Carol, that pineapple looks good and ready to be planted!

This summer I was gifted some very sweet pineapples from another gardener, they were the best!

I also bought some miniature pineapples at the mango festival and I was going to try to root them but I missed my opportunity when I got busy or went somewhere.

I am looking forward to see you next pineapple growing!

I have one growing in a small clay pot that will be transplanted to a larger pot soon, and overwintered. It's about a year old, but the small pot is keeping it smaller. I'll see if it will produce next year. I miss being able to leave them outdoors year-around, but it's just too cold here.

I had a little tiny one that I planted out a month or so back. So far, so good.

I have a plant in a large container that bears 1# fruits, plus a number of other plants both in ground and in other pots, but no fruiting from those yet. Mine are all started from tops, which may be why they are so small, but I don't mind the smallness.

I have a mound of pineapples that I harvest from and replant throughout the year. Have had pretty good luck, but oddly not one this year! Unfortunately so many weeds! Used to keep them in pots. may resort to that again.

Neighbors who are moving (to Alaska!) gave me their 3 pineapple plants, each in a roomy tub. There was a small fruit on one, ready to harvest, which they generously let me have, and after eating it (sweet & juicy!) I rooted the top and just planted it today.

Hi everyone - There are now also several Ananas (Pineapple) plants in different colours as well as some which are variegated.

Here are three attractive examples:

Ananas 'Pepermint Cream'

Ananas 'Tricolor'

Ananas 'Bitter Chocolate'

All the best, Nev.

My dad used to plant his tops under the drip line in the back of the house. I'm not as big of a fan of pineapple as he was so i buy my pineapple in a can. :)

I have about 20 some plants and just picked my 6th and last one for this year. So far all of the tops have rooted and are ready to plant. I average about a half dozen fruits each year. After I pick the fruit I leave the plant alone and another will grow from the old one and each time they are a bigger plant. Most are in the ground but some are in pots and I think I will continue to put them in pots because the weeds, especially this year, have been uncontrollable. If we have frost or a freeze, I cover them with a couple layers of frost cloth and they do fine.

Nev, those are GORGEOUS! I want one of those variegated ones just for ornamental value.

I think since I'm not growing tomatoes anymore, I'm going to put my pineapple in one of the 5-gallon pots.

More great info. Thanks, Nev.

tj

Here is a photo of the tops harvested from my yard so far this year. 16 in the picture ( all rooting in water, I don't think 1 is going to make it), at least 1 still in the yard waiting, lost 2 (that I know of) to critters they will root where the lie, moved two in pots with fruit to the 4 year old granddaughters house for her garden (she planted the tops from "her" fruit), gave away another 2 or 3 fruit.

The three in the upper right are White Jade, I assume all rest are just descendants of store bought over the years. I did have 3 Florida Special but cant remember where they ended up. The White Jade are the only ones around the Sapodilla tree so I know where they are.

When I worked at Publix, they cut the fresh cut pineapple you buy in packs every day. I used to get the tops from those and give them to friends. One friend had a regular "pineapple plantation" in her yard. I think at last count she had over 100 plants. She dehydrated a lot of them and gave them away as Christmas gifts. I miss those gifts.

I had 4 or 5 pineapple fruits growing this year but we sold that house before they ripened :-(

I have only one in a pot. I planted the top from a store-bought pineapple just for the fun of it, directly in the pot a while ago, maybe earlier this year or even last year, I don't remember.. it's still alive ;D

We got five this year. Well, 4 1/2. A critter got part of the last one - either a possom or raccoon. The fruits were small this year. Probably due to the freeze we had early in the year.

Wow, I would like to find this Ananas 'Pepermint Cream'.

This weekend he goes in the basement for the winter. About 65 lbs and I lost the extension for my hand truck so it will be an adventure...

Note there's a little sucker developing at ground level too.

