Grow store-bought pineapple at home

Pineapple is an amazing fruit with a unique taste. Would you like to grow your own pineapple at home? Sure you would! Simply use the one you bought in the store. If you provide the right growing conditions you can even enjoy fruit! To grow your own plant, use the green part that you do not consume. A necessary requirement for successful cultivation is to use a fully ripe and healthy pineapple.

Choose the right pineapple

The success of pineapple growing depends very much on the fact whether you have bought the right pineapple. You need to be careful when choosing. You need not only a healthy pineapple, which should smell good, but you also need leaves. Leaves should be fresh green with no brown spots. You can check whether leaves are healthy or not by pulling on them. They cannot come out and should stay strong.

Photo: Pixabay

The top rosette

There are two ways you can get a clean leaf rosette. First, you may twist the rosette. Grab the fruit with one hand and the leaf rosette with your other hand and twist it. The rosette should come loose. This method is best because it gives you a clean rosette without the flesh that tends to rot. You may also cut off the leaf rosette and get a bit of pulp, but you need to clean it thoroughly. Remove as much of the pulp as possible to avoid rotting.

Rooting

Rinse the leaf rosette under running water and gradually remove the lower sides. You should get at least four rows of leaves and a ragged stump about 2 cm long. Some pineapples already have tiny roots. Soak the stump in water (make sure the remaining leaves do not come in contact with the water surface). Soft or distilled water is ideal. Leave it at a bright place – no direct sunlight. In about a month you should see roots.

• Tip: The water will evaporate eventually. Do not forget to add water regularly.

Planting

Once the roots are several centimetres long, you may plant it. Pull out the rooted rosette, place it on a paper towel and let it dry. Drying takes two to three hours. In the meantime, you may prepare the substrate: use palm substrate or mix garden soil with river sand in a 2:1 ratio. The flower pot should not be too big (start with a diameter from 12 to 14 cm), because you want the soil to be able to dry.

Location

Put the pot on a windowsill. You may put it right above the heater. Pineapple likes it worm but avoid direct sunlight as it may burn it. Half shade is ideal. When new leaves appear in the centre of the rosette, the pineapple has taken root well and you are done. Once a year, usually at the beginning of summer, you need to transplant. Remember to leave a 2 centimetres gap between the plant and the end of the new pot.

Care

Allow the soil to dry between individual watering. It is not necessary to keep the soil moist at all times. Water twice a week in summer and once a week in winter. Take the plant outside, if the weather is good but as mentioned before, no direct sunlight. Under right conditions pineapple may grow pretty large and it may be difficult to bring it back inside your house for the winter. You may tie leaves to make the transfer easier. Best growing temperature is around 25°C in summer and around 20°C in winter.

Source: https://deccoria.pl/artykuly/rosliny-domowe/jak-wyhodowac-ananasa-w-domu-41-825

Preview photo: Pixabay