceae” are suitable.
The diameter of the pot should be the diameter of the crown of the top (about 10-15cm). Be sure to have a drainage hole in the pot.
Place 2-3 cm of drainage at the bottom of the pot.
Then fill in the soil mixture.
Then we plant the top of the pineapple in the ground and place it in a bright place.
Watering should be moderate, the soil should always be moist, but not wet.
It will take 6 to 8 weeks for complete rooting. During this period, you should not speed up the process in any way, for example, apply fertilizers.
After about 2 months, the pineapple should already take root and independently consume water from the soil. Do a little check: carefully tilt the plant, if it resists, then new roots have already formed that hold it in the ground, if it does not resist, then no roots have formed. In the latter case, you need to check whether the plant is rotting; if rot is visible, alas, you need to start the process all over again with a new top of the fruit.
At this stage, old leaves will dry out and die, and new ones will appear in the middle of the rosette. Over the next year, you need to remove dried old leaves and water no more than once a week.
After a year, you need to transplant the plant into a larger pot.
Bloom
Pineapple blooms in the 3-4th year (when the length of the leaves reaches about 60 cm and the diameter of the base is about 10 cm), but sometimes much later, or even does not bloom at all.
The inflorescence of a pineapple consists of more than 100 strongly fused flowers, which, when flowering, tightly pressed against each other, form the infructescence. Pineapple flowers are tubular, dim, and change color depending on the light: from pale blue to dark crimson. Flowering lasts from 7-8 to 10-15 days, depending on the variety and growing conditions. The scent of the flowers is gentle, not strong, with a typical pineapple aroma.
Subsequently, a complex fruit is formed, assembled from many hexagons. As soon as the fruit starts to grow, nitrogen fertilizing is resumed. After some time, the fruit acquires an amber-yellow color with a typical pineapple aroma and taste. From flowering to full ripening it takes from 4 to 7 months, depending on the varietal characteristics.
Often the apical rosette interferes with the full growth of the fruit, taking all the force for its development. Here they usually suggest immediately removing its growth point. It is difficult for a novice amateur to do this, since you may miss the moment of pinching. It's better to wait until flowering ends. But it is impossible to almost completely remove the growth point, because the plant has only one and originates from the root collar. So the concept of “removing a growth point” is relative. Thanks to pinching, the growth of the apical rosette is inhibited. Trimming the growing point must be repeated several times. It can be added that the size of the whorl also depends on the type of pineapple.
Transfer
If the pineapple does not bloom, annually. After flowering, the daughter rosettes are replanted.
The soil mixture for the plant is prepared from turf, leaf, humus soil, sand and peat. Before the pineapple reaches maturity, it needs to be replanted twice: the first time - three months after the separation of the basal shoots, the second time - another year. Remember about the sharp teeth on pineapple leaves and carry out all work with gloves! When preparing a new pot for a plant, make sure it has good drainage. When you cover the roots with fresh soil, do not compact it too hard. Before transplanting, water the plant well; after transplanting, keep the pineapple in the shade for two days, giving it the opportunity to take root properly.
Everyone's favorite exotic fruit, pineapple, is known among adults and children. In countries with tropical and subtropical climates, it has long been very successfully grown on an industrial scale, but if you carefully read the claims of this crop, even in the harsh conditions of the Russian winter you can plant and grow it amazing plant from the top in an ordinary flower pot at home on the windowsill.
Where does pineapple come from?
Pineapple is a perennial herbaceous plant, an epiphyte, with compacted, fleshy leaves collected in one strong, thick knot called a basal rosette. This rosette forms a massive stem with a peduncle at the top. The peduncle is usually formed high, up to 50 cm, with a spike-shaped inflorescence and a rosette with a bract.
Pineapple has a very exotic look and looks great in a pot.
Pineapple comes from Brazil, although this plant is cultivated in many countries with similar climates.
In countries with tropical climates, pineapple is grown on an industrial scale
It appeared in Russia under Catherine II and was grown in public greenhouses.
Pineapple variety MD-2 Decorative pineapple variety, large-tufted Pineapple variety Champaka 
Mauritius pineapple variety Cayenne pineapple variety
Video: growing pineapples in captivity
Table: seasonal maintenance of the plant
How to plant pineapple correctly
Surely every second person who has ever bought a pineapple at the market has thought about whether it is possible to grow this crop at home. This is possible despite the fact that pineapple is accustomed to growing in tropical climates. But, before you start growing this crop, you need to select the desired fruit and root it according to all the rules in an acceptable container and soil.
