How to Grow a Pineapple Tree?

Pineapples are a sweet treat most people enjoy occasionally in their cocktails or juices. Canned and whole pineapples are also rather common.

For a few dollars or even under a dollar you can have a pineapple in the local supermarket, but where is the fun in that?

It is not widely known but you can grown your own "tree" in your garden basically in any weather, but it needs a lot of sunlight so if you are closer to the north pole than the equator, you will probably want to grow it in the house.

It is a little known fact, that pineapples are poisonous. If you have ever bought a whole pineapple on the market and cut it for yourself you might have noticed that it has an acidic side effect if unripe.

The green pineapple causes burning of the mouth and throat and causes extreme diarrhea. You can avoid that by only buying ripe fruit.

It is also little known that the fruit of the pineapple "tree" is its flower all at once. When your pineapple bush begins to flower you will see how the flowers transmute into the best pineapple fruit you have ever had.

The plant is biannual which means that it will grow leaves in the first year and with any luck it has flowers in the second.

Some people think that pineapples grow on trees, like coconuts. This is absolutely untrue and a false stereotype. The fruit grows in the center of about 3 feet tall bushes.

That makes harvesting easy and quick, and also makes indoor growing possible.

When you want to grow your own pineapple tree you will have to get an ordinary pineapple with the leaves on.

Any type will do but the sweetloaf variation is extremely easy to work with. Check for fresh leaves in the middle of the crown. If the middle leaves are dry or completely missing, take another piece, you will have more luck with it.

Pineapples are very easy to cultivate. There is no need to nurture seeds or anything alike. If you take a quick sharp cut about an inch below the crown you have everything you need to grow your own plant.

Put the leaves with some of the fruit flesh still on the bottom on direct sunlight for a while until it dries. Fresh pineapple fruit is prone to fungal attacks that can make growing of the plant impossible. It is best avoided.

The plant needs dry and light soil, it likes sandy environment the best. If you don't have any light soil, mix 1 piece plain sand with 2 pieces of what you have and use it to cover the pineapple up to the bottom of the crown.

You don't have to dig it deep in, just make sure the sand holds the thing in place.

It doesn't require much water, in the initial phase water your soon-to-be pineapple tree every week. After it has grown roots, touch the sand and only add water when it feels completely dry.

The leaves are very important in picking up the moisture, they actually take more than the roots, so you can water it by using a sprinkler. Aim it at the center of leaves and add water until the base is surrounded by a thin ring of damp sand.

Once you have successfully planted your pineapple bush, you will be surprised how enduring it actually is. Though it doesn't like too much water, a pineapple tree can be grown in about any weather given there is enough sunlight.

If everything goes well, you can expect to have flowers and fruit in the second year, which usually means death of the plant.

Do not eat the green pineapple, it is poisonous. Once the bark of the fruit is yellow-golden-ish, you can harvest the fruit of your effort and have the best pineapple you have ever had.

Photos used are taken by Itinerant Tightwad and cliff1066™ respectively.