Who grew pineapple at home

Pineapple has not only a pleasant taste, but also a significant number of useful properties. It is believed that this fruit contains all the minerals and vitamins. It is not surprising that many have a desire to grow it on their own. But not everyone decides on such an experiment due to the tropical origin of the fruit. If you still decide to grow pineapple from the top of the house, then read the planting rules and care recommendations.

Is it possible to grow pineapple at home

Growing pineapple at home is troublesome, but worth it

Pineapple is a herbaceous perennial plant in the Bromeliaceae family. It grows in equatorial and tropical areas. The leaders in cultivation are the Philippines, Thailand, the United States and Latin America. Today, there are 9 varieties of this culture. The most common is the large-crested pineapple (Ananas comosus).

It is possible to grow a plant in Europe only when greenhouse conditions are created. You don't need a special room for this, an ordinary apartment will do. The fruits of the plant obtained in this way are slightly inferior in size to the fruits that are transported from the tropical zones. But this does not affect the aroma and taste of pineapple.

Required tools and materials

To grow this exotic fruit, prepare:

• a pineapple;
• water;
• Cup;
• manganese potassium;
• priming;
• knife;
• expanded clay;
• a pot with a diameter of 15–20 cm or more;
• plastic film.

Step-by-step instructions for growing pineapple from the top

Pineapple is grown in several ways. The most effective of these is the use of the tops.

The choice of planting material

Choosing a healthy pineapple for breeding is the key to success

One of the conditions for the successful cultivation of pineapple is the correct choice of fruit. In order not to be mistaken, be guided by the following rules:

1. Pay attention to the leaves. In a quality pineapple, they have a rich green color and a firm structure. If you find fruit with yellow or brown leaves, it is not worth purchasing.
2. The color of the peel should be golden yellow.
3. A healthy fruit is moderately firm. Don't choose too tough pineapple. But if the fruit is too loose, then this is also an indicator of its poor quality.
4. It is recommended to purchase pineapple for home cultivation in late August or early September. If you buy the fruit in the winter, make sure that it is not frozen.It will not be possible to obtain a healthy plant from such planting material.
5. The presence of gray spots on the peel is unacceptable.

Top preparation

1. Grasp the top with your hand and turn it out with a slow, gentle movement. The inner stem should separate with the leaves.

You can unscrew the top with your hands or with a knife.

2. If the fetus is not ripe, difficulties may arise during this procedure. Then use a knife and use it to remove the leaves and root. Stay at a 45 ° angle when cutting. Do not place the knife horizontally.

If using a knife, keep it at a 45 degree angle

3. Remove the pulp that remains on the stem, otherwise the planting material will start to rot. From here the pineapple root system will develop.
4. Step back 3 cm from the tuft and cut off the top along with the leaves. As a result, you should get a cutting with a crown. We also remove the lower leaves. Make sure that the kidneys are not damaged.
5. The next stage of preparation is preliminary germination. Pour settled water at room temperature into a glass and lower the stalk there. He should plunge 3-4 cm.
6. Place the glass in a warm, well-lit place with a stable temperature. Change the water every 2-3 days.

We germinate the top and plant in a pot

7. After 3 weeks, roots will appear at the top, after which it can be transplanted into the ground.

There is also an alternative preparatory treatment. The handle is suspended on a rope in an upright position with the crown down. The plant dries out for 2-3 weeks. It is believed that after such a procedure, the tip takes root better.

Important! Treat the cutting with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, this will help prevent rotting.

Video: apex preparation technique

Landing

General scheme for planting pineapple

1. Prepare the pot. In size, it should not be inferior to a pineapple cut at a tuft. Since the plant will have to be transplanted into a larger space as it grows, you can immediately use a pot with a diameter of 30–35 cm. But if this is not possible, at this stage a container of 15 cm will do. The presence of a drainage hole is mandatory, this will avoid stagnation of excess moisture. It is recommended to plant pineapple in a pot with low sides, but with a large diameter. This is due to the peculiarities of the development of the root system, which is located in the upper layer of the soil.

