Author Topic: Pineapple thread  (Read 23910 times)

K-Rimes

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #125 on: August 23, 2021, 01:51:33 PM »
My pineapples from Spaugh are getting huge and look fruiting size but interestingly they're not firmly rooted in the soil? Is this normal?

Galatians522

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #126 on: August 23, 2021, 07:50:00 PM »
That dounds normal to me. As bromelads, I don't think they root as firmly as many other plants.

spaugh

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #127 on: August 23, 2021, 08:49:20 PM »
Sometimes they get floppy.  When you transplant them, go deeper.  Remove some leaves and plant lower into the final pot.  Use a big bamboo to prop the plant and tie the fruit to when it comes or it can flop over. 
Brad Spaugh

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #128 on: August 25, 2021, 12:40:55 AM »
Sometimes they get floppy.  When you transplant them, go deeper.  Remove some leaves and plant lower into the final pot.  Use a big bamboo to prop the plant and tie the fruit to when it comes or it can flop over.

They're already in 7g square pot, so I'm not sure I want to risk it. They're crushing it and growing fast.

spaugh

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #129 on: November 03, 2021, 07:15:58 PM »
Heres another hawaii one called MAUI SWEET.  It has long yellowing pink leaves that are smooth and the fruit has a little coconut smell on top of the standard sweet pineapple smell.  Im just keeping a log of all the different ones Im growing here for future reference.  This is a good one I will continue to grow but it is a bit sensitive to the dry heat here. 



« Last Edit: November 03, 2021, 07:19:51 PM by spaugh »
Brad Spaugh

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #130 on: November 03, 2021, 07:20:14 PM »
Lookin good brad, I put my pineapples into the greenhouse and realized damn they're big. Hopefully going to get some fruit next year. They're making pups now - just twist them out and leave them dry for a few days before re-plant?

spaugh

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #131 on: November 03, 2021, 07:23:38 PM »
You can just remove the pups and plant right away.  If they are low on the plant and between leaves you can pull the leaf below the shoot way down and then carefully remove it trying not to break it or it will ruin it.  Ive ruined many being impatient removing the ones between long leaves.  The ones in the dirt just pull it strait out at the roots. 

Ive started removing some types feom my collection.  The leaves are too spiney or the fruit are too small or they cant handle the weather here etc.  Pretty much all the victoria/queen ones Im ditching and probably the red spanish and chees pines too. 

The current best ones are the white jade, white sugar loaf, Paun, giant md2, tropical gold, maui sweet, smooth cayanes.  The josepine is ok but the plant is pretty weak and the fruit are small and the plant seems to be a scale magnet.  Some types clearly attract more scale than others.  The sharp queen types are such a pain to work with and the fruit is very bumpy and smaller and tend to have a lot of waste from the peel. 
« Last Edit: November 03, 2021, 07:28:19 PM by spaugh »
Brad Spaugh

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #132 on: November 03, 2021, 08:02:52 PM »
You can just remove the pups and plant right away.  If they are low on the plant and between leaves you can pull the leaf below the shoot way down and then carefully remove it trying not to break it or it will ruin it.  Ive ruined many being impatient removing the ones between long leaves.  The ones in the dirt just pull it strait out at the roots. 

Ive started removing some types feom my collection.  The leaves are too spiney or the fruit are too small or they cant handle the weather here etc.  Pretty much all the victoria/queen ones Im ditching and probably the red spanish and chees pines too. 

The current best ones are the white jade, white sugar loaf, Paun, giant md2, tropical gold, maui sweet, smooth cayanes.  The josepine is ok but the plant is pretty weak and the fruit are small and the plant seems to be a scale magnet.  Some types clearly attract more scale than others.  The sharp queen types are such a pain to work with and the fruit is very bumpy and smaller and tend to have a lot of waste from the peel.

I don't blame you for wanting to get rid of the ones with spines. The only one I plan to keep is the Natal Queen pineapple plants they do best for me and for me have an amazing taste so worth growing..... I got rid of others like red Spanish cause they attract mealybugs alot other than that they grew great I gave up the other queen pineapple varieties cause they were to small but they also grew great too just not worth the wait for a baby pineapples... Glad the others your growing are doing better for you cause they dint do well here in the part of florida I'm from
Pineapples i Grow: Natal Queen

K-Rimes

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #133 on: November 04, 2021, 03:42:22 PM »
You can just remove the pups and plant right away.  If they are low on the plant and between leaves you can pull the leaf below the shoot way down and then carefully remove it trying not to break it or it will ruin it.  Ive ruined many being impatient removing the ones between long leaves.  The ones in the dirt just pull it strait out at the roots. 

Ive started removing some types feom my collection.  The leaves are too spiney or the fruit are too small or they cant handle the weather here etc.  Pretty much all the victoria/queen ones Im ditching and probably the red spanish and chees pines too. 

