How to Grow Pineapples

Pineapples are wonderful fruit. Not only are they delicious, but they are also very easy to grow. All you really need to start growing your own pineapple farm is a pineapple and some dirt (and a pot if you live in a colder climate).

Step 1 Obtain a Pineapple...

Go to wherever you like buying fruit from, whether it be a supermarket, farmers market, or from a guy selling fruit on the side of the road. Buy a nice looking pineapple. Make sure it's nice and ripe. Take the fruit home, and move on to the next step...

Comments

[bbaril]

How beautiful. I can't wait to see a fruit on mine. The plant itself is so pretty, even if it never fruited it would still be worth growing. I will never throw a pineapple top in the compost again.

[awoggirl]

Hi does anyone know if you can trim the dead a torn leaves off a pineapple plant, Thanks

[bbaril]

Sure you can. I think it is similar to a banana tree. I've noticed if I trim my banana tree before the leaf has completely dried out it can weep. I'm not sure if the pineapple plant would weep, but I wait until the leaf is dry before I trim it.

[bbaril]

It is soo true about the extra steps. I tried with no success to grow a pineapple that way. I just put the top in a pot this time and it got happy. I will try next time to leave a little of the meat on. I am so glad someone else has the same opinion

[The nerdling]

fresh pinapples look so good
are they better thann the baught ones?

[tjesse]

Eat the squirrels.

[The nerdling]

heheheheheheh

[kdunn]

Leaving any fruit on the plant is a sure fire way of failure. Remove all fruit from the plant (ie cut exactly where the leaves begin) so that fungus will not kill or stunt the growth. Also, remove about a third of the leaves from the lower portion. Do this gently and one at a time so you will not disturb the roots that form between the lower leaves. Then stick in a bucket of dirt in a partially shaded area for the first week while watering regularly. Then transplant to full sun. If you do this you will have pineapples within 6-10 months in fertilized soil! Also, I have been told that if you can isolate the core from the fruit the time to fruit can be even further reduced. I am currently testing this, so I cannot give directions at this time.

[suayres]

Can you grow them this way in a pot or bucket? I live in Wisconsin, so growing them outdoors is out of the question (we had waist- high snowfalls this past winter--NOT unusual)!

[gia]

Yes, you can grow them in a plant pot. A mature pineapple needs 12" pot but you can start with a smaller one, and transplant it to a bigger one on the second or third year. Exposure to sun (South window, or even outdoors for summer) is awesome.
For outdoors growing, pineapples need at least US hardiness zone 9B or warmer (Corpus Christi TX, Florida, HI or PR). But you can keep the pineapple outdoors until it gets cold (low 50s/below 15c), and move it then indoors.
I managed to make my pineapples make fruit (more wiht kdunn's ideas than the original poster's) even in Ireland.
In Hawaii, a pineapple can mature in 18-20 months. Anywhere colder than that, it can take longer. But don't worry too much about when it might make fruit - pineapples look awesome as plants even before they make fruit.

[destructopop]

Great advice!
Great instructable!
I am so looking forward to the adventure of growing my own pineapples!

[joshirelan]

I agree with kdunn, when u leave the bottom on u ask for failure. removing the leaves from bottom exposes roots already grown. It makes it easier. plus why waste roots already grown

[Asmodeous]

Tree frogs go to Rollins College.

[CrayfishYAY]

I live in Alabama, a little north of Birmingham. Is it warm enough for pineapples? I really want to grow some!

[pigpenguin]

 I just planted mine today. The only thing was the the leaves are slightly discolored ( grayer then normal) and was wondering if that will effect its growth.

[souderad]

I have been growing pineapples for 3 years now in northeast Indiana . they are in pot that go outside in the summer and into my sunroom in the winter . have picked 2 pineapples from my fist 2 plants I am now up too 10 plants .

[bwenda62]

Hi there!!!  I'm a newby but started my first pineapple by cutting off the top on one I purchased, so on and so forth.  It did root, finally in water, then I planted it in rich soil.  At first it was looking really good and had some new bright green growth coming from the center.  But then a few of the stem a little away from the center started turning brown and curling around the edges.  So today I gave those a little tug and they came right out and appear to be dying at the base.  The inner leaves are still intact.  Do you have any suggestions regarding where to put it indoors?  I live in Maine.  I TRULY don't want to lose my baby!!! :-)  How often do I water them indoors???

