Is this pineapple going to be big enough to bloom next year?

[TheWaterbug]

Pineapple takes about 18 months to mature. The peak bloom is in summer. The first pineapples from the crowns are usually smaller than pineapples from offsets.

Have you seen a difference in fruit size between suckers and rattoons?

What's the correct way to pull a sucker off the main plant? And when?

Thanks!

[Rose bloom]

The pineapple plants is growing, I n c h b y I n c h I'm so impatient!!

[TheWaterbug]

If you look at it every day it's going to be a loooooong year!

[Rose bloom]

Haahaaa... Very funny, Waterbug.

[TheWaterbug]

Haahaaa... Very funny, Waterbug.

You looked again this morning, didn't you?

[Rose bloom]

Yes!

[Rose bloom]

hehehehee......

[Rose bloom]

My other pineapple plant

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The famous pineapple this thread is about!

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My famous pineapple has grown a bit, but I suspect it's hindered from the coldish weather and hungry for fertilizer.

[imafan26]

They are bromeliads so the offsets come off pretty easily, they just need to be pulled off. My pineapple are forming now. One may be overripe. It was buried in the weeds so I haven't seen it for a few months. I don't take very good care of mine so they are always small. It is is a 6 inch pot and should probably be in the ground instead.

[Rose bloom]

Would pineapples grow better in a pot or in the ground? I'm thinking maybe a pot, since everyone has had good luck with that, but I don't want to disturb its roots. Thoughts?

[TheWaterbug]

All of mine in pots are doing well. All of mine in the ground are doing poorly.

I think the difference is drainage. My native soil is heavy clay, and even heavily amended it dries into a rock-like mud.

I filled my pots with an expensive cactus mix, and it's always well-drained and loose.

[Rose bloom]

Hmm... I'm pretty sure my soil is NOT clay, more between silt and loam. there's a pinch of sand in there, which is probably why I'm able to grow aloe there. The yard is spread unevenly: some with extra sand, loam, or silt. Oh, and compost too.

[Rose bloom]

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I planted another top yesterday, about or nearly one foot. I chose it specifically because the crown was so tall. Also because it was nearing overripe. Dang it, it's sideways. Oh well.

[imafan26]

it depends on the variety of pineapple. Some of them can be compact, but most of the Dole pineapples are large plants with leaves that get close to 24 inches. Pineapple takes about 18- 24 months from planting to harvest. The pups usually come out first on the sides before the pineapple. In colder climates it may take longer to get there. Peak season here is in the summer. It can still take months for the pineapple to mature once it blooms.

Pineapples can be grown in pots or in the ground. They are a bromeliad so treat them the same way. They like full sun and they like to be watered and fertilized in the cups. My uncle told me to use Sul-po-Mag, they apparently like the micros. Liquid fertilizers are o.k. just water in the cups. The bromeliads do spike out and take up a lot of room up top, but they have fine roots that basically are there just to keep the plant upright.

[Rose bloom]

Ok, thanks.

[Rose bloom]

That pineapple got heart rot. Miraculously, it's hanging onto life. The other famous pineapple (maybe I should give it a name, so you won't be confused) is grumpy, so I've been building it a greenhouse thingy. It's kinda like this. | | || those are the posts and there's going to be a plastic cover on top. I read in applestar's minimum temps thread pineapples go dormant at about 70 degrees, which it's been nearing these days, so I built it. Hopefully it provides enough heat and humidity for the winter Ian's to get them growing. Could this work? I spent zero money on this the posts are mine, and the plastic is mine, so it doesn't really matter if it doesn't work. I'll just use it for other things. Possible umbrella?

[Rose bloom]

Oh yeah, and how about a name for my famous pineapple?

[TheWaterbug]

Spike!

[Rose bloom]

Hmm.... Patience.? Because you have to be patient

[applestar]

Briar Rose -- aka Sleeping Beauty

[imafan26]

Pineapples take about 18 months to mature. The leaf size depends on the variety. My Del Monte gold is a short variety while the Dole is 3 times the size. It just had a pineapple, but I don't take very good care of mine. The leaves on the Dole are almost three feet high and my pineapple was a juicer about 4 inches long. It should have been a lot bigger, but I did not feed it and it was buried under a mass of weeds and other plants.

[applestar]

One of my pineapple tops got what I assume is what rose bloom said -- heart rot.

As it died, it produced 3 strong pups (and one runt that didn't make it) so don't give up on that plant too soon.

[Rose bloom]

Well, it's not very established, so I don't think it'll produce pups.

[Rose bloom]

The heart rot affected pineapple died.

[Rose bloom]

Ok, who wants Spike, Briar rose, or patience. Or come up with a better one.

[Rose bloom]

Briar Rose is growing well, as is Prince Charming and Maleficent. my other pineapples.

[applestar]

Love it! Great names

[Rose bloom]

Thanks.

[Rose bloom]

Briar, Prince, and Maleficent are doing nicely.

[TeamGardening]

With the right care, you can expect your pineapple to fruit in about 2 to 3 years. You can try and force it to fruit after one year by setting an apple on the pineapple and placing a bag over top of it for a night. Hope that helps!

[TheWaterbug]

Briar, Prince, and Maleficent are doing nicely.

I named my "Clyde." Then I ate him.

[Rose bloom]

the pineapple, right, not the plant? Why Clyde, though?

[TheWaterbug]

I ate Clyde, the fruit, after twisting his crown off. His crown is sitting in a jar of water on my kitchen counter.

His mother plant is still in the pot, awaiting her dismemberment

There are 3 suckers growing out of the main plant stem. I need to twist/cut them off and root them.

There are 3 suckers growing out of the ground. One is quite large, and the other two are smaller. I'm thinking I should leave the biggest one intact for a "ratoon crop" and twist/cut off the other two for rooting.

But I also need to transplant the remaining ratoon because the pot is just way too small, so I might take that as an opportunity to examine the root system. I keep reading that pineapples have tiny root systems, and I'm curious to see just how tiny.

[Rose bloom]

Cool! Good luck

[imafan26]

I moved one of my pineapples to where it gets more sun and water, and It looks like the flower spike may be coming up. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I have had pineapples, but because most of them are growing in the weeds, they have only been pint sized and by the time I find them, long gone.

[Rose bloom]

how exciting! I hope mine is like yours. If it doesnt flower by one year later(already2 years old) I will force it. Hopefully, its big enough by then to flower naturally.

[applestar]

Everyone's comments are reminding me that I was going to feed mine aggressively this year. It's almost time to start since the days are getting longer and temperature a little warmer -- my avocados and peppers are starting to wake up and unfold their leaf buds (overwintered peppers are tryi to bloom already), so I think I should assume that the pineapples are too.

[Rose bloom]

Cool! Post pics, too.

[imafan26]

I finally got around to taking a picture of my pineapple in bloom

[TheWaterbug]

Do you know what variety you have? The leaves look like those of my tiny Sugarloaf plants that I bought online.