Pineapple thread

[FloridaGrower69]

Interesting idea with the ‘armored’ crab pot protective cage.

I lost half a dozen fruits to raccoons last season. I appreciated that they left the crowns.    I pick the fruit now when it starts to smell … usually a little gold at the base…then let them ripen inside our screen room. Ripens just fine off the plant as long as it’s not broken too early.

The significant cold snap in DEC kicked off some early flowering.  Small fruits for most, but Josepine and Antigua Black fared ok with big inflorescence. 

Maybe the bandits will go easy on us this season.

[johnb51]

Interesting idea with the ‘armored’ crab pot protective cage.

I lost half a dozen fruits to raccoons last season. I appreciated that they left the crowns.    I pick the fruit now when it starts to smell … usually a little gold at the base…then let them ripen inside our screen room. Ripens just fine off the plant as long as it’s not broken too early.

The significant cold snap in DEC kicked off some early flowering.  Small fruits for most, but Josepine and Antigua Black fared ok with big inflorescence. 

Maybe the bandits will go easy on us this season.

When do you start selling ripe pineapples at your farm?  My son has moved to Melbourne nearby.

[FloridaGrower69]

John,
I only sell plants from time to time, as my pineapple produce material, but Mark Dellerman
has excellent pineapple in Sebastian …10 miles south. Worth checking out in Mid July.  He sells out in 2 weeks or less.  Updates on timing:

https://twitter.com/naturefarmsinc?lang=en

Brett

[johnb51]

John,
I only sell plants from time to time, as my pineapple produce material, but Mark Dellerman
has excellent pineapple in Sebastian …10 miles south. Worth checking out in Mid July.  He sells out in 2 weeks or less.  Updates on timing:

https://twitter.com/naturefarmsinc?lang=en

Brett

Sorry.  I got you mixed up with him.  I'm hoping to try his pineapples this summer.  "Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby." (Marvin Gaye)

[bovine421]

After cleaning his garage a friend who came over to graft brought me this hardware cloth I already had three quarter inch PVC laying around. It's a start for now with some stakes driven alongside this and  wired to them.  Some bricks along the bottom. Or some chain link fence laid on the ground



I think I know where I can get one of those 4 ft chain link fence gates to lay on the ground and drive some steel stakes through then wire this contraption. Maybe put a cinder block on top. Wow fan boy has got it going on😅

[strom]

My pineapples look terrible coming out of our wet winter, I left them outside on the patio since I don't have land for a greenhouse and, well, no space inside.  Cheese pine looks the "healthiest" so far, following by one of the grocery-store twist tops which is going to be my very first one to bloom!  This is a twist top from either a costco, whole foods (costa rica), or gelson's pineapple (Maui Gold), and I think finally rooted in 2019 after so many failed attempts. 

[FV Fruit Freak]

Landed my first one but unfortunately had ants tunneling in it. Hope some of it is salvageable.

That don’t look ready, doesn’t look like it formed right and the color is off, prob cause it wintered over...It seems when pineapples set fruit here in the fall, winter over, and then ripen in the spring, they usually aren’t very good, it seems they really need our summer heat/sun to get to their full potential. You want them flowering/setting fruit now, winter, or spring, that way it’ll ripen in the summer, the taste and quality is night and day...It’s the same with dragon fruit. Congrats on your first fruit tho!

[K-Rimes]

Landed my first one but unfortunately had ants tunneling in it. Hope some of it is salvageable.

That don’t look ready, doesn’t look like it formed right and the color is off, prob cause it wintered over...It seems when pineapples set fruit here in the fall, winter over, and then ripen in the spring, they usually aren’t very good, it seems they really need our summer heat/sun to get to their full potential. You want them flowering/setting fruit now, winter, or spring, that way it’ll ripen in the summer, the taste and quality is night and day...It’s the same with dragon fruit. Congrats on your first fruit tho!

Unfortunately all my pineapples flowered at the wrong time and the fruit was overwintered. I have one that is flowering now, so maybe that one will turn out ok - but I give up on pineapples now. They take up too much greenhouse space and are prickly.

[spaugh]

That looks like a yellow sugarloaf.  They always come out small and funny shaped. 

[Enkis]

I've always failed to root pineapples tops. I've always put them in water because it seemed the most common method.

