We plant pineapple at home. How to grow pineapple at home: planting, feeding, watering. How to care for decorative pineapple at home

You can grow a pineapple not only from the top, but also from the seeds. But here it may be difficult to find seeds, since many varieties are devoid of them. You need to spend time and money buying seeds from specialized garden centers.

Conditions for growing pineapple at home

The homeland of pineapple is the tropics. Therefore, it is necessary to create similar conditions for it at home: maintain an optimal level of lighting, temperature and air humidity.

Lighting

Pineapple requires intense lighting, at least 6 hours a day. You need to find a place for it on the sunniest window. In winter, you will need to turn on artificial lighting for eight hours every day.

Temperature

The plant categorically does not tolerate cold and drafts. In the summer season, room temperature is suitable for pineapple, but in winter it is necessary to control so that the thermometer does not drop below 18-20 degrees.

Humidity

The tropical fruit loves humidified air. To create the necessary humidity, you can use a sprayer. In winter, when the air in the room is very dry, wet pebbles or expanded clay, in which you can place a pot with a plant, help a lot. To avoid rotting, the pineapple itself should not be sprayed. In order to protect the plant from dust, it must be periodically wiped with a damp cloth or sponge.

REFERENCE: The ideal places to grow pineapple are a heated greenhouse or a bathroom with a window.

Instructions on how to plant pineapple at home

Before planting a pineapple, you need to prepare the planting container, the soil and the top itself.

Preparing the landing site

To grow pineapple, it is recommended to take a pot no more than 12-15 centimeters in diameter. This size will be optimal for young roots and the soil in the container will not have time to sour. A drainage hole should be provided in the pot to drain water.

The procedure for laying soil in a pot:

• add expanded clay to the bottom;
• then a mixture of coarse river sand. Perlite can be used as an analogue;
• then add peat;
• lay sheet or turf soil.

Experienced flower growers, answering the question: “What kind of soil is needed for pineapple at home?”, often recommend ready-made soil “For cacti.” It can be purchased without any problems at flower shops.

Preparing the top for planting

You can separate the top with a sharp knife or try to unscrew it by hand. It is important to ensure that no fruit pulp remains on the “tuft”, which can cause rotting. To expose the lower part of the stem, you need to remove several lower leaves. Next, the planting material needs to be dried at room temperature. One day will be enough for this.

Now you need to create the conditions for roots to appear. To do this, the rosette is placed in a glass of water, so that the water does not touch the leaves. You will have to wait about a month for the roots to appear. The level and quality of water during this period must be controlled. As soon as the top gives roots and they grow 3 centimeters, the moment comes when you can plant the pineapple in the ground.

Planting a pineapple

In the soil prepared for planting, a small hole is made in which the lower part of the stem is placed. Then it is carefully covered with earth. In this case, it is important that the main part of the rosette remains on the surface, and the stem sits firmly in the ground. Next, it is recommended to water the plant a little and cover the top with a plastic bag.

It is easier for a plant grown in greenhouse conditions to take root. But you need to remember that the shelter must be cleaned daily for ventilation. The package can be removed completely only after the “tuft” has completely taken root. Typically, rooting occurs a month to a month and a half after planting.

How to care for pineapple

When the pineapple has taken root, the plant will begin to change leaves. The old ones die off, and new ones appear in their place. Dried leaves need to be removed and more attention should be paid to caring for the pineapple.

It is important not to forget about the special sensitivity of tropical fruit to cold. The pineapple root system is especially sensitive to hypothermia, so it is better to place the plant not on the windowsill, but on a table or stand near the window.

Procedures for caring for pineapple can be divided into three groups:

1. Watering.

Rain or melt water is best suited for irrigation. If there is no access to such water, then you can use boiled or filtered water, which should preferably be acidified. This can be done by adding a small amount of citric or oxalic acid to the water. The water temperature for irrigation should be approximately 30 degrees. Pour water directly into the outlet, after which the soil in the pot should become moderately moist. When the top layer of soil dries, the next watering can be done.

2. Feeding.

It is necessary to feed pineapple once every half month, and it is recommended to alternate organic and mineral fertilizers. For organic matter, an infusion of horse or cow manure is a good choice. It is better to choose liquid mineral fertilizers.

3. Transplant.

The procedure is carried out using the transshipment method, while the earthen lump is not destroyed. It is better to transplant in spring period and don’t forget to slightly increase the volume of the pot. To allow the plant roots to breathe better, use clay pots without glaze. The root system of the pineapple is small, so a 3-4 liter container will be enough for it. When replanting, it is important not to forget about the best soil to plant a pineapple in.

With proper care, pineapple grows all year round. It is often grown as an ornamental plant, as its bright green rosette can brighten up any interior throughout the year.

Possible problems when growing pineapple

The main problem that you may encounter when growing pineapple at home is the lack of flowering. Pineapple begins to bloom only in the 3-4th year of its life. But flowering is not a guaranteed process, even with good and proper care. Some gardeners artificially stimulate the appearance of flowers in the plant.

Diseases and pests

Pineapple may be affected by diseases or pests. You can determine the problem by the appearance of the plant:

1. When a pineapple is very hot, its leaves begin to dry out. The solution to the problem is to quickly spray the plant with water and place it in a dark place.
2. If there is not enough light, the pineapple leaves turn pale and curl. In this case, it is necessary to install additional lighting or find a brighter place where you can move the plant.
3. If a pineapple is overwatered, the trunk begins to rot. Reducing the frequency and amount of watering will help here.

Improper care and maintenance can lead to fungal diseases. In this case, dry or wet brown spots can be seen on the leaves. To destroy fungal spores, fungicidal preparations are suitable.

In addition, pests can annoy the pineapple. For example: mealybug, root worm, spider mite, orchid aphid, scale insect. To combat them, it is recommended to use industrial insecticides.

In the initial stages, you can try spraying the leaves with a solution of laundry soap.

Is it possible to grow a pineapple at home so that it blooms and bears fruit?

The appearance of fruits at home is the main goal of the grower and his pride. Many people think that achieving this at home is quite difficult. But if the plant has reached adulthood and is properly cared for, then it is able to bloom and bear fruit.

There are several options for stimulating the birth of the fetus. Stimulation is carried out if the plant does not bear fruit on its own.

