It’s no secret to anyone who went through kindergarten that you can grow plants from some of the cuttings of common vegetables. But for those of you about to head into winter (or just because!) and are going to be missing your more tropical looking plants in the garden, we have a great quick tip for you. Are you aware, that if you replant the top of a pineapple, not only will it grow, it grows into a very cool, modern looking houseplant you can enjoy all winter? Who-da thunk? How to grow a pineapple plant, indoors!
Here’s how to grow a pineapple plant:
Cut or twist off the top of your pineapple by just grasping with gloves, then twist until it comes apart. Peel off the bottom leaves until a good chunk of base is exposed. (You don’t want leaves sitting in water to rot.) Then slice off the bottom to make it a clean cut. Set in a saucer of water to root. Make sure you keep the bottom section from drying out while it’s rooting. Once you see a good number of new roots forming (about 3 weeks or so) then you can pot it up. Use a moisture retaining potting soil and pot up you plant, making sure you firm the soil well around the base. Keep the soil evenly moist. In a few weeks the roots should take hold in the soil and you will have a new plant! Keep in bright light, and water regularly.
Beat that for easy! Will your plant grow an actual pineapple? Eh…maybe in a few years if it has the right conditions, but it will be an excellent reminder of summer all year round…Any other ideas for cool house plants grown from fruits or veggies? And yes, we did say cool… no one wants to see your avocado pit on the windowsill!
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I have a pineapple plant for 5 years now it’s getting big and very healthy,this summer i put out on my patio…and I’m still waiting for it to bloom.
Iam in uganda , but i tried this by using the suckers and they are really performing well so far i have harvested ten fruits out of 14 i planted just a couple of years ago and really this type of farming minimised the attack by nematodes which normally distub pineapples.
what kind of fertilizer? and how often do i need to add it, i live in fl. and they grow well,but they are smaller fruit could it be from not use fertilizing them! also if you leave the plants alone after picking the fruit watch around the bottom of the plant most of the time you will see a new shoot coming from the base i wait till it’s around 4″ tall then using a sharp knife i cut into the host plant about a 1/2″ and down into the roots then separate it and put into a pot and watch it grow!
We would suggest just using a water soluble fertilizer like Miracle Grow! Thx for the tips!
It took three years for it to bloom and then it took 6 months for it to get ripe but it did get very sweet
If I wanted to keep it smaller would I just need to keep it in a smaller pot? or will it need to be reported at some point?
Yes, it will grow to fit the pot. Once it rooted, I started one in a one-gallon pot and kept it in there for a little over two years and it stayed pretty much the same size. Less than a week in his new pot, Pineapple grew several inches. (I named him Pineapple. That’s why it’s capitalized.)
As an FYI, it’s been about four years, and he still hasn’t produced anything. Pineapple is still a healthy, growing plant, though. The other ones I’ve started in bigger pots have produced fruit.
I planted my pineapple top about two years ago. I noticed lately, that its new leaves are jagged at the ends. I think a pineapple may be starting. Any advice on what to watch for? Im very excited! I live in central Texas. My plant gets morning sun and is doing great. So easy once the roots appeared. I nearly gave up. Glad i was patient!
Where my parents are from (Niger Delta) most people grow pineapples in their back yard and you can come across them when strolling around the bush. This is such a great reminder of wonderful times visiting there. I will definitely be trying this.
Thank you very much for this article, I just bought some pineapples and am going to try replanting them .
Will keep in touch updating.
I tried to grow a pineapple and it just rotted I grow up apple trees, avocados, tangerine plants but I wish I could plant a pineapple.
Anyone else had that problem?
I have 6 pineapple plants on my front porch. I just put the tops in a pot and watered them often at first. They grew to be really big and now I have a really pretty kind of flower on one of them.I have started a number of pineapple plants for friends. They are so easy and fun to watch grow. By the way, it took a couple of years before I saw the beginning of the flower.
I am doing my first pineapple top and have it growing in a pot inside. I would like to put it outside. I live in Tampa so I think the conditions are fine with putting it outside but I was wondering about the light conditions it should grow under. I saw as it is beginning it should be in bright light but is that true after it starts growing? Being a bromeliad I thought most of those should be grown in semi shade but I was wondering if that is true of pineapples.
Hi William,
From what I have read, they need semi shade at first to adjust to the sun for a few weeks, then can be moved into a sunny position… Hope that helps!
In Hawaii there are fields of pineapple growing in the bright sun, so my guess is that sun or semi shade will both work.
I twisted the top off my pineapple. I left it in a glass/jug of water until the roots appeared and i potted it. It’s growing like a champ! I have plenty of patience and I’m happy to leave it for two years to get fruit. The flowers are beautiful.
Waited for 2 to 3 years and finally got a pineapple, just waiting to pick it and came out one morning to find some Florida Fruit Rat had beat me to it. Hope he enjoyed it as he totally devoured the whole thing..Funny!!
Our Grade 9 science class tried this experiment, but I think many left too much fruit on, and it all started smelling. We ended up throwing them out – none grew.
I read where you rooted your plant first, but what I did 2 summers ago was just cut off the top of the pineapple and stick it in a pot of dirt I had outside, watered it, and left it. I let the rain and sun do the rest. Then before it got cold I dug it up, transferred it into another pot, and brought it in. This summer I set in on a table on my front porch and watered it occasionally. I measured some of the leaves and they are 20 inches long!! I was surprised last year when it lived and grew with just sticking it in the pot. I planted another the same way this summer as well. They are so easy to grow and don’t need to be watered often.
It IS amazing how easily they grow! Thanks for sharing Monica.
How big/long are the roots? I can’t remember. I planted one as well back in the 70’s. A celery plant & an avocado. I loved my avocado plant but can’t seem to get one going again. I don’t know why. Thx! Marie
They are easily grown as house plants so I think they grow in correlation with the size of the container… I’m sure planted in the ground they would be bigger!
I have tried the avocado seeds in water but they never really worked so this yr I threw all my seeds in my compost pile and low and behold I now have 7 plants I potted. They are doing great. I was surprised when the first one showed up, rest followed. I also did the same with mango seeds and got one plant. Also have 5 3 ft tall lime trees from seed. It helps living in zone 9. I start all my veggie seeds in my open barn. Try making a small compost pile even in a large bucket or what ever and plant avocado seeds in it.
I tossed some tomatoes into the compost pile and had tomato plants all over the place.