Yesterday i bought a Dole tropical gold making sure to pick the one with the healthiest top and this time i put it in a pot.
The fruit tasted really good.

[Galatians522]

I've always failed to root pineapples tops. I've always put them in water because it seemed the most common method.

Yesterday i bought a Dole tropical gold making sure to pick the one with the healthiest top and this time i put it in a pot.
The fruit tasted really good.

Never put them in water. Rot is the biggest problem. Peel the bottom few leaves off and set it in a dark place that is warm dry for 2-3 weeks. Contrary to what you may think, this will not kill the top. They could probably sit for 2-3 months without dying. Water it sparingly after you plant it until it has started to grow--especially if it is cold.

[Enkis]

I've always failed to root pineapples tops. I've always put them in water because it seemed the most common method.

Yesterday i bought a Dole tropical gold making sure to pick the one with the healthiest top and this time i put it in a pot.
The fruit tasted really good.

Never put them in water. Rot is the biggest problem. Peel the bottom few leaves off and set it in a dark place that is warm dry for 2-3 weeks. Contrary to what you may think, this will not kill the top. They could probably sit for 2-3 months without dying. Water it sparingly after you plant it until it has started to grow--especially if it is cold.

Based on my experience with the water method i would certainly not recommend it either. Maybe if you can get really fresh tops they can survive but the method seems unnecessarily harsh.
I didn't let the top dry but i will experiment with that as well if i get more pineapples, thanks.

[Tjpeterson96]

Anybody hear anything about this new “Juicy” cultivar? I like the slightly variegated look of the leaves. Never got a chance to snag any “Sweet Stripes” when they were available so I might pick a few up and see how they do

[strom]

Quick update, this is roughly two months now since the bloom began.  It's probably going to be pretty small I suppose?

[Galatians522]

Quick update, this is roughly two months now since the bloom began.  It's probably going to be pretty small I suppose?

Looks like it will be about 6" when ripe if the eyes fill out to normal size.

[strom]

This small one's now five months.  It looks almost ready, I'm sniffing it daily waiting for the aromatic fragrance, but, likely needs one more month, right?  I'm rotating the pot every few days to even out exposure to sun (or actual lack thereof).  I'm pretty sure this is one of the MD2 types from costa rica, likely costco purchase.  I don't think they turn the same, full yellow color like the Maui gold ones?

[Tropicaltoba]

Storm, Looks great, very jealous. How tall is the plant? I’ve got a white jade and it already looks huge evethough I know it’s no where close to flowering.

[JoeP450]

Still looking for meli kalima from Frankie’s nursery, I can’t believe this hasn’t made it to mainland IS yet, what’s the deal?!?

-Joe

[strom]

Tropicaltoba: it's not very tall, and the leaves are mostly short - last winter was rough and I cut most back, probably why the pineapple is so small.  The trunk's diameter is nearly six inches.

My cheesepine began the flower/fruit phase the first of October, here is is now.  I'm kind of bummed because it means it will ripen over winter here, bah.  All the plants look great through the summer but are going to get pretty beat up in the winter here.  Would it make sense to maybe bring this cheesepine indoors?  Or just leave it outside?

[strom]

We're right on six months and my costco or whole foods pineapple has begun to change color from green to yellow-green this week   I don't smell anything yet, taking a whiff daily, so, almost ripe, right? 

[GrowerA]

I used the top of good, sweet variety that I bought from store for propagation. I have learned from Mother Nature that if you remove some of the tip leaves, somewhat similar to damaged it, then you would get more plants out of it.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH4CTjrljAc

This one is amazing variety from Vietnam. The fruit size is about similar size of a large pineapple with stunning crown.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0khPW7yh1xo

[buymyfarm]

freshly picked pineapple from Costa Rica Pineapple Farm

[Rice-N-Beans]

Folks, I got bit by the pineapple bug and have jumped in head first without really doing a lot of research. I blame my step dad and mom for the bug, they have been planting grocery store bought pineapple tops for a long time and I enjoy eating the fruit they grow from them.

So, I went nuts and ordered a dozen "Florida Special" and four "Kauaʻi White Sugarloaf", the plants I ordered are from tissue cultures. I read tissue cultures will take a bit extra time before I get to eat some fruit compared to a planted grocery store bought fruit tops like the MD-2's my parents grow easily in their backyard.