Fruit selection
The fruit that is purchased for rooting the top should be moderately ripe with a beautiful and intact tuft. You should buy pineapple for planting in season - in summer or early autumn, since in winter the fruits are stored in refrigeration chambers and the socket may already be frozen and lifeless by the time of purchase.
The pineapple fruit or tuft should have dense green foliage, be firm to the touch, and healthy in appearance.
When choosing a pineapple fruit for planting, focus on the condition of the tops
If the leaves begin to turn yellow and dry, then it is better not to take this fruit for planting.
The center of the pineapple pulp should be yellow color, not very hardened. The fruit of a proper pineapple usually exudes a pleasant aroma and has no dents or signs of disease.
Top separation
In order to separate the top of the pineapple from the fruit, you need to grab the fruit with one hand, and the pineapple tops with the other and turn the top towards yourself, as if twisting it out of the pineapple. The stem will gently come out of the pulp.
If difficulties arise with twisting, then the separation procedure can be done using a knife, cutting out the leaves from the fruit with a root.
You can separate the pineapple tuft from the fruit by twisting it
You will have to cut at an angle of about 45 degrees, and then, to avoid rot, remove the pulp from the tufted stem and the lower leaves, exposing the trunk.
The tuft is dried in a vertical position in a ventilated area for several weeks.
Before planting, pineapple cuttings must be thoroughly dried.
This procedure is necessary to heal all damage caused to the cutting when separated from the fruit. While the cuttings are drying, nutrients will be concentrated in the rooting zone.
How to root and plant the top
In order for the pineapple top to take root, it is placed in an opaque container with water at room temperature about 4 cm and left in a moderately lit place without drafts and temperature changes for a week.
The pineapple cutting will sit in water for several days before sprouting tiny roots.
Video: rooting the pineapple top
While the cuttings are taking root, there is time to choose for the future pineapple suitable soil and a pot.
Any container will serve flower pot with drainage holes, the size of which should be quite a bit larger than the size of the cutting.
An impressive drainage layer of expanded clay or pebbles, about 4 cm, is laid on the bottom of the pot, and then a soil mixture consisting of sand and peat in equal parts is poured. Two to three days before planting, it is recommended to carry out disinfection procedures for the soil. To do this, you can simply pour boiling water over it.
This method of tillage will also moisten the substrate and make it at the desired temperature, since pineapple cannot be planted in cold soil. In such conditions, you can safely plant the tuft without first rooting it in water.
Video: planting the top in the ground without rooting
The tuft is placed in the prepared soil up to the lowest leaves. The soil around the cutting must be thoroughly compacted and the future pineapple should be thoroughly watered again with warm water. Next, the cutting is sprayed and covered with a bag to create a greenhouse atmosphere.
After placing the pineapple top in the pot, cover it with a bag to create artificial tropics
Such a greenhouse is left in a warm and well-lit place, but without direct exposure to rays, since we do not need the greenhouse effect.
The pineapple will be able to take root thoroughly in the soil only after a month, and it is not at all advisable to water it all this time, but the pineapple tuft will respond with gratitude to spraying.
Sphagnum moss is an excellent substrate for rooting bromeliads.
Sphagnum moss is an excellent substrate for epiphytes
It is hydroscopic and breathes well, and when it turns pale at the edges, it becomes clear that it is time to water the plant.
Successful rooting of the tuft entails transplanting the plant to permanent place, where exactly the same soil awaits him as the one that was used for rooting. After transplantation, the pineapple is again covered with a cap for a couple of weeks, kept in a more illuminated place and continues to be sprayed.
Since the homeland of the pineapple is the tropics, it is accordingly accustomed to light, warmth and humid air. Pineapple can withstand drought, and growing it indoors is not a labor-intensive task and anyone can do it.
How to care for decorative pineapple at home
Pineapple is a light-loving epiphyte, so it is best to place the pot with the plant on a south or south-east window, but even if your window sill is well lit for about 12 hours a day, being cold it can destroy the root system of the plant from hypothermia, because you can even water the pineapple only with very warm water. To prevent cooling of the roots, a pot with pineapple can only be placed on an insulating substrate or an insulated window sill, and the safest thing is not to place it on the window at all, but to install a flower stand or table next to the window.
You shouldn’t place a homemade pineapple too far from the window, it will lack light
Don’t think that having gotten used to the tropics, pineapple will feel great in an apartment with central heating, this is wrong. This crop does not tolerate heat and dry air, so it is necessary to maintain the air temperature during the day within 22°-28°C, and at night it should not fall below 18°C.
What to feed and water
Pineapple should be watered only with warm or even hot water. It is necessary to water rarely, but abundantly and only after the earthen clod has completely dried.
