Growing Pineapples (It's easier than you think!)

Have you ever seen a pineapple plant? If not, you should google it. They're pretty cool looking. Surprisingly, not a tree. 

Most pineapples that we buy are grown in Hawai'i and other tropical places. I can't remember off the top of my head. What this means is that if you want to grow pineapples for yourself, chances are that you'll need to keep it as a houseplant. That's not an issue though, because the plant itself is quite pretty. In a modern sort of way. 

To begin growing a pineapple, you have to go out and buy one from the grocery store! Make sure to inspect the crowns before picking out which one to buy. If the leaves still look green and fresh, you're good to go. If they're brown and dried, you're out of luck because that baby will never grow. 

Once you're home with your delicious fruit, grab the crown and twist it off the top of the fruit. Set it aside for now and enjoy your golden treat! 

Once you're done with your tasty snack, take a look at the pineapple crown you pulled off. This will eventually be your pineapple plant! To get it ready for planting, pull off the smaller leaves at the bottom until about an inch of stem is revealed. You may see small brown maggot-looking things. Those are roots. Take a look at the image below. 

At this stage, I've read advice to let the crown sit out to dry for a couple days in order to prevent rotting. I haven't ever done that, and my luck has been fine. However if you try this multiple times and have issues with rot, try sitting it out a few days so it can scab over before rooting. This may be helpful especially if you live in a more humid climate. 

Whether you decide to let it scab or not, the next step is to put your crown in a container with a little water in it. I've heard of people using toothpicks to keep it elevated, like for avocado pits, but this isn't necessary if you only have a little water in the glass. 

This rooting-in-water step is also optional. I know other gardeners have had great luck with just shoving the crown in dirt and waiting. Personally, I just like to see the roots growing. It reassures me that it is growing. I would recommend that you also root the crown in water, especially for your first time growing pineapple. 

As you can see above, the crown started sprouting new roots. At this point, I found a small pot (4") and planted my pineapple. 

Newly planted pineapple

Now around 6 months old, it's really coming along! 

The leaves grow from the center, reaching up and out. At the tip of each leaf is a pointy point, and a couple backwards-facing barbs. It's not as bad as a cactus or anything, but you should still be careful around it. This plant is not child-proof by any means. 

A pineapple plant will grow up to three feet tall and wide, so be prepared to transplant it to a larger pot eventually, and to give it the space it needs. 

Pineapples can withstand drought, so if you forget to water it, there's no need to worry. It is part of the bromelaid family, like air plants, which means it absorbs nutrients and water through its leaves. It only does that during the winter though. During the growing season it uses its roots like normal plants. I've learned not to water directly into the crown, because unless it's very hot out, the water will sit there and the new leaves will rot. 

I have two pineapple plants, but so far you've only seen photos of my smaller one. 

Here it is above before it sprouted any roots. 

Roots will be sprouting soon!

There they are! 

Here it is after a bit of growth, sitting on the windowsill. You may notice that I cut the brown, dry tips off of the leaves. It looks nicer this way. More neat and organized. Less dead. 

Here it is making friends with my ginger and Christmas cactus. See how different it looks from the first photo. 

Here's the most recent photo I have of this pineapple, which was about six months ago. It has continued to grow taller and sprout more leaves. It looks much less like a crown and a lot more like its own plant! 

Write a comment below if you have any questions or have had any experience growing pineapples at home. I'd love to hear how it went!

Until next time, 

-Jess