My first question, can you folks recommend a good big box store container/potting mix that is easily available that works for pineapple plants? I plan on growing them in containers in my backyard. I saw MG has a cactus/citrus blend but that is going for almost $10 a bag, with how many plants I ordered that will get pretty expensive when it's time to up-pot into their forever home in 7 gallon pots. I saw many different brands of potting mix at home depot, the thing I read is pineapple like well draining soil, so I don't want to buy the wrong type of potting/container soil.

Thanks in advance.

[FloridaGrower69]

Just some thoughts on potting medium. You nailed it: what ever drains best. MG is expensive.  Part of that cost is the addition of pelletized fertilizer - which is nice, but not necessary - as these plants like foliar feeding best. There are other brands out there that do the job as well. Just try to find one with pearlite and peat moss. The white pearlite keeps the soil loose when it eventually starts to compact and the peat helps retain moisture after it’s soaked. Most important detail with potted pineapple is to keep the pots in a place where they can drain fully.  Mine are on crushed stone or on pavers. If the bottom third of the soil gets soaked and stays damp - the roots will eventually rot and you’ll see the leaves brown up and curl. A good way to check on bottom pot soil quality is to wiggle the plant after its been potted for a few months. If the plant wobbles, there’s a good chance the bottom soil is not draining and the plant needs repotting.  Hope this is a good start

Brett
Sebastian Pineapple Ranch

[zwanif]

    Im sharing this info for people who are interested in growing pineapples.  Ill include some info on how to plant and the different types Im growing. 

    Pineapples are quite easy to propogate and grow.  They do well in containers and don't require much upkeep or care.  The only real issue is they are fairly tropical and do not like cold weather below 50F.  They will survive in the 30s but they stop growing and tend to go into decline, especially if they are wet and cold.  So pull your plants under a shade or inside the garage or greenhouse during those winter rain storms if its cold where you live.

  To propogate them you can use fresh slips or offsets and plant into small pots.  If you have slips that have no roots, peel back some of the lower leaves to expose the root nodes and plant into 4 or 6 inch pots to get them started.  Using a small pot allows the dirt to dry out while the plant gets established vs always staying soggy in a larger pot or in ground.  If you are lucky enough to live somewhere like costa rica or hawaii where conditions are right, pups can be planted straight into the ground obviously.  Im assuming most people reading this are zone pushing a bit and growing in semi tropical climate or greenhouses.  Pineapple plants do amazingly well in a greenhouse environment.  If you live in zone 8-10 , a greenhouse will be best during winter. 

Peel back your leaves and expose the roots


Plant into 4 or 6 in pots to root them for 2-6 months





This MD2 plant has been in the 6in pot for several months and is ready to up pot to a 5gal pot to fruit in. 


Once you are seeing roots on the bottom of the pot, it can be up potted.  This one could have been done a month ago.


A 5gallon pot is sufficient for most varieties to produce a large fruit comparable or larger than comercial store bought pineapples. This is a 5gal MD2


The soil Im using is EB stone cactus mix.  You want well draining mix with pumice or perlite addative in it for breathability and drainability.  This mix has no fertilizer so I will add a slow release fertilizer or some organic slow going fertilizer to the mix when potting.  A little animal manure would work also.  Use a well balanced fertilizer to start with.  Organic 5-5-5 or similar is good.

Then you can water occasionally maybe once a month with fish emulsion or other water soluable fertilizer to feed them.  I use a jacks 15-5-15 with micro package on pineapple and banana.  Or sometimes a grow power 8 6 8. They also like high iron and mineral content so a micro nutruient with iron is good.   Pineapples are not salt sensitive and they will take all kinds of fertilizers no problem, just don't go too crazy, an occasional feeding between multiple waterings is all you need. Don't over water your plants, once they have some roots let them dry out a bit between watering, they dont like suoer wet feet.   And when fertilizing with dry fertilizer scratch in around the plant into the dirt.  Or if using water soluable, pour straight into the center of the plants and drench the plant and soil.

I ordered my first del. Monte gold rooted
Prepared a beautiful container for it
And if I will like it I will for. Sure have multiple of them since it's easy to propagate