Did you know that after you buy a pineapple you can cut off the top leafy green part and grow it as a houseplant? This hack is fun and easy, and it’s like you get a free houseplant the next time you buy a pineapple!
Preparing to plant the pineapple top:
- The first step is to pick a pineapple, it is important that you pick a pineapple with attractive foliage or variegated foliage.
- Once you bring your pineapple home and are ready to cut it up, cut off the top first and cut about ½ inch below the leaves.
- You then want to remove some of the lowest leaves, and trim the bottom of the pineapple top until you see root buds. They should look like small brown bumps around the stem’s perimeter.
- Lay the pineapple top on some paper towel and let it dry for a few days before planting. This helps prevent future rotting that could occur.
How to plant the pineapple top:
- While you can grow it in water, you may have much better luck planting it in soil. You want to use a light soil mix, with perlite and sand.
- Then you want to cover just the base of the pineapple top, up to its leaves in the soil mix. Make sure to water it well and place it in bright, indirect light.
- Keep it moist for the first 6-8 weeks until the roots begin to develop. Once the roots are fully established and there has been significant root growth you will want to start giving the pineapple plant additional light. The plant should be getting at least 6 hours of bright light a day. As well, once the roots are established you can start watering it as needed, letting it dry out between each watering.
- You can also start fertilizing your plant once or twice a month in the spring and summer months with a houseplant fertilizer.
Things to remember:
In the spring and summer once the weather begins to warm up, you can bring your pineapple plant outside, in a semi-shaded location. However, remember to bring it inside before the first frost in the fall.
Pineapple plants are very slow growing plants so you may not see a first bloom for at least 2 or 3 years if you are lucky, if not at all. Even still the pineapple plant is very beautiful and easy to grow making it an attractive houseplant.
Tips to encourage flowering:
Some tricks to encourage the flowering of this plant is placing the plant inside a plastic bag with an apple for a few days, as apples are known for giving off ethylene gas. Another trick is to place the plant on its side between waterings to promote the production of ethylene. These tricks are not said to 100% work but you are welcome to give them a shot if you would like to see your pineapple plant bloom.