2. At the bottom of the container, pour a layer of expanded clay 2-3 cm thick.

3. Fill the pot with soil. The soil can be purchased from flower shops or prepared by yourself. 2 days before planting, it must be disinfected with a weak solution of potassium permanganate or boiling water. There are several options for soil composition for pineapple:

• mix peat and river sand in equal proportions;
• combine sod and leafy soil, peat, birch sawdust and coarse sand in a ratio of 3: 2: 2: 2: 1;
• mix leaf humus, turf, sand and peat (2: 1: 1: 1).

4. In the middle of the container, make a hole 3 cm deep, place the top with the roots down and cover it with soil to the level of the leaves.

5. Use your fingers to compact the soil slightly.

6. Water the plant with a little water. The soil should be slightly damp.

7. Place the pot in a warm place with adequate lighting. If you started planting in cold weather, cover the seedling with plastic wrap, this will create the necessary microclimate.

8. For the plant to take root, the room temperature must be 25–27 ° C. This process takes 1.5–2 months. Do not leave pineapple in direct sunlight.

9. When the first leaves appear, remove the film.

Plant follow-up

In order for the plant to fully develop, it is necessary to provide a certain temperature level for it, regular watering, feeding and lighting.

Temperature

1. In the room where the pineapple grows, keep the temperature at 22–25 ° C.
2. In winter, lower it to 16–18 ° С.
3. If the temperature does not correspond to the required indicator and the room is too cool, use heating devices.
4. If the plant is on a windowsill, it must be protected from drafts and frostbite.
5. In the cold season, it is better to rearrange the culture in a warmer area of ​​the apartment.

Watering

Culture does not tolerate excess moisture

Pineapple should not be watered too abundantly. Its natural habitat is a tropical climate, where the plant does not receive water for several months. Twice a week will be enough; in winter, reduce the frequency of watering to once every 7 days.

Focus on the condition of the soil and plant. If the soil is dry or the leaves begin to wither, this indicates that the pineapple needs moisture. It needs to be watered into a rosette of leaves, which is filled by 2/3 of the volume. Use only settled or filtered water at room temperature. You can add a few drops of lemon juice to the liquid.

Important! Excessive moisture will cause the plant to rot.

Lighting

Pineapple is a light-loving culture. But exposure to direct ultraviolet rays is highly undesirable. The most suitable place for him would be the east or west side. It is not recommended to place the plant on the south window.

Do not turn it. Pineapple thrives on one-sided lighting. In late autumn and winter, the plant needs an additional light source. Place a fluorescent lamp next to it at a distance of 20 cm. Light the pineapple for 8-10 hours a day.

Top dressing

Fertilizers are applied during the growing season

From the end of February, the growing season begins, which lasts until September. At this time, the pineapple needs to be systematically fed. Fertilizers are applied every 10-15 days. The process itself has the following features:

1. Pineapple is fed with horse or cow dung. Prepare a bucket and fill it 1/3 full with organic fertilizer, top up the remaining volume with warm water.
2. Stir the mixture periodically for 3-5 days.
3. After that, the solution should be infused for a week.
4. Then dilute it with water at a ratio of 1:10. 1 liter of soil requires 50 ml of fertilizer.
5. Spray the pineapple with a solution of ferrous sulfate 1-2 times a month (1 g of the preparation per 1 liter of water).

Important! Do not feed the pineapple with alkaline fertilizers such as wood ash or lime.

Transfer

The first transplant is carried out after 2 months. By this time, the pineapple will take root well and will be able to actively consume nutrients and moisture from the soil. In the future, it is transplanted every year.

Strong growth of the root system should not be allowed. For each new transplant, use a pot that is 2-3 liters larger than the previous one. Move the plant along with a clod of earth. The procedure is carried out in the same sequence as the landing. A similar soil composition is used.

Video: the process of transplanting pineapple

Flowering stimulation

Flowering can be stimulated in several ways, such as with calcium carbide.

