Growing a pineapple in a pot is an interesting activity, as this exotic fruit attracts not only its taste, but also the fact that the plant itself can be a wonderful decoration for any green corner in the apartment. Pineapple leaves rich in color are decorative. They are prickly and juicy. It is easy to create all the necessary conditions for growing such a plant in any room. If you follow all the conditions for planting, caring for and especially watering a pineapple, then it will not only bloom well, but also give fruit.
Description of the plant
Pineapple is a herbaceous plant, in the center of which a stem always sprouts. If you carefully examine it, you can see that right at the top of the stem there is an inflorescence, which subsequently turns into a seed. Separate berry parts of this seed grow together into one pineapple.
The stem is surrounded by a rosette, which consists of leaves, thick and fleshy. The shape of the fruit of such a plant is oval andcylindrical. It is made up of small parts that have grown together. The top of the pineapple has a rosette of leaves.
The fruit itself is enclosed in a shell of scales. If the pineapple is ripe, it may be yellow, dark green, reddish or brown. Its flesh is deep yellow.
Practically everyone has tried pineapple and knows that it tastes good and is complemented by a great aroma. If the fruit is fully ripe, then it can reach a weight of five kilograms.
How to grow pineapple at home
Many lovers of exotic fruit are wondering if it is possible to grow a pineapple in a pot at home. This process is not difficult, although long. And if you have at least a little experience in gardening, then this task can be easily handled.
In order to grow a pineapple at home, the photo of which will then decorate any album, you need to correctly perform several actions. So, initially it is worthwhile to competently approach the choice of the planting material itself. The second step is to prepare the soil and all the necessary conditions for the further maintenance of the seedling. At the third stage, the germination of the greenest pineapple top is already underway. Once this happens, the pineapple crest will need to be placed in a rooting container. At the last stage, it remains to carefully observe all the features of care, in particular, watering the plant.
Pineapple in a pot with proper care will grow in 2 years. In size, it will be smaller than what has grown in nature, but the taste and smell of its fruit will besimply gorgeous.
Rules for choosing a plant for planting
Pineapple planted at home in a pot, the photo of which can be found in this article, requires constant care, and if it is not carried out, the plant will not bear fruit. Particular attention should be paid to the choice of planting material.
First of all, you should carefully examine the fruit that is selected for planting. Its bright yellow-brown hue will indicate that the pineapple is ripe. If the skin on the fruit is hard, then it is still immature and not suitable for planting. If, when pressing on the fruit, you can immediately feel its softness, then the plant, on the contrary, is overripe. Such a pineapple is also not suitable for cultivation.
Sometimes you can find information that the fruit will ripen calmly at home if you put it in a bag with apples for several days or hold it upside down. But in fact, this is not entirely true. If you use similar methods to ripen the fruit, then its pulp will become much sweeter, as the starch will gradually turn into sugars and be distributed throughout the pineapple. But at the same time, the socket, which is necessary in order to grow a pineapple in a pot, will gradually die off.
Also, when choosing a pineapple, you should pay attention to its leaves. They should be not only green and juicy, but also whole (although the edges may still be a little dried out). If the plant has gray spots, then it should not be taken for planting. After all, it is these spots that indicate that the fetus is affected by worms. But if there is a small sprout in the outlet, then, accordingly, it will be excellenta guarantee that a pineapple in a pot can grow from such planting material at home. The photo below just confirms this.
When choosing a pineapple for planting, smell should be another main guideline. It is necessary when buying to sniff at the base of the plant. A sour smell will mean that the pineapple is overripe. And those plants that are suitable for planting should have a sweetish aroma.
To grow a pineapple in a pot, the photo of which will surprise all your friends and relatives, you should buy it in spring or summer. To increase the chances, it is better to buy two pineapples, but in different stores. It is right to root each of them to be sure that at least one will sprout.
Planting a pineapple top
One way to plant a pineapple is to germinate its top, which resembles a crown with its leaves. You can separate it from the fetus in different ways. The first way, for example, is to gently grasp the pineapple leaves with your hand and gradually turn them out as if opening a bottle. As a result, the upper part of the plant, which is a foliage with a stem that is small and dense, will easily separate from the pulp.