Stimulation options:

• Use a few ripe tomatoes or apples. They are placed next to the pineapple and covered with a transparent cellophane bag. If tomatoes or apples begin to spoil, they must be replaced. With this stimulation, buds appear on the plant in about 1 month.
• Place smoking coals near the plant for 10 minutes, covering the pineapple with a bag. The procedure is carried out three times at weekly intervals. Pineapple blooms for about 2 weeks, and each flower lives only 1 day.
• Use calcium carbide to water the outlet. To do this, a teaspoon of the substance is diluted in 0.5 liters of water, after which it is infused for a day. The resulting composition is separated from the sediment and used for irrigation. Every day, 50 ml of solution is added to the middle of the rosette. Stimulation continues for 1 week.

If stimulation does not lead to fruiting, this may mean that the pineapple is not yet mature enough or is weakened.

The pineapple fruit takes a long time to ripen: from 5 to 7 months. The ripening period depends on the variety and the conditions in which it is grown. The weight of the fetus can reach 1.5 kg, but such a weight is very rare. The ripeness of a pineapple can be determined by its sweet aroma.

After the plant bears fruit, new shoots appear that come from the root. They can be used as seedlings for new plants, because after the fruit appears, the mother plant dies.

To grow pineapple at home, it's a good idea to learn some little tricks from those who have already gone through the entire process of growing this tropical fruit.

1. Once again, when replanting the pineapple into a larger pot, you should cover it with a cap for several days. This will speed up the plant's adaptation to the new container.
2. Rare but abundant watering is best for pineapple. The water that accumulates in the outlet becomes a stimulus for the formation of new roots.
3. Due to the peculiarity of the pineapple's root system, it is better to choose a shallow and wide pot for it.
4. If in the summer a pot of pineapple is kept in the garden, then when it rains it must be brought into the greenhouse. By the end of summer, the temperature drops and the plant must be returned to the house. The best time for this is mid-August.
5. You should not prematurely separate young shoots that appeared after flowering. It is necessary to wait until they have their own roots - only in this case the shoots are ready for separation.
6. Pineapple is a light-loving plant, but direct sunlight can harm it. It is not recommended to keep a pot of pineapple on a south-facing windowsill without shading in summer.
7. You should not try to root the “tuft” of a pineapple purchased in the winter months. This is practically useless, since during this period fruits in stores are stored at low temperatures and the fruit may freeze.
8. Direct sunlight, drafts and sudden temperature changes are what the pineapple rosette should be protected from during the period of rooting.
9. It is recommended to dry the cut of the top in a vertical position. This way the wound will dry out faster, and all the nutrients will be concentrated in the desired segment.
10. Summer is the best time to stimulate flowering. During this period, the chances of success are much greater.

Pineapple is the most popular exotic plant. For those who love to care for plants, it will be very interesting to grow this fruit at home and get a tasty and aromatic fruit. Instructions on how to grow a pineapple at home from the top were given step by step in our material.

Pineapple is a genus of herbaceous plants from the Bromeliad family. They grow as an agricultural crop and eat only one species - the Large-crested. Like all bromeliads, pineapple can grow in room conditions, but is unlikely to bloom and bear fruit. This plant is quite exotic. Before you start planting, you should find out how to grow a pineapple from the top at home, what soil to plant in and how to care for the plant.

Buying fruit

Before you grow a pineapple at home, you need to choose the right fruit. The success of the operation and the survival rate of the apex depend on this.

FAQ:

Is it possible to grow a pineapple from the first fruit you come across? No. It has come too long to reach Russian shelves. It is quite possible that it was treated with preservatives or stored in improper conditions. It won't be possible to root it.

What kind of pineapple can I plant? The freshest one you can find, looking like in the photo. A frostbitten, rotten, withered or dried tail will definitely not take root.

Good signs:

• dense, undamaged fruit without spots, soft areas, or signs of rotting;
• fresh, completely green, well-developed “tuft” of leaves; only the tips can be dried, but not the edge of the leaf blade;
• pleasant pineapple smell;
• the core must be present in the “crown” of the leaves - it is sometimes removed, especially if the fruit has been stored for a long time and has begun to deteriorate;
• the area adjacent to the rosette is as dense as the rest of the peel;
• the leaves are whole - they can be cut or shortened solely to hide signs of spoilage, and not so that the fruit occupies less space or more conveniently transported.

Important! Unripe pineapples take root better.

How to root correctly?

How to grow a pineapple from the top indoor flower, the fruit must be divided and carefully processed. Otherwise, it will simply rot in the ground.

There are 2 ways to root a pineapple from the top:

1. “crown” - a bunch of leaves with a core;
2. apical part of the fruit.

It is difficult to say clearly which method is better.

Features of rooting tuft:

• It is easier to root a tuft at home, but after planting, only people who are well versed in the Bromeliad family can identify the plant by its leaves.
• A bunch of leaves reaching 70 cm in a small pot will be unstable, you will have to invent how to balance it. But the capacity you need is small.

Features of rooting apex:

• The top of the fruit is a little more difficult to root, but there will be no doubt that there is a pineapple in the pot. It is the opportunity to show off that often attracts flower growers when rooting store-bought fruit.
• Disadvantage: a plant grown at home from a cut top may rot. Especially if the pulp is not completely removed, or the wound is not healed well with callus.

Trimming and processing parts of the fruit

All stages of preparation, from how to trim the top to planting itself, are important. They cannot be skipped or done carelessly.

Description of the landing procedure step by step:

Important! Before planting, you need to touch the inside of the top with your finger - it should dry out slightly. If the surface is wet, you need to leave it to dry for another 1 day.

There is no need to be afraid that the pineapple will not germinate due to this operation. Before planting, cuttings of many plants are dried. It is much more dangerous to immediately plant the top of a pineapple leaking juice into a pot - it will definitely rot. It just won't be noticeable right away.

Before drying, treat the cut well with a mixture of crushed charcoal and powdered rooting agent. This promotes the survival of the top and will protect it from rotting if the pulp was not scraped out completely, or too carefully, damaging the fibers.

Important! The wound surface should not be overdried. It should just dry out - stop being wet.