[souderad]

 put it were it will get the most sun make sure that the temp does not get below 60. I water mine once a week  about 1/2 quart of water but they do not like wet feet. I have 3 pineapples coming on now  so I  use 12-12-12 in the pot once a month. good luck

[bwenda62]

Thanks for the advice!!  I'm going for it and will keep you posted. :-)

[baba87]

Thanks for this. I wanna do this but i didnt know it takes so long to grow a fruit

[lil jon168]

lol now i can gaurd somthing fom squirrels besides my pecan tree

[baba87]

You can take metal netting (chicken wire) material and make like a cage thingy to go over the plant.

[jeff-o]

Shame I live in Canada. I'd fill my backyard with pineapple plants if possible!

[SenileFelineS]

Plant Pot!

[Tobita]

Are you asking Jeff-O to plant pot or plant the pineapples in pots?

[SenileFelineS]

Haha, I meant plant it in a pot ;)

Good catch there.

[J@50n]

Haha, that was funny. i didn't catch it till i read Tobita!

[treesneedtobehugged]

i live in southern Arizona and would a drip system be enough for watering a pineapple? Will it grow in temperatures over 110 degrees on the north side of a house?

[pechka]

I've found that when ripening a pineapple, it helps to take off the crown of leaves and turn it upside-down.   This way it equalizes the sweetness; otherwise you have the sweet bottom and the tart top.  I think that the best way to tell a ripe pineapple is to smell it.

Great instructable, thank you!

[logman234]

My parents used to live in florida and did the same thin. But they live in wisconsin now and in the winter there is not enough natural light to keep it alive. Same thing with my orange tree. So your going to need some artificial light. I grow my orange tree in the basement and used cfl lightbulbs for about 10-12 hours a day that seems to work very good.

[guitarman63mm]

I tried to grow one once...and the damned armadillos took it away in the middle of the night!

[spainard7445]

I live in canada a very cold climate ,but have warm weather for about 5 months, how do I protect it from the cold, can I mulch and cover it up threw the winter. thanks

[ReCreate]

ouch...Squirrels...I have an idea...Would an electric fence generator work...by chance at preventing the Squirrels from coming back?

[russ2850]

HI all, new here, but have a pineapple that I've been growing for a couple years now. The fruit started this past January, and here's a pic taken today. My question is this... I've heard that a twin crown is less desireable because it will have a double core inside. Well, I just realized I have a triple crown... so does that mean I'll have a triple core inside my pineapple? There are also eight very healthy shoots coming out under my pineapple that I'll plant later. Not bad for a first attempt... oh, live in South Florida, so year round growing is manageable.

[Minny1128]

Thank you for posting this infomation. I have 2 pineapple plants that have fruit on them. Right below the fruit are some growths about 1-2 inches long that look like pineapple tops. Are these new fruits or plants? If they are new plants, how do I cut them so that they will grow? One of the plants has about 4 or 5 of these on it. I am afraid I'll kill the plant if I cut them off. Any help is appreciated.

[woofboy111]

Those would be pineapple pups. After the plant fruits, you sometimes end up with a few of these. Let them grow to about the size of a normal pineapple top that you would cut off of a fruit, and then twist them off and stick them in the ground.

[Minny1128]

Thanks woofboy. I didn't know what to do .. I've never had any plants that got those on it. I have several other plants that I bought that already had the fruit on them but they didn't get those. My neighbors will all want one, so if I can get them to grow, I'll share them. Thanks again for the information.

[phip]

I wanted to point out that pineapples are actually bromeliads, and so do not ever have seeds. The reproduce using "pups" from their base, exactly what you are doing here. Once a pineapple plant flowers and grows a fruit, that plant will never produce fruit again. The fruit sprout around them though. Much like bananas in this way.

[Minny1128]

One of my pineapple plants has bloomed again & has fruit on it. This is the 2nd pineapple I got from this same plant.

[multiple_reality]

pineapples do have seeds, i have seen them from time to time. i usually find them on larger pineapples about 1/4 to 1/2" in from the outside.