During active growth pineapple from April to September proper watering- Very important condition for content. It is necessary to water pineapples exclusively with warm or hot water, settled, and best of all, rainwater that does not contain lime impurities. Watering should be rare but plentiful, and only when the soil is dry.
If you do not let the soil dry out, the roots of the plant will rot, and if the pineapple does not have enough moisture, its tips will dry out and the pineapple will begin to lose its decorative effect.
When watering a pineapple, you can pour water from above so that it gets into the axils of the leaves and stays there. This moisture will serve as additional nutrition for the roots and ensure the plant’s well-being due to evaporation.
Hooligan lovers will enjoy watering the pineapple, since you can start doing it right from its top
In addition to watering and foliar irrigation, the pineapple will appreciate regular wiping of dust from the leaves with a damp swab.
It is recommended to fertilize pineapple no more than twice a month, and the ideal fertilizing solution is considered to be a solution of mullein, which is infused in warm water for a day and then diluted 10 times. A liter of the resulting solution will last for a month and a half.
Good for pineapple and mineral fertilizers for indoor plants or complex for bromeliads, but the concentration of fertilizing should be half that according to standard instructions.
After the pineapple has flowered, it should be fed mainly with nitrogen-containing products for rapid fruit formation.
How does an indoor pineapple bloom in a pot?
The flowering time of home-grown pineapple is usually unpredictable. About 3 years after planting the pineapple, a flowering period begins, which lasts about two weeks and is accompanied by a light aroma.
The bud forms at the very top of the central stem. Flowers can be bright blue, pink or purple, they can change shade; arranged in a spiral, opening one after another and only for one day.
Pineapple blossoms are inconspicuous and are unlikely to surprise anyone, but exotic lovers cannot fail to be impressed by this process.
Pineapple blooms brightly, but very briefly
After flowering, the fruiting period begins, and small fruits are formed that are easy to root. It is worth noting that these rooted fruits will bloom even faster than their parent.
A small pineapple fruit can quickly take root and bloom before its parent.
One fruit left on the mother's rosette can grow quite large. Its ripening period can range from three months to six months and depends on the variety of pineapple and the conditions of its maintenance. The most favorable period for pineapple fruiting is summer.
After the fruiting stage, the pineapple dies. This is normal natural process for the bromeliad family.
It happens that even when good care pineapple does not bloom. In such cases, it can be forced to bloom by artificial stimulation using ethylene gas. To do this, dissolve five grams of calcium carbide in a half-liter container and leave it closed for a day. Afterwards, the liquid is drained and only sediment is left. This precipitate is an ethylene solution, which must be gradually placed into the core of the pineapple rosette over the course of a week. A month or a month and a half after such stimulation, the plant should enter the flowering phase.
Video: flowering and growth of pineapple at home
Pineapple hibernation
In winter, pineapple hibernates, but this does not mean that it does not need to be watered. Pineapple watering should be moderate. One abundant watering per week or two waterings per week, but in a smaller volume, will be enough. The soil should not be wet all the time, since the pineapple's dormant period occurs at a temperature of about 15°C, and at low temperatures, flooding can turn into rotting of the roots or rosettes.
Feeding is not carried out until March-April and the lighting will also have to be reduced a little, as well as the temperature, otherwise the pineapple will not fall asleep and will suffer from a lack of nutrition and warmth.
In spring, the pineapple will gradually wake up on its own: new leaves will begin to appear. If awakening does not occur, it is necessary to increase the amount of light and transplant the plant into new soil.
If you want your pineapple to stay awake in winter, it is important to provide the plant with additional lighting (at least 10 hours a day) and maintain an average temperature of 22°C-23°C. In addition, it is necessary to continue to feed the pineapple at least once a month.
Diseases and pests
Precisely because the pineapple has long and very firmly established itself among other indoor plants, it, just like everyone else, has become susceptible to attack by insect pests. These and other troubles that beset pineapple in an apartment are discussed in the table along with preventive measures and prevention.
Table: possible troubles and solutions
Photo gallery: what pineapple suffers from
Dry spots on pineapple foliage appear due to heat or insect attack. The death of the rosette after fruiting is a natural process in pineapple. Scale insects provoke yellowing of the leaves. Aphids are an insect that drinks plant sap. Spider mite loves dry air very much 
Yellowing of pineapple leaves can be caused by pests such as mites or scale insects. The tips of the pineapple dry out if it is not sprayed. Yellowing of the lower tier of pineapple foliage occurs due to drafts. The rosette of the pineapple will rot if you flood the pineapple in the cold season. mealybug leaves a white powdery discharge on the plant
Pineapple propagation
Pineapple, like a true herbaceous plant, dies after fruiting, but this does not happen immediately and can even last for several years. At the same time, during this time, the mother bush gives birth to many small shoots around itself, which can be successfully planted in independent pots. These shoots will bloom much earlier than the attached tops.
