Pineapple Pups

[Grandmotherbear]

Not sure what the proper terminology is, but this is new this year.
For 20 years we've replanted the crown of the pineapple after eating. And Grandfatherbear asked me to stop whacking off the new plant that grew from where we had harvested the old plant. So now we have a lot of pineapples that are 2 plants high...and suddenly, they are all growing little pineapple crowns from about 2/3 way up the plant. I snapped 6 pups off one mother, and planted- they were about 3- 3 1/2 inches long, I was about to do more but it occurred me they might need to be bigger before being snapped off and transplanted.
So how big should they be?

[barath]

I have a related to question to add to that -- do the pups drain energy from the main pineapple or is it fine to just leave them?  My Kona Sugarloaf is producing pups but I've been debating whether removal is good.

[Finca La Isla]

The larger the pups are when you plant them the better it is going to work out for you.  The pups emerging from the mother plant, called basal suckers, are the most desirable.

[fruitlovers]

I have a related to question to add to that -- do the pups drain energy from the main pineapple or is it fine to just leave them?  My Kona Sugarloaf is producing pups but I've been debating whether removal is good.

Fine to leave them.

[fruitlovers]

The best part to use for fast reproduction is what is being called in this diagram a ground sucker. The second best part is the aerial sucker. The third best part is the slip. (These can be removed when quite small and will still work.) The fourth best is to use the crown. That name is only used for part right above the fruit.

[cmichael258]

Good information. Thanks!

[Grandmotherbear]

Thank you all for your replies. I've never seen "slips" or ground suckers and until now had never seen aerial suckers. We HAVE gotten twice the normal amount of rain for March, May and June. Maybe it needs a certain amount of moisture to produce suckers. I'll leave the rest of them on the mother plants for another month or so. It will give me a chance to figure out where to put them!

[fruitlovers]

Thank you all for your replies. I've never seen "slips" or ground suckers and until now had never seen aerial suckers. We HAVE gotten twice the normal amount of rain for March, May and June. Maybe it needs a certain amount of moisture to produce suckers. I'll leave the rest of them on the mother plants for another month or so. It will give me a chance to figure out where to put them!

Just sounds like your plants are not mature enough yet. Believe it or not mature plants here can get to 6 feet tall when in good soil. The ground suckers will be 2-3 feet tall when used for replanting.

[treefrog]

there's some lack of uniformity in the names for the different kinds of offsets.  i've seen the "ground sucker" called a "ratoon,"  and "aerial suckers" called simply "suckers."  i just think of them all as "pups."  the lower on the mother plant they originate, it seems the sooner they are to bear fruit. 
a weekly spray of a weak solution foliar feed is very helpful.  pineapples, and most other bromeliads  lack an exstensive root system.  they like to absorb through the above ground parts.

[fruitlovers]

there's some lack of uniformity in the names for the different kinds of offsets.  i've seen the "ground sucker" called a "ratoon,"  and "aerail suckers" called simply "suckers."  i just think of them all as "pups."  the lower on the mother plant they originate, it seems the sooner they are to bear fruit. 
a weekly spray of a weak solution foliar feed is very helpful.  pineapples, and most other bromeliads  lack an exstensive root system.  they like to absorb through the above ground parts.

Yes you're right about both things. That's part of the reason i posted a diagram, because different people call different parts different names, but with the diagram it's pretty clear what is being referred to. The reason the parts down low are preferred for propagation is because they get to be a lot bigger. The larger the propagative part the faster it's going to fruit.
Yes feeding on the leaves is very helpful for pineapples. You can either use foliar feed or even put slow release fertilizers right on the base of the leaves. It's also very important to keep them well weeded as their roots don't compete well at all with any other weeds.

[SamiC]

I have 27 crowns I'm currently growing in small pots. Hoping for a bounty within the next 2 years.

[fruitlovers]

I have 27 crowns I'm currently growing in small pots. Hoping for a bounty within the next 2 years.

Crowns can take 3 years or more to fruit, especially in colder non tropical climates.

[SamiC]

I have 27 crowns I'm currently growing in small pots. Hoping for a bounty within the next 2 years.

Crowns can take 3 years or more to fruit, especially in colder non tropical climates.

Good to know. They took pretty quickly, but growth has been slow.