Germination of the “crown”

If you decide to grow pineapple at home from the top, you must first separate it from the fruit. The operation can be carried out in two ways:

In both cases, part of the lower leaves is removed - removed one at a time to reduce injury. For fruits with a rosette larger than 10 cm, clear about 2 cm. For small ones, it is enough to clear 1-1.5 cm.

Place the crown of leaves in a dark, well-ventilated place to dry at room temperature. The wound surface should be covered with callus. 1-2 days is enough. Readiness for planting is determined by feeling the cut site. It shouldn't be wet.

The top of the pineapple is placed for germination in a warm, bright place, but not in direct sunlight. It’s better to take a transparent glass bowl, put a couple of tablets of activated carbon on the bottom, pour clean water.

The roots appear quickly. You can replant pineapples when their number reaches 10-15 pieces and their length is at least 2 cm.

Landing

Before planting a pineapple, you need to understand the cultural requirements. Sometimes failures in cultivation are not due to the low quality of the fruit or mistakes made during preparation. The plant may not take root and die due to an incorrectly selected pot and soil mixture.

Selection of containers and substrate

Pineapple is a bromeliad crop. He needs a pot that is wide and low. In the deep root system will master the top layer, the rest of the substrate will turn sour, the plant will get sick and die. The solution is to fill the free volume of a tall pot with expanded clay.

Unlike its epiphytic relatives, pineapple is a bromeliad plant that grows in the ground. But a universal substrate cannot be used.

What soil is suitable?

You can make it yourself by mixing the components in the following proportions:

• turf land – 3;
• high-moor (red, acidic) peat – 3;
• completely rotted humus – 2;
• coarse sand – 1.

You can use ready-made soils:

• substrate for orchids – 1 part;
• soil for azaleas - 2 parts.

Attention! Holes and drainage at the bottom of the pot are required.

Crown planting and post-planting care

Planting part of the fruit

Sequence of planting a pineapple with the top cut off:

1. Make a small mound of substrate in the center of the pot.
2. Place the pineapple so that the convex part of the fruit is on an improvised platform.
3. Press in 2 cm.
4. Water a little.
5. Cover with a glass container or transparent bag.
6. Place in a warm, bright place, but not in direct sunlight.
7. Rooting lasts 1.5-2 months.
8. When the apical leaves begin to grow, the cover is removed.
9. After a week they are moved to a permanent place.

Care

The daylight hours of a pineapple, even in winter, should last 8-10 hours. The plant does not need sun protection on all windows except southern ones.

The temperature all year round should be between 22-25 °C. If it drops below 16°C for a short time, the plant may die.

Unlike conventional bromeliad crops, pineapple is watered in the ground with settled water at a temperature of 30-35 °C. Between moistening, the top layer of the substrate should dry out. Spray with warm water daily from spring to mid-autumn.

Important! Watering leaves into a rosette can lead to the death of the plant!

Pineapple is a herbaceous crop that quickly gains green mass. During the growing season, fertilizing is given twice a month. Alternate organic and mineral fertilizers for decorative deciduous plants. Every 2 weeks the leaves are sprayed with orchid food.

Diseases

With proper care, pineapple should not be a problem. Among the pests, the false scale insect is dangerous, as it can move from another infected plant. Fungal infection occurs when watering leaves in a rosette. This cannot be done. If the core begins to rot, the plant will have to be thrown away.

Other possible problems when growing pineapple

Rooting a pineapple yourself is a fun activity. It is unlikely that fruits will form on the plant under indoor conditions, but you can boast of a familiar exotic pet. Moreover, the crop is very easy to care for and is rarely affected by pests.

Pineapples, which first came to Europe in the 16th century, quickly came to the taste of the local nobility. Travel in that era was extremely expensive and lengthy, so plants native to the Brazilian plateaus began to be grown in greenhouses and greenhouses. Russia did not lag behind the European powers. Here, for more than a century, outlandish “cones” grew on an almost industrial scale in St. Petersburg and even further north, on Solovki. But steamships that appeared in the 19th century changed the situation, and juicy fruits began to be brought from South America.

This still happens today, but still interest in growing pineapples at home does not wane. Despite its overseas character, the plant turned out to be quite picky, and a viable and fruit-bearing bush can be obtained even from a tuft cut from a fresh fruit.

In nature, the crop grows up to 60–80 cm and consists of a small stem studded with long sharp leaves, a fibrous root and infructescence formed at the top of the main shoot that elongates after flowering. It is thanks to this fruit, which hides the juicy pulp under the keratinized skin, that the plant has become one of the most valuable agricultural crops not only on the South American continent, but also in Africa and Southeast Asia.

In warm conditions tropical climate A rosette of pineapple leaves can reach a diameter of two meters. It will not be possible to achieve a plant of this size in an apartment, but in 2–4 years, with due attention and care, an edible, aromatic fruit will grow on the pineapple at home. And although you will have to be patient to achieve success, the unusual development of the plant is worth the effort and time spent.

To grow pineapple, you can use seeds or cuttings formed on the stem of an adult plant. But the easiest way to grow pineapple at home is from the top, cut from ripe fresh fruit.

How to grow pineapple from seeds at home

Propagation by seeds is considered the most difficult and time-consuming method. Firstly, you can only get seedlings from purchased seeds. In fruits sold in supermarkets there are either no seeds at all, or only their whitish immature rudiments can be found.

A pineapple seed suitable for germination has a somewhat flattened semicircular shape, reaches 3–4 mm in length and is colored a brown or reddish shade of brown.

Before planting, the seeds are placed between layers of a damp cloth for 18–24 hours and, covered, placed in a warm place. Then, when they swell a little, they are planted in a damp mixture of peeled sand and sand. To ensure that small seeds germinate without difficulty, they should be buried no more than 1–2 cm.

The containers must be covered with film or glass and kept warm. It is the temperature provided to the seeds that will determine their germination and the timing of the appearance of the first shoots:

• At normal room temperature, germination can take from 3-4 weeks to one and a half months.
• If you provide the seeds with a temperature of about 30–32 °C, you can see sprouts in 2–3 weeks.

It is important to support not only temperature regime, but also moisten the soil in time, and also do not forget about feeding the seedlings. To do this, at intervals of 15–20 days, crops are fertilized with complex formulations, including basic nutrients and microelements.