The second way to separate the top for planting is to carefully cut off the green rosette along with two centimeters of the fruit itself. Then it remains with a knife to remove the remnants of the pulp, which causes decay.
Preparing for planting the top of a pineapple in a pot requires careful and thorough inspection of the entire plant.
- Ifsmall white dots will be visible near the base, then they should be protected. It is from them that the roots of the fruit will grow in the future. So, for example, you need to tear off the lower leaves from the outlet, but you should do it perpendicular to the stem so as not to damage the small roots.
- If there are sections on the stem, they must be processed so that this place does not fester and so that the roots germinate faster. Most often, charcoal, potassium permanganate solution or epin are used for processing.
It is not necessary to immediately plant the top of the pineapple in the soil. First, you should leave it for a few days so that it dries. This is necessary to prevent the plant from rotting. It is best to hang the pineapple top prepared for planting for a while so that the cut does not touch anything. And then the crest should be placed in a glass container with water so that the entire bare stem is covered with liquid. It is necessary to fix the top so that it does not move.
Pineapple top should stand in water until roots appear. To do this, the container with water, where it will be lowered, is placed in a bright place and the water is changed every two days. Usually the roots germinate in two weeks, and then it will be possible to transplant the plant into a pot. But before planting, it is worth leaving the outlet on a paper towel for several hours so that it dries slightly.
How to choose a pot for planting pineapple
If there is a desire to grow a pineapple fruit, but there is no knowledge about how to plant a pineapple in a pot at homeconditions, you should carefully read this article: it contains all the necessary information. So, for example, it is necessary to pay attention to the choice of a pot for a plant and the selection of soil for it.
The capacity for growing fruit should be two centimeters wider than the diameter of the plant on the cut. Most often, pots are taken for planting pineapple, which are four liters in volume and fifteen centimeters in diameter. Since the plant has a weak root system, which is considered superficial, the container for planting it should not be too deep. At the bottom of the pot, you need to lay a small drainage layer that will allow water to drain. Usually, pebbles or expanded clay are used for this purpose. This layer allows you to protect the root system and prevent the process of decay.
The pineapple is planted in a universal mixture already saturated with all the necessary fertilizers. It is advisable to use special soil that is designed for tropical plants or palm trees. You can prepare such a mixture yourself, using peat and river sand in the same proportions. The main condition for the soil is its permeability, since moisture and oxygen should easily get to the root system.
The earth, like the plant itself, must be neutralized. To do this, before planting a pineapple in a pot, you need to pour boiling water over the ground or pour it with a solution of potassium permanganate. But you can’t plant a pineapple outlet right away - you need to wait a day. The soil should be slightly moist.
Planting a plant
Many gardeners are interested not only in how to choose the right pot for pineapple at home, but also in how to properly plant and grow the plant itself. After the container and soil are ready, you need to make a hole in the ground no more than six centimeters deep. It is necessary to ensure that the bottom layer of leaves is not covered with earth.
The soil should be slightly crushed, trying not to catch the young and still weak root system. From above, such a hole with a pineapple top can be sprinkled with a little ash or crushed charcoal. Immediately you need to pour the pineapple in a pot with water at room temperature, and then you should provide the plant with all the necessary conditions for normal growth and strengthening. So, a pineapple loves a sunny place, but direct sunlight affects its growth and development negatively, so you should enclose it using polyethylene or plastic bottles.
It is imperative to set the normal temperature regime. It is known that a pineapple in a pot, the photo of which is in this article, takes root within two to three months. But if the temperature is above twenty-five degrees, then this process will take up to about two months.
The first sign that the plant is alive and growing will be the appearance of new leaves. Old ones will dry out over time, and new ones will appear in their place. Dried leaves should be carefully trimmed.
There are a few rules to follow to grow a pineapple at home. They refer to the period when the plant is stillonly taking root.
So, when wondering how to grow a pineapple in a pot, you should understand that the greenhouse or room where the plant will be located must be constantly ventilated. Therefore, before planting, you should think about where the pineapple will live. After all, there should not be any temperature drops or hypothermia in the room, as this can cause the death of an exotic fruit.