The current best ones are the white jade, white sugar loaf, Paun, giant md2, tropical gold, maui sweet, smooth cayanes.  The josepine is ok but the plant is pretty weak and the fruit are small and the plant seems to be a scale magnet.  Some types clearly attract more scale than others.  The sharp queen types are such a pain to work with and the fruit is very bumpy and smaller and tend to have a lot of waste from the peel.

Yeah I'm battling scale bugs for the first time, super annoying. Ants have set up a shop in a few of the pineapples and it's really annoying - they travel up the leaves into other pots and set up shop there too. This was by far the worst ant year ever for me. I hear you on the spines too. It's impossible to walk near them.

spaugh

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #134 on: November 04, 2021, 08:46:12 PM »
If you have the red biting ants they will chew into the ripe pineapple fruit.  They are argintine ants I think or fire ants, not sure what type exactly but you will know if thats what you have they bite like little bastards and will eat your fruit.  So right when the pineapple starts tuening yellow, move it somewhere away from their nest or spray with something they dont like.  They will ruin a pineapple. 
Brad Spaugh

Galatians522

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #135 on: November 04, 2021, 09:10:45 PM »
If you have the red biting ants they will chew into the ripe pineapple fruit.  They are argintine ants I think or fire ants, not sure what type exactly but you will know if thats what you have they bite like little bastards and will eat your fruit.  So right when the pineapple starts tuening yellow, move it somewhere away from their nest or spray with something they dont like.  They will ruin a pineapple.

We have fire ants really bad here in Florida. I have taken pineapples infested with them and wedged them into a 5 gal bucket then covered it with water. Almost all of the ants moved out. If I were to do it again, I would add a squirt of dish soap to the water. Apparently, they can survive in straight water for quite a while because of an air bubble that forms next to their body. The soap supposedly breaks the surface tension and they drown quickly.

spaugh

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #136 on: November 04, 2021, 10:59:21 PM »
We ate the maui sweet pine, it was super good.  That one gets a really high rating.  The only thing it loses for is that the leaves end up yellowing here for some reason.  Its very consistent the sweet cayan crosses from HI end up yellowing in my environment where other types stay green and look less chlorotic.  But it doesnt seem to impact the size or flavor at all.  Im using water soluable jacks peters triple 20 with micro on all of them. 
Brad Spaugh

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #137 on: November 04, 2021, 11:10:44 PM »
I was really hoping to be able to grow white sugarloaf I have tried a few different times and they end up taking way to much cold damage here in the part of florida I'm from

The ants are most likely Argentine ants it's best to get rid of them before the plants flower otherwise it's not easy to get rid of the ants and mealybugs or scale that have gotten to the bottom of the pineapple this is why I stopped grow red Spanish pineapple cause of that reason they would end up damaging the under side of the pineapple to get the mealybugs or scale to places under the pineapple you can't get too.... Cause you can't use ant poison only way to get rid of the ants is with Neem oil/soap drench and make sure to spray all of the plants leaves too and best as possible
Pineapples i Grow: Natal Queen

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #138 on: November 04, 2021, 11:18:54 PM »
Few months back I got my hands on some Antigua Black pineapple slips and so far I feel they might not do so well here in the part of florida I'm in they are already off to a bad start the rooting process has taken longer than it should and I haven't seen to much new growth but I'm not giving up I did find out that Antigua Black pineapple is part of the Queen pineapple family
Pineapples i Grow: Natal Queen

K-Rimes

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #139 on: November 04, 2021, 11:25:13 PM »
We ate the maui sweet pine, it was super good.  That one gets a really high rating.  The only thing it loses for is that the leaves end up yellowing here for some reason.  Its very consistent the sweet cayan crosses from HI end up yellowing in my environment where other types stay green and look less chlorotic.  But it doesnt seem to impact the size or flavor at all.  Im using water soluable jacks peters triple 20 with micro on all of them.

Do you feed in winter too? Mine are in the greenhouse so probably see a low of 35 at the worst.

spaugh

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #140 on: November 05, 2021, 02:24:28 AM »
Yeah ants are a pain.  Its especially annoying to grow a pineapple for 1.5 to 2 years and then have it ruined by bugs.  Got to grow extra and expect a few losses.  Certain types it seems the ants are able to penetrate the skin of the fruit easier than others.  White sugarloafs seem to do well here but Im growing in a poly hoop house during winter.  The temps get into the 35-40s during winter.  We get 300hrs of 45F or lower.  The pineapple plants dont really get damaged from cold at those temperatures if they are kept dry and out of the wind it seems.  As long as they are under the plastic hoop house and it doesnt freeze they stay looking pristine.

For fertilizing during winter, yes I do.  It still hits 90 in the hoophouse during the sunny days and the plants continue to grow regardless of nightime lows that dont go below 35.  I have no idea what happens below 35, thats as cold as it has been here.  I use a 2 gal watering can and mix a couple scoops of the triple 20 in it and shoot 6 or 8 ounces onto each plant every 4-6 weeks all year.  Its not very exact, and I get to it when I get to it, but it seems to be working.  I got some jacks 15-5-15 with micros that is a better ratio for pineapple but it doesn't disolve as well so I dont use it on them.  The jacks 20-20-20 disolves instantly and makes fertilizing a ton of plants really quick.  Ive got probably 50 pineapple plants going and it takes 8 or 10 watering cans full to fertilize them all.  Just did it today and it took 20 minutes or so to mix and feed them all. 

