A commercial pineapple plant fruiting cycle lasts two to
three years and takes 32 to 46 months to complete.
Pineapple
plants are not really hard to grow and it’s pretty easy to take care of them,
but they are definitely a long-term commitment. If patience is not your strong
suit, then pineapple plants are not for you.
The
reason for this is that for each stage of these tropical delights’ growth, the
planting, flowering, and fruiting will take long periods of time.
Read
on below to learn everything you need to know about pineapple plants, from the
different methods of planting to what to do with them after you’ve picked your
harvest.
How long does it take for a
pineapple plant to bloom?
The
most important thing you need to know is that the amount of time it’ll take
your pineapple plant to bloom will not depend on the growing method you choose
to start. Pineapple plants bloom in 14 to 18 months, that’s when they reach
maturity. The flowering process starts then and the fruiting later on. Each
plant produces only one fruit.
From Seeds
To
grow pineapple plants from seed you can either buy the seeds or take them from
a fruit and germinate them yourself. To do that, you’ll have to remove the
black little seeds from a ripened pineapple, wrap them in a wet paper towel and
store them in a warm place inside a ziplock bag.
In
about six months your seed will sprout and you can transplant them into little
containers till they are big enough and you can move them outside.
From Top
Starting
a pineapple plant from a top takes a couple of weeks. The first thing you’ll
have to do is purchase a well-ripped pineapple with a healthy-looking top.
Separate
the top from the fruit ripping it with a twisting motion. Then remove some of
the leaves at the bottom till the green shoot is partially exposed and set it
aside for it to dry out. This will take about a week to happen.
Set
the top in a bowl with warm water after the week has passed. Change the water
every few days till you can see the roots have grown. Add potting mix and
fertilizer and the plant will grow indoors till the weather warms up and it’s
time to take it outside.
From Suckers
Suckers
or pups are little plantlets, also call ratoon crops, that grow between the
leaves of a mature pineapple. Pull them as close to the base as possible,
carefully, making sure you don’t damage it. For planting it you just have to
stick then in the ground and a new plant will start to grow.
How long does it take from
flowering to fruiting in the pineapple plant?
It
takes approximately two years for a pineapple plant to flower and the fruiting
process takes six more months after that.
When
the pineapple in your plant has turned from yellow to orange, then it’ll be
time to harvest your fruits. If you harvest earlies, when the fruit is in the
late green face, you can ripen it at room temperature. Just make sure you do
know to refrigerate it until it’s fully ripened.
Why do pineapples take two
years to grow?
The
fruiting of a pineapple plant takes up to two years for the most fascinating
reason. When the flowering of the plant starts, said flowers will survive only
for a day and then will become one little segment of the skin of the pineapple
you see. It takes about 200 flowers to develop into a fruit.
How can I make my pineapple
grow faster?
If
you love having a pineapple plant, but the long wait for it to bloom is more
than you can take, let me share with you some techniques, that if applied
correctly will force your plants to grow faster. As a result, they will start
flowering sooner. Here are a few methods to force pineapple plants’ into
growing.
Rotten Apple
One
way of speeding the flowering of a pineapple plant is to surround it with a
potent plant hormone called ethylene gas.
You
will find this hormone in rotten apples, so you can put one in the center of
the pineapple plant and cover them both with a plastic bag. Leave your plant
like that for a keep and once you uncover it you can resume normal care. With a
banana, it will also work.
Weather Temperature
The
size of the pineapple plant is directly proportional to the size of the fruit
it will produce. This means that if the plant is small then the pineapple fruit
will also be. If the temperature falls under 60 degrees before it has reached
its maturity size, then you should cover it or move it inside if you’ve planted
it in a pot.
Once
the plant has reached the maturity size, exposing it to temperatures below 60
degrees will force the flowering.
Calcium Carbide
Calcium
Carbide is a compound product that when mixed with water, also liberates
ethylene gas which stimulates flowering. This product achieves the same results
as the apple but it’s normally used by commercial pineapple growers.
Do pineapples regrow after
harvest?
Once
the pineapple plant has produced its fruit it’ll start to die. However, it’ll
produce baby plants at the base that you can use to grow a new plant. Just cut
the offset and pot it to grow back.
This
regrow process of the pineapple plant, unfortunately, will not last forever.
One plant goes through this process three times approximately before it stops
producing offsets and has to be replaced.
What to do with the pineapple
plant after harvest?
As I’ve mentioned before, once you’ve
harvested the pineapple the plant has produced, it’ll start the process of
dying. It is during this process, however, that it’ll grow the baby plants that
you’ll use to grow new pineapple plants.
Taking care of the mother plant, even
though it’ll eventually die no matter what you do, will guarantee that the
offsets are healthy.