Reproduction by shoots
Even before flowering, the pineapple forms a number of lateral shoots - basal shoots.
Tiny shoot on the mother rosette of a pineapple
They can be cut off or broken off from the mother's rosette once they have grown to about 20 centimeters in height. The cut areas are sprinkled with ash or crushed coal and left to dry for a week in a cool and ventilated room.
Shoots should be rooted in a vessel with water or in prepared soil only when cuts or breaks on the shoots are completely healed.
The optimal soil for rooting is layered. To do this, 3–4 cm of turf soil is poured onto the bottom of the container, followed by a layer of leaf humus and then about 10 cm of river sand. This is one of the rooting options; many gardeners plant shoots in mixed compound soils.
The soil should not be cold; its temperature can fluctuate between 24°-28°C.
After planting the shoot, the pot is covered with film or shoot, but so that the polyethylene does not touch the leaves.
When the pineapple shoots take root, they will soon begin to grow.
To do this, you can place supports on three or four sides by inserting sticks into the pot around the shoot.
You need to place a young pineapple in a sunny and warm place with diffused but bright light and high level air humidity.
Video: transplantation of lateral processes
Propagation by seeds
The seed propagation method is not the easiest, but quite accessible.
Seeds can sprout both in the second month and in the sixth: the seed method is therefore considered difficult, as it requires time and patience.
Of course, it has not reached the size it reaches in natural conditions, but it is a real little pineapple! Perhaps someone else will want to bring a southern corner into their home.
Pineapple naturally grows in the tropics, that is, it is a heat-loving plant that prefers sun and high temperature. At the same time, pineapple tolerates drought quite easily.
In Russia, this fruit appeared in the 18th century, and it was usually grown in greenhouses. However, even in an apartment it is quite possible to get real pineapple fruits.
How to choose a pineapple to grow at home
Planting material - pineapple fruit - can be bought at the market or in a regular store. Moreover, the fruit that you buy not just for food, but also for further cultivation, must be ripe, not green, but not overripe.
It is advisable to choose a fruit with a dense peel of a dark golden color, without any stains or damage, and not very soft.
Additionally, the pineapple you bring home should have vibrant green leaves that stick out from the top. Lush greenery on its top is a prerequisite for you to be able to grow a pineapple. The leaves should not have any damage, brown spots, or yellowness.
If you buy pineapples in winter, be careful - there is a high probability of purchasing a frozen fruit, and it does not matter whether you bought it at the market or in a store. It will be impossible to grow a pineapple from it at home.
Thus, planting material is of very great importance. It should be:
- young;
- healthy;
- ripe, but not overripe;
- free from damage, stains or cuts;
- not to be frostbitten, to have bright, healthy fruit (that’s what the top of a pineapple with leaves is called).
It is best to purchase a pineapple whose top you are going to root in summer or early autumn. In this case, it is advisable to buy not one pineapple, but two or three, to increase the chances of rooting.
How to prepare a pineapple for planting
Of course, it is not the entire fruit that needs to be planted in the ground, but its top (the so-called tuft). That is why you need to be very careful in choosing the fruit and the condition of the leaves.
The top should be carefully cut off with a very sharp knife to avoid damage, and then the lower leaves should be removed from it - about 4 rows so that the “stump” is visible. The size of this “stump” should be approximately 1 cm.
The leaves from below can also be cut off or simply plucked off about 2-3 cm from the base. After this, you should very carefully remove the pulp from the inside so as not to damage the leaves. You can carefully pull it out with a teaspoon, being careful not to scratch the walls of the fruit.
The cut on the pineapple should not be made completely straight, but at an angle of 45 degrees. If the fruit you purchased is ripe enough, then you don’t have to cut off the top, but simply, holding the leaves with your hand, carefully unscrew the fruit from the pineapple. As a rule, with this separation of the tuft from the fetus, there is less damage, if, of course, you act carefully.
After this, the top without pulp should be turned over and left for a while to dry. This is done so that the wounded and knife-damaged tip heals. In about a week to a week and a half, both the cut of the infructescence and the sections of leaves on it will become hard and change color.
This means that the top is ready for further manipulation. Please note that you can only dry pineapple in a vertical position!
