Pineapple Growing - Trees Planting

The pineapple is brief and stout. It grows 2 ½ to five feet tall and three to 4 feet wide at maturity. it’s strap-like leaves that are serrated with needle tips.

The oval to cylindrical-shaped pineapple fruit is really many small fruits fused together. The pineapple may be a compound fruit.

The stem of the pineapple elongates at flowering time. alittle head of purple or red flowers forms at the tip of the stem. The flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds. Individual fruits form from each flower; the flowers then join together to make a conical-shaped compound fruit which will be as large as 12 inches long and nearly as wide in circumference. The fruit’s interior is juicy and fleshy; its core is that the elongated stem that bore the flowers to start with.

The waxy outer rind of the pineapple are often dark green, yellow, orange-yellow, or reddish when the fruit is ripe. The flesh ranges from nearly white to yellow. Fruit can weigh from 1 to 10 pounds or more.

Pineapples are commonly harvested with a pointy knife; the fruit is cut faraway from the stalk and plant below.

To peel and section a pineapple, slice off the leafy frond at top and stand the pineapple on its stem end. Slice the fruit in quarters lengthwise and cut away the central core. The flesh of every quarter is cut faraway from the rind with an outsized sharp knife. Cube or dice the flesh and serve.

The pineapple is native to southern Brazil and Paraguay.

The botanical name of the pineapple is pineapple .

BEST CLIMATE AND SITE FOR GROWING PINEAPPLE

Pineapples are tropical or near-tropical plants. Pineapples grow best where the temperature averages between 65° and 95° Pineapple can tolerate cool nights but growth is going to be slowed.
Prolonged cold and freezing temperatures will delay maturity and make the fruit more acid. Pineapples are going to be severely damaged at 28°
Pineapples are grown outdoors in southern Florida, southern California, and Hawaii within us.
Plant pineapples fully sun; pineapples don’t ripen well in partial shade.
Plant pineapples in compost-rich, sandy loam. The soil must be well-drained; pineapples won’t grow in soggy soil.
Pineapples prefer a soil pH of 4.5 to 6.5.

PINEAPPLE POLLINATION

Pineapple flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds.

PINEAPPLE YIELD

A pineapple commonly bears one head or fruit, occasionally two.

SPACING PINEAPPLES

Space pineapples consistent with their size at maturity.
Pineapples can grow 2 ½ to five feet tall and three to 4 feet wide. Pineapple leaves are spiked so give the plant room.
Planting pineapple

PLANTING PINEAPPLES

Prepare a planting site fully sun that’s sheltered from a prevailing breeze or wind. A south-facing wall that will collect and radiate solar heat may be a great place in cooler locations.
Work well-rotted compost or manure into the soil.
Mound the soil if it’s not well-drained.
Set a ground cover of black plastic over the planting bed; cut an X within the plastic to plant pineapples. Plastic ground cover will warm the soil, conserve soil moisture, and reflect heat up to the plant.
Dig a hole half again as deep and twice as wide because of the plant’s roots. Add a cupful of all-purpose fertilizer to the rock bottom of the opening.
Set the plant within the hole in order that the soil mark from the nursery pot on the stem is at the surface level because of the surrounding soil. Spread the roots call at all directions.
Re-fill the opening with half native soil and half aged compost or commercial organic planting mix; firm within the soil in order that there are not any air pockets among the roots. Water within the soil and make a modest soil basin around the base of the plant to carry water at watering time.
After planting, water thoroughly and fertilize with a high-phosphorus liquid starter fertilizer.
See Propagation below for more details.

CONTAINER GROWING PINEAPPLES

Pineapples are easy to grow in containers. Chose a container 24 inches wide and deep.
Pineapples are often grown indoors during a warm, brightly lit spot.

PINEAPPLE CARE, NUTRIENTS, AND WATER

Keep the soil evenly moist for best fruit production. Pineapples can withstand drought, but fruit yield will suffer.
Feed pineapples every four months with a high nitrogen fertilizer; a fertilizer formulated for citrus will work. Magnesium will help increase fruit weight.
Pineapples can take nutrients in through their leaves; use a dilute fish emulsion or seaweed extract foliar spray.
Mulch around plants with aged compost to conserve soil moisture and protect shallow roots.
Pineapples are frost-sensitive; cover plants with a plant blanket or erect a frame around the plant and canopy the frame with clear plastic sheeting if frost threatens.

HARVESTING AND STORING PINEAPPLE

It takes 18 to 32 months for a pineapple in touch mature fruit.
It is difficult to inform when a pineapple is ripe; size and color change aren’t reliable indicators of ripeness.
The “eyes” or scales that run down the length of the pineapple will turn a light-weight pale green color when the fruit is ripe.
Ripe fruit will make a dull, solid sound when thumped by a finger. Immature fruit will make a hollow thud.
Pineapples don’t still ripen after harvest.
Ripe fruit are often cut from the plant with a pointy knife; some fruit will break free from the plant with a twisting jerk.
Fruit will keep for 2 or three weeks at 45°F.

PROPAGATING PINEAPPLE

Pineapples are propagated by vegetative growth. Here are the options: slips that arise from the stalk below the fruit are often cut away and replanted; suckers that originate from the axils of leaves are often separated and planted; crowns that grow from the highest of fruits are often sliced away and planted (see below); ratoons or “pups” that grow from the underground portion of the stem are often separated and replanted.
Suckers growing from leaf axils or pups that grow near the bottom of the plant are often separated and planted in moist soil. Suckers and pups will take about 18 months in touch fruit.
Crowns for replanting are often twisted or cut from the highest of the fruit. Remove any of the fruit’s flesh then let the crown dry for 2 days. Remove the lower, outer leaves from the crown to reveal ½ to 1 inch of the stem. Set the crown in light soil and firm the soil round the edges. Keep the soil lightly moist until roots form. Plants grown from crowns will take about 24 months to fruit.
Replant rooted crowns about 2 inches deep. Plant suckers and slips 3 to 4 inches deep.

PINEAPPLE PROBLEMS AND CONTROL

Mealybugs can prey on the sap of leaves; wash the plant with a robust spray of water or spray with insecticidal soap several times.
Purple or reddish leaves indicate the plant needs feeding.

PINEAPPLE VARIETIES TO GROW

‘Hilo’: a compact version of ‘Smooth Cayenne’; 2 to three pounds; produces few suckers or slips.
‘Kona Sugarloaf’: sweet and delicious with not acid flavor; white flesh; little core; 5 to six pounds; cylindrical shape.
‘Natal Queen’: delicate mild flavor; crisp texture; golden yellow flesh; 2 to three pounds; stores well after ripening.
‘Pernambuco’ (‘Eleuthera’): sweet, melting flavor; straw to white flesh; 2 to 4 pounds; for fresh eating.
‘Red Spanish’: aromatic and flavorful flesh; straw flesh; large core; 2 to 4 pounds; squarish shape; fruit breaks off easily.
‘Smooth Cayenne’: rich mildly acid flavor; juicy; 4 to 10 pounds; cylindrical shape. This variety is usually sold in grocery stores.