Growing a pineapple in a pot is an interesting lesson, as this exotic fruit is attracted not only by its taste, but also by the fact that the plant itself can be a wonderful decoration for any green corner in the apartment. Pineapple leaves saturated in color are decorative. They are spiky and juicy. To create all the necessary conditions for growing such a plant is easy in any room. If you comply with all the conditions of planting, care and features of watering a pineapple, then it will not only bloom well, but also give the fruit.
Plant description
Pineapple is a herbaceous plant in the center of which the stem always grows. If you carefully examine it, you can see that right at the top of the stem there is an inflorescence, which subsequently turns into fertility. Separate berry parts of this fertility grow together in one pineapple.
The stem is surrounded by a rosette, which consists of leaves, thick and fleshy. The fruit shape of such a plant is oval and cylindrical. It consists of small parts that are fused together. At the top of the pineapple is a rosette of leaves.
The fruit itself is enclosed in a shell of scales. If the pineapple is ripe, then it can be yellow, dark green, reddish or brown. The flesh is saturated yellow.
Almost everyone has tried pineapple and knows that it tastes good and is complemented by a great aroma. If the fetus is fully ripe, then it can reach a weight of five kilograms.
How to grow pineapple at home
Many exotic fruit lovers think about whether it is possible to grow pineapple in a pot at home. This process is not complicated, although long. And if there is at least a little experience in gardening, then this task can be easily dealt with.
In order to grow a pineapple at home, a photo of which will then decorate any album, you need to perform several actions correctly. So, initially it is worth competently approaching the choice of planting material itself. The second step is to prepare the soil and all the necessary conditions for the further maintenance of the seedling. At the third stage, the greenest pineapple top is already growing. As soon as this happens, the pineapple crest will need to be placed in a rooting container. At the last stage, it will remain to carefully observe all the features of care, in particular, watering the plant.
Pineapple in a pot with proper care will grow in 2 years. In size, it will be smaller than what has grown in nature, but the taste and smell of its fruit will be simply magnificent.
Rules for choosing a plant for planting
A pineapple planted at home in a pot, a photo of which can be found in this article, requires constant care, and if it is not carried out, the plant will not bear fruit. Particular attention should be paid to the choice of planting material.
First of all, you should carefully examine the fruit that is selected for planting. Its bright yellow-brown hue indicates that the pineapple is ripe. If the peel on the fruit is tough, then it is still immature and is not suitable for planting. If, when pressed on the fetus, it will immediately be possible to feel its softness, then the plant, on the contrary, is overripe. This pineapple is also not suitable for growing.
Sometimes you can find information that the fruit will ripen calmly at home if put it in a bag of apples for several days or hold it with the top down. But in fact, this is not entirely true. If you use similar methods to ripen the fruit, then its pulp will become much sweeter, as the starch will gradually turn into sugar and distributed throughout the pineapple. But at the same time, the socket, which is necessary in order to grow a pineapple in a pot, will begin to gradually die.
Also, when choosing a pineapple, you should pay attention to its leaves. They should be not only green and juicy, but also whole (although the edges may still be slightly dried out). If the plant has gray spots, then it should not be taken for planting. After all, precisely such spots indicate that the fetus is affected by worms. But if there is a small sprout in the outlet, then, accordingly, it will be an excellent guarantee that pineapple in the pot can grow from such planting material at home. The photo below just confirms this.
When choosing a pineapple for planting, another main reference should be the smell. When buying, you need to sniff at the base of the plant. A sour smell will mean that the pineapple is ripe. And those plants that are suitable for planting should have a sweetish aroma.
To grow a pineapple in a pot, a photo of which will surprise all friends and relatives, it is worth buying it in spring or summer. To increase the chances, it is better to purchase two pineapples, but in different stores. It is right to root each of them to be sure that at least one will grow.
Pineapple Top Planting
One way to plant a pineapple is to sprout its top, which resembles a crown with its leaves. You can separate it from the fetus in different ways. The first way, for example, is to gently grasp the pineapple leaves with your hand and gradually turn them out as if you were opening a bottle. As a result, the upper part of the plant, which is a foliage with a stem that is small and dense, will easily separate from the pulp.
The second way of separating the top for planting is to carefully cut the green outlet along with two centimeters of the fetus itself. Then it remains with a knife to remove the remains of the pulp, which causes rotting.
Preparation for planting the top of the pineapple in a pot requires a careful and thorough inspection of the entire plant.
- If small white dots appear near the base , then they should be protected. It is from them that the roots of the fruit will grow in the future. So, for example, you need to tear off the lower leaves from the outlet, but you should do this perpendicular to the stem so as not to damage the small roots.
- If there are cuts on the stem, they must be treated so that this place does not rot and that the roots sprout faster. Most often, charcoal, a solution of potassium permanganate or epin is used for processing.
Immediately plant the top of the pineapple in the soil is not necessary. First, leave it for a few days so that it dries. This is necessary to prevent rotting of the plant. It is best to hang the pineapple top prepared for planting for a while, so that the cut does not touch anything. And then a crest should be placed in a glass container with water so that the entire bare stalk is covered with liquid. It is necessary to fix the top so that it does not move.
