How to Grow a Pineapple
Ananas comosus
Commercial Pineapple
BROMELIACEAE
This is an easy exercise to do with any child.
After cutting up a pineapple and enjoying the fruit, save the top of the plant. Let it dry and cure for a few days, so the base of the top will callus. This will help to prevent rotting at the crown.
Using a clay pot is ideal although almost any time of container will work as long as there is proper drainage. Use a good, fertile potting medium.
Pineapples require a lot of light, although they will acclimate to other conditions. When plants do acclimate they may not perform according to their ideal growing habits. But, they will grow.
Being in the bromeliad family, it will required a little watering, more when the plant is in bloom.
Ideally, pineapples will grow until the temperature drops to 60F. Again, they will survive lower.
Pineapples will reach a height of 25 to 30 inches and will take two years to grow another pineapple.
When the days are shorter and the nights a bit cooler the plant will produce a flower. The bloom will last considerable amount of time. The flower will dry and a pineapple will form. To force a pineapple to produce, put an apple in a bag over the plant. This will create ethylene gas and will trigger the plant to flower.
This is a fun exercise with children.