When several leaves appear on young rosettes, they are picked, transferring them together with a small lump of earthlings into the soil for adult plants. You can make such soil yourself by mixing peat, humus, garden soil and sand in equal parts. To give structure and a kind of protection against infections, crushed charcoal is added to the soil up to 5% of the volume. And some of the sand can be replaced with perlite.

How to grow a pineapple from the top at home

If you can’t always find seeds of an exotic crop and not everywhere, then growing a pineapple at home from the top of a store-bought fruit is quite possible even without special knowledge. True, it is worth approaching the choice of a delicacy that is destined to provide planting material with full responsibility. The pineapple must be fresh, with green, elastic rosette of foliage, without signs of spoilage, cold damage or wilting. When examining, you need to pay attention to the growth point of the rosette; if it is rotten, dried out or simply missing, it will be extremely difficult to get a new plant.

At home, when growing a pineapple, the upper part of the fruit is cut off with a sharp, clean knife, capturing not only the leaf rosette, but also a section of the fruit three centimeters below. If the pineapple is completely ripe, you can carefully unscrew the rosette, tightly holding the tuft with one hand and the fruit with the other.

When the future planting material is received, all remnants of juicy pulp, which can become a source of rot, are carefully removed from the rosette. The short lower leaves are removed to obtain a cylindrical cutting up to 3 centimeters long.

The sections must be treated with a saturated solution of potassium permanganate, crushed charcoal, or, which will speed up the appearance of roots, with an epin solution.

To protect the cuttings from rotting, it is recommended to leave the pineapple to dry for a day or two before rooting. Moreover, it is better to hang the socket so that it does not come into contact with any surfaces. A video on how to grow pineapple at home will reveal all the subtleties of the process and clearly show all its stages.

Rooting is carried out by immersing the part of the cutting, cleared of foliage, into water. To hold it at the desired level, you can use a cardboard circle or toothpicks, as shown in the photo.

When the first roots have appeared on the pineapple, the rosette can be planted in the ground, and you should not bury the young plant above the lower tier of leaves. The substrate around the seedling is carefully crushed and compacted, trying not to slightly damage the numerous roots.

Further cultivation of pineapple at home takes place under a film at a temperature not lower than 20–22 °C. If it is possible to warm the air and soil to 25 °C, in about a month new bright leaves will appear in the center of the rosette.

While the pineapple plant is acclimatizing and rooting, it is important:

• protect from contact with condensation drops on the socket, causing the development of mold and rotting of leaves;
• regularly moisten the soil;
• ventilate the plantings, preventing the plant from cooling.

The pot with the pineapple plant is placed in a lighted place where the outlet will not be threatened by direct rays of the sun.

Propagation of pineapple by root cuttings

If there is already an adult pineapple plant in the house, you can propagate it using the daughter shoots formed at the bottom of the stem or under the fruit, which are easy to break off and root. As planting material, you can use cuttings that have already produced several rows of leaves and reached a length of 15–20 cm.

Like the rosette on the top of a pineapple, the stem can be unscrewed or carefully cut off with a sharp blade. The cut area should be sprinkled with coal chips, and then the cutting should be treated in the same way as growing a pineapple from the top at home.

If the basal rosette already has root buds, it can be immediately planted in light soil made from a mixture of peat, perlite and ready-made substrate for indoor plants.

How to care for pineapple at home?

Caring for a homemade pineapple consists of providing all conditions for the growth and development of the plant.

• For pineapple, it is important to select and maintain loose, nutritious soil.
• Create acceptable lighting, temperature and humidity conditions.
• Pineapple needs well-organized watering and fertilizing.

When planting a pineapple and caring for it at home, you need to remember that the plant does not have a very powerful surface root system:

• The soil must be permeable to both moisture and oxygen.
• The pot must have a decent drainage layer.
• The container itself should not be deep, but pineapple works very well in wide pots.

It is best to grow the light-loving southern pineapple at home on southern, western or eastern windows. Moreover, in the summer, when the sun is hottest, it is better to shade pineapples on the south side, but in winter the plants need lighting, which extends daylight hours by 6–8 hours.

A healthy specimen has young foliage with a bright green tint. And the leaves from the lower rows are not dry and withered, but bluish, tight and juicy. With a sufficient level of light, the rosette is formed symmetrically.

The lower air temperature limit for pineapple at home is 18 °C. in such air the plant goes into hibernation. And for active development, the air must be warmer. In spring and summer, the optimal temperature can range from 22 to 30 °C.

Caring for a homemade pineapple includes regular, infrequent, but abundant watering, for which you take warm, settled water at ambient temperature.

On hot days, plants are irrigated, but wet foliage on cold days inevitably causes disease and wilting. The same effect should be expected if the pineapple is exposed to cold air from an open window, or if there is a drying effect from a hot radiator.

From mid-spring, when active growing season begins, and until October, pineapples are fed at home during the maintenance period. The schedule is organized depending on the condition of the plant, but more often organic matter and mineral fertilizers are applied once every 1–2 weeks.

In winter, feeding is canceled, watering is reduced, and the temperature is also reduced.

How to make a homemade pineapple bloom and care for it?

The time for fruiting in pineapples begins 2–4 years after the formation of the rosette. True, even with industrial plantings, fruits are obtained by treating the plants with acetylene or acetic acid using a special technology. At home, when growing pineapple, such methods are not very acceptable, but even here you can force the obstinate plant to form an inflorescence.

Regular feeding of the plant with liquid is a good stimulant. If a pineapple receives this feeding twice a month during the entire growing season, then after 2–3 months you can expect flowering. Some experts advise soaking the inside of the socket for several days with a solution of acetylene obtained from a liter of water and 15 grams of carbide.

A similar effect is achieved by placing a jar with a small amount of water and a piece of smoking carbide next to the pot. During the procedure, it is better to cover the pot with a bag or place it in a greenhouse. Ordinary apples, which emit ethylene during storage, can also provoke the plant. To do this, fresh apples are laid out next to a pot standing in a greenhouse for several days.

Most often, to activate flowering, gardeners use fumigation of the plant with regular smoke. This procedure should last 10–15 minutes and be repeated 2–3 times every week.

2–3 months after treatment, with proper care of the pineapple at home, first an inflorescence appears, and then, 30 days later, an ovary. Fruit ripening lasts from 4 to 6 months, after which you can try your own pineapple.