The pineapple top should stand in the water until the roots appear. To do this, put a container of water where it will be lowered, put in a bright place and change the water every two days. Usually the roots sprout in two weeks, and then it will already be possible to transplant the plant into a pot. But before boarding, you should leave the outlet on a paper towel for several hours so that it dries slightly.
How to choose a pot for planting pineapple
If you want to grow a pineapple fruit, but don’t know how to plant a pineapple in a pot at home, you should carefully read this article: it contains all the necessary information. So, for example, it is necessary to pay attention to the choice of a pot for a plant and the selection of soil for it.
A container for growing fruit should be two centimeters wider than the diameter of the plant in the section. Most often, for planting a pineapple, pots are taken, which in volume are equal to four liters, and in diameter - fifteen centimeters. Since the plant has a weak root system, which is considered superficial, the capacity for planting should not be chosen too deep. At the bottom of the pot you need to lay a small drainage layer, which will allow water to drain. Typically, pebbles or expanded clay are used for this purpose. This layer protects the root system and prevents the decay process.
Pineapple is planted in a universal mixture, already saturated with all the necessary fertilizers. It is advisable to use special soil that is designed for tropical plants or palm trees. You can prepare such a mixture yourself, using peat and river sand in the same proportions. The main condition for the soil is its permeability, since moisture and oxygen should easily get to the root system.
The earth, like the plant itself, must be neutralized. To do this, before planting pineapple in a pot, you need to pour over the earth with steep boiling water or pour a solution of potassium permanganate. But you can’t immediately plant a pineapple outlet - you need to wait a day. The soil should be slightly moist.
Planting a plant
Many gardeners are interested in not only how to choose the right pot for pineapple at home, but also how to properly plant and grow the plant itself. After the tank and the soil are ready, in the ground you need to make a hole no more than six centimeters deep. Care must be taken to ensure that the lower layer of leaves is not covered by ground.
The soil should be slightly crushed, trying not to catch the young and still weak root system. On top of such a hole with a pineapple top can be sprinkled with a little ash or chopped charcoal. Immediately you need to pour the pineapple in a pot with water at room temperature, and then you should provide the plant with all the necessary conditions for normal growth and strengthening. So, pineapple loves a sunny place, but direct sunlight affects its growth and development negatively, so you should fence it using polyethylene or plastic bottles.
It is absolutely necessary to establish a normal temperature regime. It is known that a pineapple in a pot, the photo of which is in this article, takes root for two to three months. But if the temperature regime is above twenty-five degrees, then this process will take up to about two months.
The first sign that the plant lives and develops will be the appearance of new leaves. Old ones will dry up over time, and new ones will appear in their place. The dried leaves must be carefully trimmed.
There are several rules that you must follow to grow pineapple at home. They relate to the period when the plant is only taking root.
So, wondering how to grow pineapple in a pot, it’s worth understanding that you need to constantly ventilate the greenhouse or the room where the plant will be. Therefore, you should already think about where the pineapple will live before planting. After all, the room should not have any temperature differences or hypothermia, as this can cause the death of an exotic fruit.
A decorative pineapple in a pot, the care of which should be thorough, is prone to rot and mold on it, so you should carefully study the plant and protect the crest from condensation - it is it that can lead to a similar state of the fruit. It is usually watered no more than once a week. So that the plant does not die and does not suffocate, it is necessary to move it in the afternoon from the place where direct sunlight can fall on it.
Care Features
There are different opinions about whether it is easy or difficult to grow such an exotic fruit at home. Some believe that the plant is very moody and requires a lot of attention, while others argue that growing pineapple in a pot is not difficult. Confirm one of these points of view will be possible only after you manage to independently grow pineapple at home. Therefore, when planning to grow pineapple in a pot, care for which nevertheless requires special attention, flower growers should understand that this plant is very whimsical. And be prepared for constant monitoring of plant growth, and for timely transplants, and for the fight against diseases or pests.
All the rules that allow you to understand how to grow pineapple in a pot relate to proper and competent watering, compliance with the temperature and light conditions necessary for the plant, timely transplantation and top dressing of exotic fruit. The weather on the street and what time of the year will depend on where you put the pot. So, in the summer, a container with pineapple can be taken out to the balcony, but at the same time remember that rains will negatively affect the cultivation - excess moisture can destroy pineapple.
In the winter and autumn, the windowsill will be a good place for the plant, but there should not be any drafts here. It is also necessary to ensure that there are no hot batteries or other sources of heat near the pineapple. If the leaves of the plant began to dry or little by little their tips twisted, then this is the first sign that the plant is standing in a draft. So you need to move it immediately.
It is always interesting to watch pineapple growing in a pot. But we must not forget that the exotic fruit requires special temperature conditions. So, in the summer and spring the best option is from twenty two to thirty degrees, and in the fall and winter - from eighteen to twenty one degrees. Although you can grow pineapple at home in the winter and at a maximum temperature of 27 degrees.
It is known that the plant is very afraid of the cold, therefore, when the temperature drops below eighteen degrees, it immediately falls into a state of "hibernation". It also transfers the situation when the room is too hot.