« Last Edit: November 05, 2021, 02:27:34 AM by spaugh »
Brad Spaugh

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #141 on: November 05, 2021, 12:26:00 PM »
White sugarloafs seem to do well here but Im growing in a poly hoop house during winter.  The temps get into the 35-40s during winter.  We get 300hrs of 45F or lower.  The pineapple plants dont really get damaged from cold at those temperatures if they are kept dry and out of the wind it seems.  As long as they are under the plastic hoop house and it doesnt freeze they stay looking pristine.
I'm north and right on the coast from you.  My kaui sugarloafs (both the tops I got from a fruit order last winter, and also slips purchased from you earlier this year) are growing fastest on my balcony patio, although the leaves are purple I think from the sun and the glass railing -- it's normal from what I've read.  The Puan and cheese pine finally put out new growth, but seem to be slower growing.  I don't have luxury of a hoop or greenhouse, so we'll see how they do this winter outside.  The only other experience I have are twisties from costco and whole farts started in 2019.  Most of their leaves browned, likely from the cold last winter we had but eventually all had new growth.  Based on my short experience, it seems pineapples on my balcony only show growth aug-oct, and rest of the year they are very slow, therefore I suspect mine will simply take 3-4 years to fruit instead of the ~1.5-2.   Hopefully I'm wrong and they pickup in the spring :)

Fortunately I don't have ants in the plants yet, however, I do have lots of spiders taking up home and though it looks ugly I think that's okay.  Meanwhile, the ants have been a battle invading my home :(

K-Rimes

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #142 on: November 05, 2021, 01:55:01 PM »
Yeah ants are a pain.  Its especially annoying to grow a pineapple for 1.5 to 2 years and then have it ruined by bugs.  Got to grow extra and expect a few losses.  Certain types it seems the ants are able to penetrate the skin of the fruit easier than others.  White sugarloafs seem to do well here but Im growing in a poly hoop house during winter.  The temps get into the 35-40s during winter.  We get 300hrs of 45F or lower.  The pineapple plants dont really get damaged from cold at those temperatures if they are kept dry and out of the wind it seems.  As long as they are under the plastic hoop house and it doesnt freeze they stay looking pristine.

For fertilizing during winter, yes I do.  It still hits 90 in the hoophouse during the sunny days and the plants continue to grow regardless of nightime lows that dont go below 35.  I have no idea what happens below 35, thats as cold as it has been here.  I use a 2 gal watering can and mix a couple scoops of the triple 20 in it and shoot 6 or 8 ounces onto each plant every 4-6 weeks all year.  Its not very exact, and I get to it when I get to it, but it seems to be working.  I got some jacks 15-5-15 with micros that is a better ratio for pineapple but it doesn't disolve as well so I dont use it on them.  The jacks 20-20-20 disolves instantly and makes fertilizing a ton of plants really quick.  Ive got probably 50 pineapple plants going and it takes 8 or 10 watering cans full to fertilize them all.  Just did it today and it took 20 minutes or so to mix and feed them all.

Very similar set-up to me, though I think I am quite a bit colder on the worst nights - at least the greenhouse/hoop house does what it needs to and gets hot during the day. I had stopped fertilizing for winter but sounds like I should get going on it again. I have some Jacks 202020 so I'll throw that on.

I too batch watering cans with fert and ph them since my well is so gnarly alkaline. I'll get some photos of them in a second.

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #143 on: November 05, 2021, 02:40:07 PM »



Finally after 4-5 years my pineapple is fruiting! I don’t know the variety it’s just the ones from the store. I had forgot to fertilize it but after giving some last summer it finally decided to flower. I do think these can fruit in 2-3 years in a temperate climate with the proper care.

K-Rimes

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #144 on: November 05, 2021, 03:05:29 PM »





Can’t be too far off now.


spaugh

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #145 on: November 05, 2021, 03:24:10 PM »
They are looking nice but they still need more time to get bigger probably 6 months
Brad Spaugh

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #146 on: March 13, 2022, 09:02:26 PM »





Some promising views on some of Spaugh’s slips I bought awhile ago.

spaugh

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #147 on: March 13, 2022, 10:40:10 PM »
Its good timing.  They should ripen by end of summer.  This is when you want the flower to form. 
Brad Spaugh

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #148 on: March 13, 2022, 11:12:19 PM »
It's nice to finally see flowers and fruits! Got a WJ that is taller than me, still nothing








K-Rimes

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Re: Pineapple thread
« Reply #149 on: May 09, 2022, 12:16:20 PM »





Not sure what’s going on here but seems weird.