[Millet]

After harvesting the pineapple fruit, if you just leave the pineapple plant stay in the ground to continue growing  it will produce a second crop.  This second crop is called the Ratoon .  Normally, the second fruit is generally smaller then the original .  In my opinion pineapple is the very easiest tropical plant to grow, that is if the grower has enough patience to wait approximately 2 years for he plant to mature and fruit.  After the friting process begins it is about six more months before the fruit matures. . - Millet

[gnappi]

After harvesting the pineapple fruit, if you just leave the pineapple plant stay in the ground to continue growing  it will produce a second crop.  This second crop is called the Ratoon .  Normally, the second fruit is generally smaller then the original .  In my opinion pineapple is the very easiest tropical plant to grow, that is if the grower has enough patience to wait approximately 2 years for he plant to mature and fruit.  After the friting process begins it is about six more months before the fruit matures. . - Millet

Patience is the operative word, but if you plant enough soon you'll have lots of fruit. I have 4 fruits in various stages of development and I just ate one. My pineapple grove now has ground suckers from last years producing plants, and I keep rooting the tops I get. I've never given them foliar feeding though, I just fertilize with the stuff I get locally at Excalibur.

[fruitlovers]

After harvesting the pineapple fruit, if you just leave the pineapple plant stay in the ground to continue growing  it will produce a second crop.  This second crop is called the Ratoon .  Normally, the second fruit is generally smaller then the original .  In my opinion pineapple is the very easiest tropical plant to grow, that is if the grower has enough patience to wait approximately 2 years for he plant to mature and fruit.  After the friting process begins it is about six more months before the fruit matures. . - Millet

Patience is the operative word, but if you plant enough soon you'll have lots of fruit. I have 4 fruits in various stages of development and I just ate one. My pineapple grove now has ground suckers from last years producing plants, and I keep rooting the tops I get. I've never given them foliar feeding though, I just fertilize with the stuff I get locally at Excalibur.

If you use foliar, or just put some slow release fertilizer on base of plants, you will get much bigger plants and also much bigger fruits. No fert = tiny fruits.
Patience is needed for all plants to fruit. Fruit trees need 3 to 5x as much patience than pineapples, which is considered a fast cash crop.

[fyliu]

I have 27 crowns I'm currently growing in small pots. Hoping for a bounty within the next 2 years.

Crowns can take 3 years or more to fruit, especially in colder non tropical climates.

That's about right for LA, where it slows down for the winter. My pineapple crown from about 2.5 years ago just finished flowering for the first time. It's in a 3 gallon pot. Not sure if I need to protect it from rodents later. There is no suckering of any type. Maybe it's a sign I didn't feed it enough?

[SamiC]

I have 27 crowns I'm currently growing in small pots. Hoping for a bounty within the next 2 years.

Crowns can take 3 years or more to fruit, especially in colder non tropical climates.

That's about right for LA, where it slows down for the winter. My pineapple crown from about 2.5 years ago just finished flowering for the first time. It's in a 3 gallon pot. Not sure if I need to protect it from rodents later. There is no suckering of any type. Maybe it's a sign I didn't feed it enough?

I would love to see some pics

[fyliu]

These are the same fruit grown from a store bought gold pineapple. The fruit is pretty small still. It'sy first pineapple and I don't know how big it'll get.
The wide angle of the lens makes the white jades in front look much bigger than they are. The white jades are not nearly big enough to fruit. Leaves are still pretty thin.

[fruitlovers]

I have 27 crowns I'm currently growing in small pots. Hoping for a bounty within the next 2 years.

Crowns can take 3 years or more to fruit, especially in colder non tropical climates.

That's about right for LA, where it slows down for the winter. My pineapple crown from about 2.5 years ago just finished flowering for the first time. It's in a 3 gallon pot. Not sure if I need to protect it from rodents later. There is no suckering of any type. Maybe it's a sign I didn't feed it enough?

Rats are a big problem with ripening pineapples. Whenever they start to waft that good pineapple smell they will come around and gnaw a big hole in the fruits.
In good soil pineapples will make lots of ground suckers and slips. Also the plants get enormous.

[SamiC]

These are the same fruit grown from a store bought gold pineapple. The fruit is pretty small still. It'sy first pineapple and I don't know how big it'll get.
The wide angle of the lens makes the white jades in front look much bigger than they are. The white jades are not nearly big enough to fruit. Leaves are still pretty thin.

That is awesome. Thanks for sharing.

[gnappi]

 My "grove" outgrew this little spot!



To this, now I have room to spread out!:

[Grandmotherbear]

Another question about the pups, or aerial suckers. I just twisted a 6 inch one off one of the pineapples- it has a fairly good sized fruit on the mother- and planted it. GFB asked me doing that wouldn't hurt the fruit? I didn't THINK so but I don't know.

[fruitlovers]

Another question about the pups, or aerial suckers. I just twisted a 6 inch one off one of the pineapples- it has a fairly good sized fruit on the mother- and planted it. GFB asked me doing that wouldn't hurt the fruit? I didn't THINK so but I don't know.

No that doesn't hurt development of the fruit. I think someone was arguing here the opposite? That it actually helps development? But i don't think that's true either.

[SamiC]

Can you recommend a fertilizer?