How to grow pineapple at home - video

How to grow pineapple at home? Are there any chances of flowering and fruiting of an exotic plant? Numerous photos and videos confirm the possibility of creating a “tropical corner” at home.

It is useful to study the experience of everyone who knows first-hand how to grow pineapple at home. Detailed description all stages of the process, indicating the optimal conditions for the growth and development of a tropical plant - helpful information for everyone involved in floriculture.

What conditions are needed to grow pineapple at home?

Interesting facts about the plant:

• The homeland of the exotic fruit is the plateaus of Brazil.
• The plant belongs to the Bromeliad family.
• IN South America under the hot sun there are plantations with thousands of bushes, in the center of which rises a large oval-shaped fruit, covered with dense “scales”, with a top (“tuft”) of numerous leaves.
• In the tropics, the rosette near the main shoot sometimes reaches a diameter of 1.5-2 m, but at home the dimensions are much more modest.
• In nature, pineapple develops two tiers of root system: thin radial roots go deeper than 1 m. Closer to the surface is the second type of underground part. Often roots form in the axils of leaves. Under natural conditions, they gradually lengthen, reach the ground, take root, and absorb additional nutrients.
• The height of the bushes is 70-80 cm, the root system is fibrous, superficial.
• On the main shoot after flowering, an infructescence with keratinized skin is formed. Inside lies juicy, aromatic pulp of a soft yellow color.
• The leaves have an original, bluish tint.
• The fruits are consumed fresh and dried, frozen, and prepared into compotes, jams, and a base for liqueurs.
• Despite the fact that its native expanses are located far away in South America, pineapple grows successfully at home. The plant takes root quickly; a regular cut top is suitable for propagation.
• After two to four years, with good care, flowers appear on the bush, and the fruit, covered with keratinized elements, ripens.

Optimal conditions for growing pineapple at home:

• temperature - from +22 to +30°C;
• regular soil moisture;
• timely fertilizing with mineral fertilizers;
• good lighting (but not under the scorching sun);
• wide pot for placing roots;
• moderate shading on hot days, additional lighting in winter;
• nutritious and loose soil;
• absence of drafts;
• treatment with ethylene gas to make the pineapple bloom and form the ovary.

How to choose a fruit for planting

Supermarkets have a wide selection of fruits, but not all varieties are suitable for growing exotic fruits at home. Small, not fully ripened pineapples are not suitable: the fruits must be large and ripe.

Other important selection criteria:

• the skin is hard, golden brown;
• leaves are rich in color, with a bluish tint, without damage or spots;
• light sweetish smell;
• midges should not hide in the leaf axils;
• no dents or rotten areas.

Pineapple propagation is carried out in three ways: seeds, cuttings and tops. The first method is quite labor-intensive, it takes a long time to wait for seedlings, and it is very difficult to find suitable planting material. Adult bushes growing in the home are propagated by cuttings. You can start from scratch quite simply: buy a ripe pineapple, cut off the top, root it, transplant it into a flowerpot and then grow the exotic fruit at home.

Top preparation

To grow an exotic plant at home, a “tuft” of lush leaves is enough. The top of the pineapple should be intact, with dense leaves, without rot and the presence of harmful insects in the center of the rosette.

Procedure:

• take the fruit with one hand, grab the top directly at the base of the fruit with the other, turn, unscrew. It is important to act carefully to maintain the integrity of the base;
• As a result, there should be a rosette and a dense yellowish cylinder several centimeters in size: this part will serve for rooting.

Advice! Fear of damaging the inside of the apical zone may interfere with the process. What to do? You can cut off the top of the fruit, closer to the leaves, so that the rosette and some pulp remain. Use your fingers to carefully separate the remaining yellow pulp from the stalk. It is important to make sure that the lower part remains intact and there are no cuts or other damage.

Rooting the top

Over the course of a week, the base for growing exotic fruits dries in the air, always upside down. After this period, the rooting of the foundation begins.

What to do:

• Pour settled water, not very cold, into a glass with a wide neck. It is important that the stem does not touch the walls and is not completely in the liquid;
• Place a container of water in a warm room and wait until the first roots appear. The process takes several weeks. It is important to periodically change the liquid and rinse the walls of the glass to avoid the appearance of a greenish coating and rotting of the stem;
• sharp fluctuations in air temperature negatively affect the development of the stem and root system for a tropical plant;
• Transplant the base into the ground no earlier than the length of the roots reaches 5 cm.

Landing

After purchasing a suitable flower pot and substrate, move the rooted “cylinder” with leaves into the ground:

• Make a hole in the soil, add a little wood ash (reduces the risk of the top rotting), insert a base for the pineapple, and cover it with earth. The substrate covers only the roots and stem; there should be no soil on the leaves;
• It is useful to create a mini-greenhouse: cover the flowerpot and leaves with a plastic bag;
• immediately after planting, water the young plant, form a “greenhouse” of cellophane, put the container in a room where the temperature does not drop below +23°C...+25°C;
• during the first growing period, which lasts about six months, the pineapple is well established in the soil, develops, a superficial root system is formed, and active vegetation occurs (the appearance of new leaves);
• During the growth period, the mini-panic is periodically ventilated, but do not allow the leaves to become overcooled.

Flowerpot and soil

The root system of the tropical specimen is superficial; the plant needs a wide, but not very deep (up to 15 cm) pot. Expanded clay, broken brick, pebbles or clay shards are placed at the bottom. The holes for liquid drainage in the bottom of the flower pot should be large enough. After abundant watering, moisture should not stagnate, otherwise the underground part will rot.

The soil is nutritious, but with good aeration. Heavy, clayey soil provokes stagnation of liquid after watering, and fungi develop more actively against the background of excess moisture.

What soil is suitable for growing pineapples? The third part consists of organic components: peat, humus. The best option is to buy a ready-made substrate for cacti at a flower shop. You can calcine the soil mixture in the oven: this dramatically reduces the risk of fungal infections. It is useful to disinfect the soil with a solution of potassium permanganate, not very strong, slightly pink in color.

Home care

Despite its tropical origin, pineapple does not require specific conditions other than warmth, but there are several nuances that amateur gardeners should be aware of. It is important to choose a warm, well-lit room without dampness or drafts for a flowerpot with a tropical plant, and to ensure optimal watering and fertilizing.