This is done to ensure that all the nutrients from the leaves pass to the part of the top in which roots will form and contribute to good root formation.
How to sprout pineapple roots
After the top has dried, it should be placed in an opaque container with water. You need to lower the top into the water so that it sinks a few centimeters there, approximately to the level of the lower leaves.
The water should be at room temperature and should be changed every two to three days without allowing it to become cloudy. The water must be settled.
The container with the top should be placed in a lighted place where there is no danger of drafts or direct sunlight. Now you need to wait until the roots appear. As a rule, this happens after 10 days.
You can do it differently and root the pineapple directly in the ground. To do this, you need to take a small pot, the diameter of which is slightly larger diameter top, and fill it with a substrate consisting of peat and coarse sand.
You need to put drainage at the bottom of the pot, and then bury the top of the pineapple there, inserting it into the ground up to the lower leaves. Two or three days before you are planning to plant a pineapple, you need to pour boiling water over the soil in the pot to disinfect it.
Immediately after planting, you need to spray the pineapple crest with warm water and put cellophane on it to create a greenhouse effect. Instead of cellophane, you can use plastic bottles.
You need to place this structure, like a container with water, in a bright place, but avoid direct sunlight.
After about three to four weeks, the pineapple will begin to develop roots. and it can be replanted. While the top of the fruit is taking root, there is no need to water the substrate; you just need to generously sprinkle warm water on the tuft every day, removing the cellophane.
How to plant a pineapple correctly
Once roots have appeared at the top of the pineapple, it can be planted directly into the ground. You can purchase regular soil mixture for indoor plants; it is quite light and loose.
You should immediately take a pot of sufficiently large size, with a height of at least 20 cm and a diameter of at least 30 cm. In a smaller pot, the pineapple will very quickly become uncomfortable, the leaves will begin to turn yellow and dry, and the flowers will not appear, not to mention the fruits. Therefore, a large capacity for planting is very important; this rule cannot be neglected.
A pot for planting pineapple must have holes for water drainage, because pineapple roots do not tolerate excessive moisture. Therefore, drainage of at least 3 cm poured into the bottom of the pot is also required.
The pot is then filled with soil, and the top of the pineapple is planted in it, deepening it 2 - 3 cm to the very bottom leaves. After making sure that the soil does not get on the leaves, the soil around the plant should be lightly compacted.
If you rooted your pineapple not in a container of water, but in the ground, you first need to make sure that the roots have already appeared, and only then replant. Making sure that the pineapple has taken root is not difficult at all.
You just need to slightly pull it up by the tuft and bend it to the side. If this requires some effort, it means that the tuft is holding onto the ground by its roots, and it can be transplanted to a permanent place.
How to care for pineapple
The pot with the seedling should be placed in a well-lit place, because pineapple is a light-loving plant that needs sunlight.
The soil in the pot should always be moist, but overwatering should be avoided because the pineapple roots may rot. Water the plant with warm, settled water. ideally rain. Watering should be regular and moderate - this is how you can achieve constant light moisture in the soil in the pot.
The plant should also be regularly sprayed with water, and its leaves should also be wiped with a damp cloth. If the leaves begin to turn yellow, it means the plant does not have enough moisture. Do not be afraid to spray water on the leaves - the accumulation of water in the lower axils is very beneficial for the plant, the water is absorbed by additional roots.
Pineapple needs feeding. About once every two months it needs to be watered with mullein solution - this feeding works great for a young plant. Pineapple can also be fed with mineral fertilizers for bromeliads.
In summer, the pineapple can be placed on the balcony or taken to the dacha, but it must be protected from rain. Pineapple loves sunlight, so if your summer is cloudy, as well as in the autumn-winter period, the plant needs additional lighting. The pineapple must have at least 12 hours of daylight, otherwise you will not see any flowering or fruit.
The temperature in the room where the pineapple lives should not fall below 18-20 degrees, otherwise the plant will feel very uncomfortable, and this will again affect its growth and flowering. The roots of the plant also love warmth, so the pineapple should not stand on a cold windowsill or ceramic coating, otherwise the roots will begin to freeze.
After about two and a half to three years, with proper care, the plant should bloom. Flowering lasts an average of two weeks, during which the flower changes color and smells like pineapple. The fruit ripens for about six months, depending on the variety.
Please note that after the pineapple bears fruit, it will die, but will leave behind many small shoots that can be grown further. The plant does not die immediately, it can last more than two years, but this death is inevitable.
The children that remain after a pineapple are much easier to grow than from a tuft, while they are much stronger, and develop and bloom faster. As they grow, they should be separated from the mother plant and planted in pots.