Decorative pineapple in a pot, which must be carefully cared for, is prone to decay and mold on it, so you should carefully study the plant and protect the tuft from condensation - it is he who can lead to a similar state of the fruit. It is usually watered no more than once a week. To prevent the plant from dying and suffocating, it is necessary to move it during the day from the place where direct sunlight can hit it.
Features of care
There are different opinions about how easy or difficult it is to grow such an exotic fruit at home. Some believe that the plant is very capricious and requires a lot of attention, while others argue that growing pineapple in a pot is not difficult. It will be possible to confirm one of these points of view only after you manage to grow a pineapple at home on your own. Therefore, when planning to grow a pineapple in a pot, the care of which still requires special attention, flower growers should understand that this plant is very whimsical. And be ready for constant monitoring of plant growth, and for timely transplants, and for the fight against diseases or pests.
All the rules that make it clearhow to grow a pineapple in a pot, relate to proper and competent watering, observing the temperature and light conditions necessary for the plant, timely transplanting and feeding an exotic fruit. It will depend on what the weather is outside and what time of year, where you need to put the pot. So, in summer, a container with pineapple can be taken out to the balcony, but remember that rains will negatively affect cultivation - excess moisture can kill pineapple.
In winter and autumn, a window sill will be a good place for a plant, but there should not be any drafts here. It is also necessary to ensure that there are no hot batteries or other sources of heat near the pineapple. If the leaves of the plant began to dry or gradually their tips twisted, then this is the first sign that the plant is standing in a draft. So it needs to be moved immediately.
It's always interesting to watch a pineapple grow in a pot. But we must not forget that an exotic fruit requires special temperature conditions. So, in summer and spring, the best option is from twenty-two to thirty degrees, and in autumn and winter - from eighteen to twenty-one degrees. Although it is possible to grow pineapple at home in winter and at a maximum temperature of 27 degrees.
It is known that the plant is very afraid of the cold, so when the temperature drops below eighteen degrees, it immediately falls into a state of "hibernation". It also has a hard time with the situation when the room is too hot.
As it grows in a potpineapple, the photo of which is in the article, you need to monitor the correct lighting of the room. So, six to eight light hours per day will be enough for this plant. In summer, you can put a pot with an exotic plant on the balcony or take it out into the garden, darkening it a little, but in winter you will also have to use fluorescent lamps.
The fact that the plant lacks lighting can be determined by the leaves, which become pale and unattractive. If this is noticed, then the plant should either be moved to another, more lit place, or immediately begin to highlight it with a lamp.
To grow not only a plant, but also to get a fruit, you need to know how to fertilize a pineapple in a pot. It is known that this exotic plant is not too demanding for feeding, but during the growing season, which lasts from April to October, it is necessary to support it with all the nutrients. At the same time, organic fertilizers should be applied to the soil no more than twice a month.
You can also use store-bought nourishment, such as special flower mixes. A solution of iron sulfate or humus from manure is also suitable. You can grow fruits without chemical top dressing, but then you should use natural. For example, wood ash or lye. By the way, there is no need to feed in winter.
Flower growers, not the first time growing pineapple in a pot, know well how to care for it. Therefore, they take care in advance that a year after planting the plant, transplant it into a more spacious container. This procedure is worthtake place at the beginning of summer. Now in the pot one third should be occupied by the drainage layer. And everything else is filled with river sand, peat and fertile soil.
Such a pineapple transplant every year into a large container allows you to grow a he althy exotic fruit. In this case, it is necessary to carefully transfer the lump of soil in which the roots of the plant are located. Everything must be done so as not to damage them.
Watering exotic fruit
So, you have become the owner of a plant like a pineapple in a pot. How to care for him, more or less clear. It remains to deal with watering.
It is known that pineapples usually grow in the tropics, so excessive moisture can have a detrimental effect on them. Watering such a plant is necessary only when the soil in it becomes almost dry. There should be no stagnant water in the pot.
