Tropical fruit, anyone?

[mothhawk]

Perhaps this should be on the feeling fruity forum, or maybe even the flower mill, but..... I shall be eating home grown pineapple in August - the pineapple top on my kitchen windowsill has a flower!

I've grown one before, but it was still a thrill and a surprise when I noticed the flower this morning

[Jay-ell]

Well done. And there's me thinking that you had to shovel a ton of manure to grow pineapples. How big do they grow?

[mothhawk]

It only gets to baby pineapple size, maybe 3 or 4 inches across, because it's only in an 8" pot - any bigger wouldn't fit on the windowsill, and even so I have to chop off the leaves that grow over the sink and draining board, or the darn thing would have my eye out.

[mothhawk]

The manure business is only to make a hotbed. This has plain tap water, with a splash of B@bybi0 about once a week (i.e. when I remember). The house is pretty warm though, as my Aged P lives with me . And there's always a bowl of apples in the kitchen, which apparently encourages pineapple to fruit.

[muddled]

Oh wow!

I had no idea you could actually get fruit from a pineapple top!
Will it get ripe and sweet though?

I just showed my daughter.....she said "aaaaah cooooool" which, from a horrid twelve year old, is high praise indeed

[poly]

Blooming brilliant, I've always fancied having a go, but never have. Well done you!
I've got a pineapple just waiting to be eaten, I think the top looks a bit past it's best for growing. Maybe worth a try?

[mothhawk]

Oh wow!

I had no idea you could actually get fruit from a pineapple top!
Will it get ripe and sweet though?

I just showed my daughter.....she said "aaaaah cooooool" which, from a horrid twelve year old, is high praise indeed

The last one was beautifully sweet, just small. Here's a picture of it after the florets had faded and it was just starting to fill out. You can see it's starting to get a little green pineapple top of its own.

Blooming brilliant, I've always fancied having a go, but never have. Well done you!
I've got a pineapple just waiting to be eaten, I think the top looks a bit past it's best for growing. Maybe worth a try?

Always worth a try. What is there to lose? It's a waiting game though, the plant has to be about 18 months old before it will flower. I just like having one on the windowsill, it stops folk seeing in - the flower is a lucky bonus.

[poly]

Thanks, will do. If it takes, can it go out to the greenhouse for the summer?

[mothhawk]

Don't see why not. Wait until it's really warm though. Don't water too much, I find it prefers to be on the dry side. It won't hurt if it dries out, but will drown if the soil is kept too moist all the time.

[poly]

Thanks, sounds like my type of watering!
I've been looking at the pineapple top I have, it's a non runner. But they are fairly reasonable in shops at the moment, which is a good excuse for a treat!

[muddled]

So...I cut the top off a pineapple....should it go in water for a bit to root or should I go ahead and pot it up?

[mothhawk]

So...I cut the top off a pineapple....should it go in water for a bit to root or should I go ahead and pot it up?

Sorry Muddled, didn't see your question.

Pull off some of the bottom leaves until you have a stump of stalk, then just push it into a pot of compost, water in, and then resist watering for at least a fortnight.

It won't drink much at all, wait until the compost is almost powder dry, then water sparingly, not enough so it runs out of the bottom of the pot. Treat it like a succulent. Once it starts to put up new leaves, give a little plant food each time you water.

[starloc]

I have done this a year or so ago, I chopped the top off and left them to dry a few days, dipped in rooting powder and put them in some cactus compost, after a month or so on a heated mat they root, once rooted I put them in 50L pot of cactus compost, once the roots get to the bottom I go up to a 100L pot, I misted them every day and fed them with dilute citrus fertiliser, by this point they are getting big, about 3 foot tall and 5 foot wide and too sharp...so I gave them away

[mothhawk]

Small, but, as they say, perfectly formed



Tasted good too!

[Nicos]

How fantastic!!!! ...clever you!