With good care, an original red flower grows, resembling a cone. Later blue petals and fruit are formed. You will have to wait quite a long time: at least two years, but the chances of exotic fruit at home is above average.

Location

The tropical plant should not be placed in dark, damp rooms with low temperatures and deficiency sunlight. Rooms with windows to the south and east are a suitable option for the growth of exotic specimens.

The light-loving plant must be illuminated in the autumn-winter period, when there is not enough sun and it gets dark early. On hot days, it is useful to shade tropical specimens growing in a southern room a little. The easiest option is to close the blinds.

It is easy to understand whether the plant has enough light. In a healthy pineapple, a large rosette of long leaves is formed symmetrically, young leaves are bright green, and old ones are bluish and dense. When there is a lack of light, the tropical specimen grows poorly and there is little fresh greenery.

Temperature and humidity

Pineapple is native to the tropics and requires plenty of warmth to grow well. Not only the air, but also the soil should warm up well.

The optimal temperature is not lower than +22°C, but heat above + 30°C is also not needed. A drop in the thermometer to +18°C or less provokes an unscheduled period of rest if fluctuations are noted in the spring-summer period. During the growing season, the room temperature should not fall below +23°C.

Lighting

Without light, the tropical specimen develops poorly. The rooted pineapple is placed on a stand next to the window, optimally in a southern or eastern room.

Watering

The plant loves moist soil, but waterlogging is unacceptable. Water the pineapple abundantly, but rarely, when the soil dries well. The water is settled, warm, similar to the temperature environment in the home.

Spraying is carried out on hot days. The procedure is not carried out in winter. Do not spray a tropical plant if the room temperature has dropped: A fungus often develops on wet leaves in a cold environment and the greenery withers.

Watering with regular water slows down the growth of the tropical specimen. Many plants of the Bromeliad family, like pineapple, love a slightly acidified liquid. The easiest way is to add citric acid to settled water. Acidity level - from 5.0 to 6.0. pH values ​​are not determined by eye: agricultural stores sell litmus paper specifically for this purpose.

Fertilizers and fertilizers

In April, the tropical plant begins to actively gain green mass. For several months, until mid-October, the bush is fed with mineral fertilizers. The optimal frequency is 1 or 2 times every 7 days.

Liquid organic fertilizers are applied twice a month. No fertilizing is needed in winter: The pineapple enters a dormant period, the plant gains strength to resume the growing season with the arrival of spring.

Pruning and crown formation

Thinning of leaves is carried out for hygienic purposes: all yellowed, limp, rotten elements are removed. There is no specific formation of the crown: with a sufficient level of illumination, the rosette grows evenly, long bluish leaves form a beautiful “cascade”.

Transfer

Important details:

• With good care and a sufficient level of heat, the bush grows quickly, and lateral layers are often formed near the root rosette.
• The plant is replanted in the warm season.
• At the bottom of the flowerpot, high-quality drainage is installed (2-3 holes in the bottom are also needed).
• It is useful to calcinate or steam the soil to kill fungal spores and pest larvae.
• The plant is replanted using the transshipment method: carefully transfer the earthen lump to a new flowerpot. The roots are carefully laid out, making sure that the soil particles do not fall off.
• The bush is buried below the previous level, approximately 3 cm, and the underground part is sprinkled with soil so that the pineapple does not sway and “sits” firmly in the soil.
• The plant is watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and pegs are inserted nearby so that the bush does not sway. The garter is removed after 15-20 days.
• Good growth, flowering and fruiting can only be achieved in a bright room. The transplanted plant is placed near the window on a stand so that there is a lot of warmth and light.

Reproduction

To create a “tropical paradise”, root cuttings are used. In an adult plant, the daughter shoots are carefully broken off (twisted) or carefully cut off from the lower part or under the fruit, then rooted in the same way as the top.

Important nuances and stages of the process:

• Shoots that have grown to 20 cm and have several leaves are suitable for cuttings.
• The cut area must be sprinkled with crushed coal to avoid rotting and infection of the unprotected area.
• Some basal rosettes have rudiments of a root system. In this case, rooting is carried out not in a glass of water, but in the soil. A ready-made soil mixture made from ready-made soil for indoor flowers, perlite and peat is suitable. The components are taken in equal proportions, the soil should be light, loose and nutritious.
• After planting, moisten the soil and transfer the container with the pineapple cutting to a warm place. The room temperature is maintained at least +20°C and moderate humidity.
• As the substrate dries, add warm water. Drainage holes are required to ensure good removal of excess liquid.
• Pineapple is grown from cuttings, taking into account the same rules and conditions as a tropical plant from the top.

Flowering and fruiting

It is possible to achieve the release of a bud of an original cone shape only by creating conditions reminiscent of the microclimate in tropical forest. In an insufficiently warm room, a grown bush is unlikely to bloom. Do not keep a pot with a plant in a draft or near central heating radiators: violation of air humidity, drying out of the soil negatively affects the budding process.

When does pineapple bloom? The plant must become well established in order for a bud of an unusual shape to appear, a crimson-red hue with blue petals. The flowering period is about two weeks. During this period, several buds are formed, and as the previous one dies, the next one opens. After the last flower fades, the ovary forms.

How to get the fruits? We'll have to try! At home, it is important that the pineapple blooms, and then you can expect the formation of a fruit at the top of the central shoot.

On a note:

• Ethylene gas helps to achieve flowering. The easiest way is to place fresh apples next to the flowerpot. Every three to four days, fruits are replaced with fresh ones.
• Another method is to fumigate the bush with regular smoke. The procedure is carried out on the balcony for 15 minutes, the frequency is 2 or 3 times at intervals of a week. After two to three months, an inflorescence forms on the plant, then, after about a month, the ovary. The fruit ripens for about five months. Taste qualities good, but the gardener is even more filled with pride for a tropical fruit grown at home for several years.

Diseases and pests, methods of control

A false scale insect with a shell on its body sometimes settles on a pineapple bush. First, the plant is treated with a soap solution, then insecticides are used: Aktara, Karbofos, Aktellik. The working solution is prepared according to the instructions. Folk remedies are ineffective, especially with a large colony of pests.