I didnt remember that I started one last year and then stuck it in a pot and it was shoved under the bananas which never totally died back last winter. So I found it kinda slumped over in the pot this summer lol. Thirsty and reaching for light but still alive. Good thing they are drought tolerant! It looks happier now watered and moved into the sun. It will likely fruit next year.

I still have mine in a 6-inch pot. I kept one in a 6-inch pot once for three years, but I think it just got old, because when I planted it into the ground, it lived a year, didn't bloom, then died.

I have 3. I started them last year. I'll keep mine in pots on the lanai to keep the critters out of them. Last year the little buggers stole one of my two pineapples.

I've lost about 10 young ones in the past few years to squirrels. They dig them out like idiots looking to steal from each other.

I rooted mine in water. Living in Pennsylvania, these don't do much, but they are fun to start!

Sans2014, maybe you can try one of the pretty colorful types and let it be ornamental. I used to start all manner of tropical plants when I was in SC. I had a mango, avocado, banana, lemon and more. None of them ever bore fruit, but I loved starting them. I wasn't much into it at the time, but I wish I had bonsaid them so I could have kept them. They eventually got too big for the house.

I rooted Ananas 'Tricolor' and it stayed small the 1st year, after that ...it became unmanageable indoors...very long leaves and super spiny. so finally I discarded it :(..i'll try another one perhaps - the 1st year they're really cute ;).

I listened to Florida Gardening on AM radio. I listen to it on my phone on IHeart Radio app. You'll see the podcasts and it is free. The show is on every Sunday, live at 7AM. Since I'm never up that early, they have podcasts. I love the show because he always has such good info on growing in Florida and gardening shows going on in various areas.

Two weeks ago (you can find it by going to the podcast), he had a guy who worked for Dole in Hawaii and he talked about pineapples. He worked for them for 24 yrs. Retired, moved to Florida and now works for a Pineapple company here.

Here's what he said:

Plant the tops in November/December the latest. If not planted then you lose a year.

Twist the top off and do not leave any fruit showing under the top. It will rot and could kill the top. Plant in well draining soil in full sun. Do not start in water! Really emphasized that.

Fertilize the mother plant until it flowers. Do not fertilize when the fruit begins forming. The mother plant will not take the fertilizer while the fruit forms. Fertilizing can damage the mother plant. Pick when the eyes look flat (not sure what that means).

Pineapple will not ripen once picked. Do not let it sit on in the kitchen waiting to ripen. It only ripens when attached to the mother plant. He said that was the biggest misconception people have. They wait till it feels soft and what they are feeling is the pineapple dying. It cannot produce sugar after being picked. It shuts off totally after picking. Leave it on the mother plant until you are ready to eat it.

If you have pineapple which did not produce fruit its because you planted at the wrong time. They are light and temp sensitive. The mother plant needs the cool down in Nov/Dec to initiate fruit production. If planted then it will grow all year and initiate fruit the following winter.

That's it. Interesting.

Jane

That's very interesting. I always start mine in water, though. I never really knew how to fertilize them. Basically, I've guessed at the care because of all the conflicting info. But I have well over a dozen plants probably closer to 2 dozen and have been growing them for many years . The fruiting has always been erratic, probably because of my fertilizing program (or lack of).

Thanks Jane. He probably says 'never start in water' because it just takes longer to get them established and there's no reason not to start them in soil, unless you enjoy watching the roots develop in water. But 'water' roots are usually not adapted for growing well in soil, so the plant has to generate all new 'soil' roots, which takes more time.

Most things in Florida are just snap off a piece and shove it in the ground, lol!

A few weeks ago I got all in the basement and my big guy is upset at the lack of sun while fruiting I guess. So the fruit stopped growing and starting to ripen as a tiny fruit . Also it's trowing babies all over it. It may be acting up because of root disturbance since it fell down twice as I was trying my best getting it downstairs.

I’ve grown this pineapple plant from a pineapple top. I started on late March of 2017 and still no signs of a flower stalk

Jorge, now is when to expect to see flower if plant has been in full sun continuously since start. (It is in S. FL, right?)