How to Grow Pineapple
Pineapple is one of my favourite fruits but they’re not easy to grow. I’ve tried a number of times and although the plant has grown, they never produced fruit. Maybe I just wasn’t patient enough as they can take 2 or 3 years to crop and once they flower it can take six months for the fruit to be ready for harvesting.
There are a number of reasons to grow your own pineapple. Firstly, the fruit tastes better. To obtain the best flavour, fruit should be harvested when it is ripe (yellow), however, commercially grown fruit is harvested well before this stage (while they are still green) resulting in lower quality fruit.
Secondly, there are a number of chemicals used in the production of pineapples. You can avoid these by growing your own but it’s probably not practical to do so, unless you plan well in advance and live in a suitable climate. If you have plenty of space and plenty of time then it can be done.
The third reason for growing your own pineapple is that it’s fun. It’s an unusual fruit and people will be surprised to see it growing in your backyard.
If you’re not eating organic pineapples then you will be eating fruit which has been sprayed with numerous pesticides and fungicides. Such as:
- Soil fumigant to control nematodes.
- Fungicides to prevent root rot.
- Fertilisers are added to the soil and later sprayed on the plants.
- Insecticides to prevent and control scale and thrip.
- Chemicals are sprayed on the crops to force flowering.
Today I read some tips on growing pineapple from its top, so it might be time for me to give it another go. These are excellent tips to get you started and I have a couple of my own to add:
- Pineapples can grow in any soil but prefer acidic soil.
- When soil pH is between 4.5 and 5.5 the risk of soil borne diseases is reduced.
- Plant them in a hot sunny position.
- Keeping your pineapples weed free will reduce the likelihood of diseases.
- Plant a number of plants every year to ensure a regular supply of pineapples.
- Remember to practice crop rotation to prevent soil borne diseases.
- Plant your pineapples with other fruit and vegetables to encourage predatory insects.
Don’t worry too much amount the climate as you might be surprised as to where you can grow pineapples. My aunty used to grow pineapples from pineapple tops and she lived in Bunbury, south of Perth, where it can get quite cold. She never had any problems growing them.
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You say to plant a number of plants every year does this mean they only produce one fruit and if so how long does this take.
Yes, pineapple plants only produce one fruit so you might want to plant a few to give you a regular supply. However, the plants do produce suckers once they are established which will produce their own fruit so you should get more than one pineapple after the first year.
The fruit takes between 5 and 7 months to mature so be prepared to wait for your ripe pineapple.
Pineapples can be grown on organic soils such as on a drained peat soil areas. However, growing pineapples organically, has a different meaning with growing pineapple on organic soil/environment. One may plants pineapples on organic soils but he uses chemicals to maintain the growth of the crop, then the product is not organic pineapple. Am I correct to say this, thank you.
From the emergence of red heart till harvest of the fruit may takes between 90 days to 150 days as being experienced by growers in Malaysia. The variation of the duration depends on the clone or variety used. TQ.
Once the pineapple has formed, what do you do if the fruit is leaning over on the stalk, but it’s only a small fruit? Is this normal? I have propped it up with a stake, will it get bigger or once it starts to turn golden, is that the biggest it’s going to get. If someone can help me, I would greatly appreciate it. CC
It’s fine to stake it as you have done. Once it turns golden, it’s not going to get any bigger so pick and enjoy!
I think if you’re not in a tropical area then the fruit will probably be a bit smaller than usual but it should still be tasty.
Let us know what it’s like when you try it.
The size of the pineapple fruit for a certain clone or variety is related to the plant size during the flower induction activity. Plant size is related to the way we manage the plant. Given optimum and balanced fertilizer input, enough light or sunlight, the plant will provide the maximum fruit size. Responses to the input given are different from one variety to another. I hope that you have provide optimum inputs and wait for the maximum yield. The taste will be slightly different if you do not give a balanced NPK fertilizer. TQ.
My pineapples have a number of suckers coming off them to form new fruit. Is it best to leave them and let them grow or is it better to remove them and replant them elsewhere
It is better to remove them and plant them elswehere. If we leave them to grow or continue as a ratoon crops with several units of plants, the fruit sizes may become smaller and the probability for the plants to get infected by pest and diseases will be higher. TQ.
I have cut away the pineapple flesh & want to plant the top.Does it need to dry out first.??? When do you put it in the soil.???
I do have a sunny spot for it in Sydney.Please advise.
Sue Spencer
The best practice is to dry out first. However, based on tropical condition here, in Malaysia, direct planting after cut is OK. As pineapple plant needs a lot sunshine, a sunny spot is a much better environment. Thank you.
Thanks for responding Mohammed, all your comments have been really helpful. Glad to have an expert here!
We at MARDI, The Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (www.mardi.my) have developed a pineapple hybrid named Josapine, a cross between Johor pineapple and Sarawak pineapple. It is meant for table or fresh eating pineapple. Currently, the fruits are sold in the local supermarket in Malaysia. Also exported to a limited extent as whole fruit and as a minimally processed form. Anyone likes to know more about this pineapple hybrid may visit MARDI’s web.
I put my pineapples in a jar with water up to the bottem of the leaves and juat put it aside in a sunny place keep the water topped up and in a short time roots will start to show, when they get to about 60mm I plant them in pots untill they are ready to go into the growd.
Good luck TimMyers. Your pineapple plants should be OK when grown in pots or otherwise planted into your backyard ground area. However, if you are experiencing winter or 4 seasons environments, planting in pots should be a better option because you can move them to a warmer glasshouse etc during unfavourable conditions.
How do I know if the soil is acidic enough for planting pineapples?
Thank you.
The acidity of a particular soil type could be determined using a pH meter. Currently there are many models of pH meter in the market. Alternatively in many countries there are a number of agricultural services agencies that provide such services which is normally packaged together with soil nutrient contents analyses. The pH meter is scaled from 1-14. Anything below 7 is considered acidic. Those above 7 are considered alkaline. The pH of the soil for pineapple cultivation ranged between 4.5 - 6.0. However, in certain areas pineapple could also be grown on soil with pH around 3.5 and also 6.5. Thank you.