With good care, the plant rarely gets sick. The main problem that amateur gardeners face is the appearance of powdery mildew. A grayish coating is noticeable on the leaves and stem, the pineapple grows worse, the greenery fades.

Causes:

• improper (excessive) watering;
• low temperatures combined with high soil moisture;
• Rare ventilation of the mini-greenhouse also provokes condensation to settle on the leaves and rot the plant.

How to fight:

• The greens are treated with an alcohol solution, fungicides are sprayed: Skor, Fundazol, Tiovit Jack, Topaz, Fundazim.
• Biofungicides based on live bacterial cultures, which have a detrimental effect on fungal flora, have a good effect. Effective biological products: Gamair, Fitosporin - M, Pseudobacterin - 2.

When spraying fungicides, take the infected plant out onto the balcony or into the yard, put on old clothes, protect your hair, eyes, respiratory organs, and hands. Neglecting personal safety rules can lead to intoxication. During spraying, it is strictly forbidden to drink, eat, or smoke. After disinfection, be sure to wash the plants, wash or dispose of clothing, rinse your mouth, and throw away medical gloves.

A real pineapple on a bush in an apartment is not fantasy! Just watch a useful video on the topic, learn how to grow a tropical fruit at home, and you can get down to business. With good care of an exotic specimen, it is possible to achieve flowering and fruiting. Happy experimenting!

Video - instructions for rooting the top and growing pineapple at home:

Many exotic lovers are experimenting with planting tropical fruits at home. For example, they are trying to root a pineapple, or rather its “crest.” This is a very interesting process, although troublesome. But when an exotic plant grown with your own hands appears at home, you can proudly show it off to your guests, reading the genuine amazement on their faces.

You can grow pineapple at home from seeds, cuttings and the top. The last option will be the most affordable and fastest for the average gardener. However, you need to pay attention to the quality of the fruit when purchasing it in the store. First of all, the fruit must be ripe and have a distinct, pleasant aroma. If it does not smell of anything, this indicates its immaturity. Planting the top of such a pineapple is a waste of time.

The fruit must be inspected from all sides to ensure there is no damage or rotten areas. If brown spots are visible on or between the scales, set the pineapple aside. The color of the fruit also matters. A ripe pineapple suitable for rooting should have a uniform yellowish color. The green color of the scales indicates insufficient maturity.

But overripe fruit is also unsuitable for planting. If, when pressed, the pulp is easily crushed, it means that the pineapple has become overripe. The scales should only spring slightly under pressure. In the case where the pineapple seems “woody” or the finger is buried in the pulp, its condition will not allow the top to be used to produce a new plant. The crown itself should be green, with barely dried tips. If the leaves are yellow or have signs of rot, do not take the fruit. Best time to buy pineapple - summer or early autumn.

On a note! It is difficult to grow pineapple from fruit seeds, since many varieties are devoid of seeds. For sowing, you will have to purchase seed material from the manufacturer at the garden center.

Since the pineapple is native to the tropics, the plant places increased demands on living conditions in the home. It is necessary to maintain optimal levels of lighting, temperature and air humidity:

• The pineapple should be exposed to intense light for at least 6 hours a day. He needs to be given a place near the sunniest window, and in winter, turn on additional lighting for 8 hours every day. In summer, it is advisable to take the pot with the plant out onto the balcony or into the garden. The pineapple should not be turned in different directions towards the light - this will slow down its growth. One-sided lighting is quite suitable for the bush.
• The tropical plant does not tolerate cold. In summer he will be quite happy with room temperature, but in winter time care must be taken to ensure that the temperature does not fall below 18-20 degrees. Drafts also have a detrimental effect on the plant; do not keep it under an open window.
• It is recommended to periodically humidify the air near the pineapple using a sprayer. In winter, you can place a bowl with a plant on a tray with wet pebbles or expanded clay, since the air in the room is strongly dried by central heating radiators. It is not recommended to spray the pineapple itself; water constantly stagnating in the outlet can cause rotting. The leaves are regularly cleaned of dust with a damp cloth or sponge.

On a note! The exotic plant grows well in a heated greenhouse or bathroom with a window. These rooms ideally meet his needs for light, heat and humidity.

How to grow ginger on a windowsill

How to properly plant a pineapple from the top - step-by-step instructions

Before you begin rooting the top, it is necessary to carry out preparatory work. You need to choose the right soil, prepare the “tuft” itself, and only then start planting.

The top of the pineapple is planted in a pot with a diameter of 12 - 15 cm. There is no need to take a container that is too large for planting, the young roots will not be able to completely develop the soil and it will turn sour. The bowl must have a drainage hole to drain excess water.

Before planting, the bottom of the pot is covered with expanded clay, and then the container is filled with a mixture of coarse river sand, peat and leaf or turf soil (some people use perlite instead of sand). You can use a ready-made mixture for bromeliad plants. 2 days before planting the pineapple, the substrate is spilled with boiling water to disinfect and moisturize.

On a note! You can successfully grow pineapple in ready-made substrate “For cacti” from a flower shop.

First of all, the top must be separated from the fruit itself. This can be done with a sharp knife or by unscrewing the tuft by hand. Do not allow any pieces of fruit pulp to remain in the lower part of the top, otherwise there is a risk of rotting. A few of the lower leaves are then removed to expose the lower part of the stem. After this, the tuft is left to dry at room temperature for a day.

Then the rosette is placed in a glass of water so that only the bare stem touches the surface of the water. Now all that remains is to wait for the roots to appear, which will begin to form in about a month. All this time you need to monitor the quality of the water, preventing it from spoiling. The water is changed from time to time and ensure that its level remains unchanged. The tuft will be ready for planting when the roots have grown 3 cm in length.

Before planting, make a small hole in the substrate for the lower part of the stem. The top of the pineapple is placed vertically in the ground, covered with soil and lightly compacted with your fingers. It is permissible for only the lowest leaves to be in the ground; the rest of the rosette should remain on the surface.

After planting, you need to check how stable the “crest” sits in the ground. The plant should not sway. If everything is in order, all that remains is to water the pineapple a little and cover it with a plastic bag on top.

In greenhouse conditions it will be easier for the plant to take root. The shelter is removed briefly every day for ventilation. The top will finally take root in 1-1.5 months from the moment of planting. Only after this can the package be removed. Subsequently, the growing pineapple is transplanted annually into a looser pot.