As the pineapple grows in a pot, the photo of which is in the article, you need to follow the correct lighting of the room. So, six to eight light hours per day will be enough for this plant. In summer, you can put a pot with an exotic plant on the balcony or take it out into the garden, darkening it a bit, but in winter you will also have to use fluorescent lamps.
The fact that the plant lacks lighting can be determined by leaves that become pale and unattractive. If this is noticed, then the plant should either be rearranged to another, more illuminated place, or immediately begin to illuminate it with a lamp.
To grow not only a plant, but also to get fruit, you need to know how to fertilize a pineapple in a pot. It is known that this exotic plant is not very demanding on top dressing, but during the growing season, which lasts from April to October, it is necessary to maintain it with all nutrients. At the same time, organic fertilizers should be applied to the soil no more often than twice a month.
You can use recharge, which is sold in the store, for example, special flower mixes. A solution of iron sulfate or humus from manure is also suitable. You can grow fruits without chemical dressing, but then you should use natural. For example, wood ash or alkali. By the way, in the winter, feeding is not necessary.
Florists, not the first time growing pineapple in a pot, know how to care for it. Therefore, they take care in advance that in a year after planting, the plants are transplanted into a more spacious container. This procedure should be carried out in early summer. Now in the pot one third should be occupied by the drainage layer. And everything else is filled with river sand, peat and fertile soil.
Such a pineapple transplant every year in a large capacity allows you to grow a healthy exotic fruit. In this case, it is necessary to carefully transfer the lump of soil in which the roots of the plant are located. Everything must be done so as not to damage them.
Watering an exotic fruit
So, you became the owner of such a plant as a pineapple in a pot. How to care for him is more or less clear. It remains to deal with watering.
It is known that pineapples usually grow in the tropics, so excess moisture can be detrimental to them. Watering such a plant is necessary only when the soil in it becomes almost dry. There should be no stagnation of water in the pot.
Florists pay special attention to watering. How pineapple grows in a pot depends not only on temperature and lighting, but also on how competently all its conditions are met. So, pineapple should be watered once a week, using water at room temperature, which should either be filtered off or allowed to stand a little.
In the summer, the tropical plant needs more moisture, so it can be watered three times a week. In winter, it is enough to limit yourself once every two weeks. If an unpleasant odor appears from the pot, this means that there is too much moisture. Its redundancy can be determined by the appearance of mold. , , .
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As soon as flowering ends, you need to remove dried leaves, so that the plant goes into the stage of formation and development of the fetus. If flowering did not occur, then this means that the care of the plant was incorrect. Do not despair right away, as you can still fix it. For example, stimulate flowering by treating the plant with an aqueous solution of acetylene and ethylene. Someone even uses apples that produce ethylene during storage. Just put a few fruits in a pineapple pot.
The fetus begins to ripen in about five months. From above appears a shortened shoot, which is called the Sultan. The fruit usually ripens within five to six months. This period depends on how care is taken for it, whether all requirements are met and the features of the growing season are followed. Immediately after fruiting, the plant dies, but there are lateral shoots that can be used for reproduction.
Diseases and pests
Pineapple is a plant that is easily exposed to pests and easily gets sick. Therefore, it is worth learning to “feel” it in order to understand what is happening with the pineapple. First of all, you need to make sure that yellow or brown spots do not appear on the leaves. They usually remain from a pest such as scale insects. To get rid of it, you need to treat the leaves with either an insecticide, or a soap solution, or ethyl alcohol.
The mealybug, like the scale insect, feeds on the juice of pineapple leaves, but only after itself does it leave a white coating that looks something like cotton wool. In those places where such a plaque lies, a fungus soon appears, further damaging the plant. These pests can be removed either with special preparations or with a soap solution.
But still, most of all, you should be afraid of the root worm, which, destroying the root system, leads to the death of the entire exotic plant. It is difficult to immediately determine that this is the root worm, since in its appearance it is very similar to ordinary mold. As soon as such a worm is detected, pineapple roots should be placed in hot water - its temperature can reach 55 degrees.
In such water, the roots are washed gently and very thoroughly with soap, and if affected areas are found, they are removed. You can treat the roots with special solutions, and then it is better to transplant the plant in a new container, after processing the soil.
Another pest of pineapple is the spider mite, which also infects the leaves of the plant. He sucks the juice out of them, and then covers the dry leaves with a thin cobweb. To get rid of such a pest, you need to wash the foliage with a soapy solution or sprinkle with onion, garlic or tobacco husk. You can purchase special preparations for processing in the store.
If an exotic plant is fed with nitrogen-containing fertilizer, this can lead to the appearance of a fungus. In such cases, it is necessary to apply a fungicide, which is suitable only for a certain fungal infection.
Another problem for homemade pineapple can be orchid aphids, which also love plant juice. Eating, such a pest also poisons the plant itself with the poisonous products of its vital activity. For the treatment of an exotic plant, in this case, those products that are sold in the store, for example, Actellik, are perfectly suitable.
So, with a little effort, you can grow a beautiful pineapple at home. And soon he will surprise everyone with his unusual appearance and juicy fruits.