Ananasis one of the most favorite exotic fruits. In our conditions, you can grow your own pineapple plant. Find out more about pineapple and abouthow to grow pineapple in your homeFind out how easy it is, just follow the tips in our article. Growing pineapple at home can bring you a lot of satisfaction.
How to grow a pineapple at home
Fig. depositphotos.com
How does a pineapple grow?
Edible pineappleor Ananas comosus belongs to the Bromeliaceae family.It is a perennial plant that rooting in the ground and is extremely resistant to drought and heat. The edible pineapple comes from tropical Brazil. It was Christopher Columbus who first brought pineapple to our world. Eventually, the cultivation of pineapple mainly moved to Hawaii, where today it is grown in great numbers.
Pineapple leaves are oblong and narrow, forming a rosetteThere are prickly growths on their edges. Between 10 and 20 months of cultivation, a fleshy shoot develops from the center of the rosette, at the top of which an inflorescence is formed with numerous purple flowers.In a natural environment, a pineapple inflorescence shoot can grow up to 150 cm in heightbut in pot-growing at home, the plant does not reach such a large size.
The pineapple fruit is usually made from about 100-200 small flowersIn the wild, pineapples bear fruit in the summer. Growers, however, spray them with naphthylacetic acid to regulate the pace of plant development, which allows them to obtain fruiting plants at different times of the year.Thanks to this , pineapple fruits are available all year round in grocery stores
Pineapple fruit
Where to get a pineapple seedling?
Pineapples are best propagated from cuttings, which can be easily obtained from fruit bought in a store for 4-5 PLN. Pineapple fruit is sold with a leaf rosette on top of the fruit. You can root this rosette and grow a pineapple from it
Note! When choosing pineapple in the store, make sure that the fruit looks fresh and ripe, and that the rosette is not damaged (it must not have the center cut out), with no signs of rotting or emerging mold.
How to grow a pineapple - cut off the leaf plume with a slice of flesh
To obtain a pineapple seedling, cut off the rosette of leaves at the top of the fruit (the so-called leaf plume) with a slice of flesh approx.2 cm. Some also recommend simply grasping the fruit with one hand, grasping the rosette with the other hand, and then separating the rosette by twisting it out of the fruit. Then carefully remove the flesh and lower leaves from the rosette until 2-3 cm of bare stem is exposed, on which you can sometimes see small roots.
How to plant a pineapple seedling?
If the roots are visible, the plant can already be planted. If the rootlets are not yet visible, the rooting agent will help. There is a preparation in dust that facilitates the rooting of cuttings. Dip the lower end of the rosette of ourpineapple cuttingsin the rooting agent. Then we plant it in a moist, light, alkaline substrate. It should be soil mixed with sand in a ratio of 1: 1. The seedling is planted in a pot that is large enough to leave a 2 cm edge around the plant after the pineapple seedling is planted. Usually it starts with pots 12 to 14 cm in diameter.
Note! Before planting the rosette, it is worth putting it in a dry place for 2-3 days. Such drying will prevent the development of fungal diseases and the rotting of the rosette after planting.
Then put the pot with the seedling in a warm place (21-27 ° C) and remember that the substrate should be constantly moist, but only slightly. It is also worth spraying the leaves with soft water from the sprinkler, as the pineapple likes a bit of moisture inside the rosette.
When new leaves appear in the center of the rosette, the pineapple has taken root well and is starting to grow. Then we put the plant in the sunniest place. You don't have to care for watering so much then. The substrate may even dry out from time to time.
We replant the pineapple once a year, at the beginning of summer. Remember to keep a 2 cm margin around the plant in the new pot.
Growing pineapple at home
Ananasis not an overly demanding plant. We water it moderately, letting the soil dry between waterings. In summer, a multi-component liquid fertilizer should be provided every 2 weeks, which can be poured both into the ground and on the leaf rosette, because the pineapple can also take up its nutrients through the leaves.Do not overdo the amount of fertilizer! Usually, we use half of the dose recommended by the manufacturer.
In summer, the plant loves heat 20-30 ° C is the optimal temperature. Below 20 ° C growth is inhibited. In winter, the temperature should never drop below 15 ° C. Colder air, not to mention frost, damages and kills the plant.
Pineapple fruit develops from a flower
How to grow a pineapple fruit?
As a rule, pineapples begin to bloom after 1.5 - 2 years after planting.However, if the flowers do not show by this date, the pineapple needs a little help. For this, we take one well-ripe apple and cut it in half. Place one half flat on the ground (with the part cut off to the ground). Place the other half on the leaf rosette. We cover the prepared plant with a foil bag. The ethylene that will be released by the apple should stimulate the pineapple to sprout flowers.After 2-4 weeks, the first flowers should appear.When we spot the first pineapple flowerstake off the foil bag and remove the apple. It will take 4-6 months for full flowering. In a very sunny place, the flower will turn into a fruit.
Katarzyna Matuszak