Flower growers pay special attention to watering. How a pineapple grows in a pot depends not only on temperature and lighting, but also on how well all its conditions are met. So, pineapple should be watered once a week, using water at room temperature, which should either be filtered or allowed to stand a little.
During the summer, the tropical plant needs more moisture, so it can be watered three times a week. In winter, it is enough to limit yourself to once every two weeks. If an unpleasant smell appears from the pot, this means that there is too much moisture. Its redundancy can also be determined by the appearance of mold. If the pineapple leaves begin to dry out, then this is a sign that the plant does not have moisture.enough.
If there is a smell or mold in the pot, then the pineapple must be transplanted into another container, otherwise the plant may die. If the trunk begins to rot, then watering should be stopped for a while. If the room where the pineapple is located is well ventilated, then for a while you can refuse watering and just lightly spray the leaves, which will absorb the required amount of moisture, and the rest will simply evaporate.
Reproduction, flowering and fruiting
The great interest of flower growers has recently led to the incredible popularity of such an exotic plant as a pineapple in a pot. Can this fruit be eaten? It all depends on how well it will be grown.
The flowering of this plant occurs from May to July, but there were situations when the pineapple suddenly began to bloom in December. Only those plants that are already more than three years old bloom. They have a compactly located seed, very similar to a cone. The flowering period lasts about two weeks, but the flowers, which attract with their unusual purple color with a blue tint, open only for one day. Moreover, there are usually a lot of them.
As soon as flowering ends, you need to remove the dried leaves so that the plant goes into the stage of formation and development of the fruit. If flowering did not occur, then this means that the care of the plant was incorrect. Do not immediately despair, as everything can still be corrected. For example, stimulate flowering by treating the plant with an aqueous solution of acetylene and ethylene. Someoneeven uses apples, which release ethylene during storage. It is enough just to put a few fruits in a pot of pineapple.
The fruit begins to ripen in about five months. A shortened shoot appears from above, which is called the sultan. The fruit usually ripens within five to six months. This period depends on how it is cared for, whether all the requirements are met and the features of the growing season are observed. Immediately after fruiting, the plant dies, but side shoots remain that can be used for propagation.
Diseases and pests
Pineapple is a plant that is easily attacked by pests and easily ill. Therefore, it is worth learning to “feel” it in order to understand what is happening with the pineapple. First of all, you need to ensure that yellow or brown spots do not appear on the leaves. They usually remain from such a pest as a scale insect. To get rid of it, you need to treat the leaves with either an insecticide, or a soapy solution, or ethyl alcohol.
The mealybug, like the scale insect, feeds on the juice of pineapple leaves, but only after itself does it leave a white coating, which is somewhat similar to cotton wool. In those places where such a plaque lies, a fungus soon appears, further damaging the plant. You can remove such pests either with special preparations or with a soapy solution.
But still, the most worth fearing is the root worm, which, destroying the root system, leads to the death of the entire exotic plant. It is difficult to immediately determine that this is a root worm, since it has its ownappearance is very similar to ordinary mold. As soon as such a worm is found, pineapple roots should be placed in hot water - its temperature can reach 55 degrees.
In such water, the roots are carefully and very thoroughly washed with soap, and if there are affected areas, they are removed. You can treat the roots with special solutions, and then it is better to transplant the plant into a new container, after treating the soil.
Another pest of pineapple is the spider mite, which also infects the leaves of the plant. He sucks the juice out of them, and then covers the dry leaves with a thin cobweb. To get rid of such a pest, you need to wash the foliage with soapy water or sprinkle with onion, garlic or tobacco husks. You can purchase special preparations for processing in the store.
If an exotic plant is fed with a nitrogen-containing fertilizer, this can lead to the appearance of a fungus. In such cases, it is necessary to apply a fungicide that is only suitable for a specific fungal infection.
Another problem for homemade pineapple can be orchid aphids, which also love the juice of the plant. Eating, such a pest also poisons the plant itself with poisonous products of its vital activity. For the treatment of an exotic plant, in this case, those products that are sold in the store, for example, Actellik, are perfect.
So, with a little effort, you can grow a beautiful pineapple at home. And soon he will surprise everyonewith its unusual appearance and juicy fruits.