Rooting and growing pineapple at home: video

A sign that the plant has taken root will be the process of replacing leaves. Old leaves will begin to die off, and new ones will begin to appear in their place. Dried leaves must be carefully removed. Now the focus is on caring for the pineapple.

We must not forget about his extraordinary sensitivity to cold. Hypothermia of the root system is especially destructive for pineapples, so it is better to place the pot not on the windowsill itself, but next to the window on a table or a special stand.

Basic plant care includes standard procedures:

1. It is best to water the pineapple with rain or melt water that has the correct structure. If this is not possible, boiled or filtered water will do, which should be acidified by throwing a few crystals of citric or oxalic acid into it. Water for irrigation is heated to 30 degrees and poured directly into the outlet, as is done with other bromeliad plants. The soil in the pot should be moderately moist. The next watering is carried out when the top layer of soil dries out.
2. Fertilizers for homemade pineapple are applied once every 2 weeks. From organic matter, you can use an infusion based on horse or cow manure. Organic fertilizers alternate with mineral complexes. Mineral nutrition is better absorbed if it is given in liquid form.
3. It is recommended to carry out transplantation using the transshipment method, without destroying the earthen clod. It is best to do this in the spring, each time slightly increasing the volume of the container. It is best to use unglazed clay pots, in which the root system can breathe unhindered. Due to the fact that the roots of the plant are small, even in adulthood a container of 3-4 liters will be enough for it.

Pineapple does not have a pronounced dormant period; with good care, it will grow all year round. A bright green rosette can enliven and decorate the interior of any room, so it makes sense to grow pineapple as an ornamental plant.

The main problem faced by those who grow pineapple at home is the lack of flowering. The plant is completely ready for this process in the third or fourth year of its life. However, the pineapple itself does not always bloom, even with proper care. Particularly persistent flower growers stimulate flowering artificially.

An exotic plant, like other flowers, can be affected by diseases and pests. Helps identify the problem appearance pineapple:

1. Drying leaves indicate that the plant is too hot. It must be sprayed with water as quickly as possible and moved to a shaded place.
2. If the leaves begin to turn pale and curl, the reason is insufficient lighting. Install additional lighting or move the pineapple pot to a brighter window.
3. A rotting trunk indicates chronic overwatering. You need to adjust the humidification mode.

Fungal diseases can occur due to improper care and maintenance. In this case, dry or wet brown spots will appear on the leaves. The development of fungal spores can be suppressed using fungicidal drugs. Among the pests that can annoy pineapple are:

• mealybug;
• root worm;
• spider mite;
• orchid aphid;
• scale insect.

How to grow pineapple at home? Mistakes and experiences: video

Of course, everyone who has planted a pineapple at home would like to receive fruits from it. A tropical fruit grown indoors is especially proud. This seems impossible to many, but achieving fruiting is quite possible. If the plant is mature and properly cared for, it is able to bloom and set fruit on its own.

If this does not happen, additional stimulation can be performed:

1. The easiest way is to use several ripe tomatoes or apples for this purpose. They are placed next to the pineapple and covered with a transparent plastic bag. If the fruits spoil, you need to replace them with fresh ones. In about a month you will be able to admire the emerging bud, and then the flowering.
2. There is another way. Instead of fruits, place smoking coals near the plant and cover with a bag for 10 minutes. The procedure will need to be repeated three times at weekly intervals. A kind of fumigation will give rise to the appearance of bright blue flowers with pink bracts, rising on the stalk. The flowering process lasts a total of 2 weeks. Each flower lives only 1 day.
3. A more advanced method involves using calcium carbide. A teaspoon of the substance is dissolved in 0.5 liters of water and left for a day to infuse. Then the composition is drained, separating it from the sediment, and used to water the outlet. Every day for a week, add 50 ml of solution to the center of the leaves.

If stimulation carried out in any way does not help, it means that the pineapple is not yet ripe or weakened.

The process of fetal ripening lasts from 5 to 7 months. The timing is affected by the pineapple variety and its growing conditions. The weight of the fetus can reach up to 1.5 kg, but more often it is somewhat smaller. You will know that the pineapple is ripe by the sweet aroma it emits.

On a note! While the fruit is ripening, mineral fertilizers should be excluded from fertilizing. During this period, only organic matter can be added.

At the end of fruiting in the pot, you can see the appearance of new shoots coming from the root. They can be used to obtain new plant specimens by planting them in separate containers. The mother plant itself soon dies. Children are raised according to the same principle as the “crest”.

Growing pineapple at home. Harvesting: video

To make growing pineapple indoors hassle-free, take into account some tricks. Those who have already rooted the top of a tropical fruit recommend the following:

1. After the next transplant of a young pineapple into a large container, cover it with a cap for a couple of weeks. Greenhouse conditions will speed up the adaptation of the plant in a new pot.
2. It is recommended to water the pineapple rarely, but abundantly. Water, accumulating in the axils of the leaf rosette, stimulates the formation of new roots.
3. The roots of the plant are located in the surface layer of the soil, so it is better to choose a wide and shallow pot for it.
4. If you keep pineapple in the garden in the summer, bring it into the greenhouse when it rains. At the end of summer, it is important not to miss the moment when the temperature begins to drop. Mid-August is a good time to return the potted plant to the house.
5. Young shoots formed after flowering should be separated only when they have their own roots.
6. Despite the light-loving nature of the Tropican, direct sunlight can damage it. Do not keep the pineapple pot in summer months on a south-facing window sill without shading.
7. You should not try to root the crown of a fruit purchased in winter. At this time of year, fruits are often stored at low temperatures and the “tuft” may be frozen.
8. While the pineapple rosette is taking root, it must be protected from direct sunlight, drafts, and sudden changes in temperature.
9. It is advisable to dry the cut on the “tuft” in a vertical position, then the wound will dry out faster and all the nutrients necessary for the formation of roots will be concentrated in the desired area.
10. Stimulation of flowering is best done in the summer. In this case there will be a greater chance of success.

Among other exotic fruits, pineapple is the most popular. Why not try to root the “tuft” left as waste. While caring for the plant, you will certainly enjoy it, and if flowering occurs, this is a sure sign that you have found something wrong with the plant. mutual language, and it will reward you with tasty and aromatic fruit.