Pineapple top - plant it?

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giggler

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if I plant the top of a pine apple in my garden.. will I get a new pine apple?


seems like we tried this back in grade school...


but i can't remember now how that worked out..


seems like we tried to grow an Avacato pit and also a potato in a jar with tooth picks or something.


Eric, Austin Tx.
 
I think Larry grows pineapples, or did. I hope he pops in here.
 
A friend who lives in a much warmer clime has successfully grown several pineapples after planting the tops. I think she starts them in water, then into soil outside.
 
if I plant the top of a pine apple in my garden.. will I get a new pine apple?


seems like we tried this back in grade school...


but i can't remember now how that worked out..


seems like we tried to grow an Avacato pit and also a potato in a jar with tooth picks or something.


Eric, Austin Tx.
In the early 1960s we lived in a village with an enterprising greengrocer. We got all sorts of (then) odd things of which one was an avocado "pear" as they were then called. After eating it according to his advice Mum planted the stone/seed/pit in a pot and put it on the windowsill. After a while a little sprout appeared which grew & grew - all the way up to the ceiling where it diverted itself, following the line of the wall/ceiling joint. It was a warm summer and we kept it watered and it wandered half way round the kitchen.

In the end the winter killed it - in those days very few "ordinary" British people had central heating in their houses and our kitchen was like a 'fridge when we weren't cooking.

I don't think we were very impressed with the taste of the avocado - we didn't know how ripe it should be and we didn't know about dressing it up (Jane Grigson's books on fruit and veg hadn't been written then and the "Good Housekeeping Cookery Book" 1950s version was no help!).
 
A friend who lives in a much warmer clime has successfully grown several pineapples after planting the tops. I think she starts them in water, then into soil outside.
We did that once when I was in Primary school (aged about seven). We obviously didn't get any pineapples but it sprouted well & showed what it could do in a warmer climate. It was an interesting experiment. Sadly the great god "the Modern School Curriculum" doesn't allow time for interesting things like that these days...
 
Ive done it several times.
Up here in NY, I couldn't keep it exclusively outside , I had to plant it in a pot so I could bring it in during the colder months.
Takes about 1 1/2 - 2 years to fruit, but yes, it works.

Ive heard of some people just cutting off the top and sticking it right in the ground, but I started mine in water to allow it to root, then planted it after the roots were well established.

1- get a nice, healthy looking pineapple top.
2 - Strip the bottom leaves so it almost looks like there is a stemmy, leafless base
***Don't leave any fruit on the bottom or it will rot***
3 - submerge this base in water, and keep in sunny window
4 - ( probably most important) change the water daily, so it doesnt smell or rot.
5 - After a few weeks, you will notice roots forming from the base
6 - Plant in soil
7 - Have patience over the next 1 1/2 to 2 years.
 

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Mangoes are easy, make a beautiful plant/tree but take a LOT longer to produce.
(Like pineapple, they are subject to freezing back)
 
I grew pineapples from my son’s graduation party. Pulled the leaves until I saw roots, kept them well watered and five years later I had two little pineapples growing! All great but the plants reached five feet in diameter, very large for my living room! It was fun and now I know that pineapples can be grown in Michigan! Would I do it again....no way, but I just had to try!
 

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