When grown at home, pineapple begins to bloom after 3-4 years. If it doesn't, try one of the following tips:

1. Dissolve 1 teaspoon of calcium carbide in 500 ml of water, leave to infuse for 24 hours. Then drain the liquid, leaving impurities and sediment. Pour 50 ml of this composition daily into the middle of the outlet for a week. Flowering begins in 1–1, 5 months.
2. Cover the plant with a plastic bag. Place some steaming coals near the pot. The pineapple will bloom after 2–2.5 months. But such a procedure should be carried out 2-3 times with a break for a week. When the coals stop smoking, remove them and remove the plastic from the pineapple.
3. Place the pot in a large bag with 3-4 tomatoes or apples. When the fruits start to deteriorate, replace them with new ones.

Fruiting

The crop will appear 6-7 months after flowering. When grown at home, pineapple weighs 0.3–1.5 kg. You can identify ripe fruits by their sweetish smell. During this period, it is not recommended to use mineral fertilizers, feed the plant only with organic substances.

After the end of fruiting, new shoots will appear on the pineapple within 2-3 years. Then the plant dies. Children can be re-seated. They land in the same way as the top.

Pineapple can grow successfully at home. If you follow the above recommendations, in a few years you will taste the fruits grown on your own. And if you wish, you can organize a whole plantation. Good luck!

Pineapples, which first came to Europe in the 16th century, quickly fell in love with the local nobility. Traveling in that era was extremely expensive and lengthy, so plants native to the Brazilian highlands began to be grown in greenhouses and greenhouses. Russia did not lag behind the European powers. Here, for more than a century, outlandish "bumps" have grown practically on an industrial scale in St. Petersburg and even further north, on Solovki. But the steamers that appeared in the 19th century changed the situation, and juicy fruits began to be brought from South America.

This is the case today, but still the interest in growing pineapples at home does not wane. Despite the overseas nature, the plant turned out to be rather picky, and a viable and fruiting bush can be obtained even from a tuft cut from a fresh fruit.

In nature, the culture grows up to 60–80 cm and consists of a small stem, studded with sharp long leaves, a fibrous root and infructescence formed at the top of the main shoot elongating after flowering. It is thanks to this compound fruit, which hides the juicy pulp under the keratinized peel, that the plant has become one of the most valuable agricultural crops not only on the South American continent, but also in Africa and Southeast Asia.

In a warm tropical climate, the rosette of pineapple leaves can reach a diameter of two meters. In an apartment it will not be possible to achieve such a plant size, but after 2-4 years, with proper attention and care, an edible fragrant fruit will grow on the pineapple at home. And although you will have to be patient to achieve success, the unusual development of the plant is well worth the effort and time.

To grow pineapple, you can use seeds or cuttings that form on the stem of an adult plant. But the easiest way is to grow pineapple at home from the top, cut from ripe fresh fruit.

How to grow pineapple from seeds at home

Seed propagation is considered the most difficult and time-consuming method. Firstly, you can get seedlings only from purchased seeds. In the fruits sold in supermarkets, there are either no seeds at all, or you can only find their whitish immature rudiments.

The seed of a pineapple suitable for germination has a somewhat flattened semicircular shape, reaches 3-4 mm in length and is colored with a brownish or reddish shade of brown.

Before planting, the seeds are placed between layers of a damp cloth for 18-24 hours and, covered, placed in a warm place. Then, when they swell a little, they plant them in a wet mixture of peat and sand. In order for small seeds to sprout without difficulty, they are buried no more than 1-2 cm.

Containers must be covered with foil or glass and placed in a warm place. It is on the temperature provided to the seeds that their germination and the timing of the appearance of the first shoots will depend:

• At normal room temperature, germination can take from 3-4 weeks to one and a half months.
• If the seeds are kept at a temperature of about 30–32 ° C, the sprouts can be seen in 2–3 weeks.

It is important to maintain not only the temperature regime, but also to moisten the soil in time, and also not to forget about feeding the seedlings. To do this, with an interval of 15–20 days, the crops are fertilized with complex formulations, including the main nutrients and microelements.

When several leaves appear on young rosettes, they are dived, transferring a lump together with small earthlings into the soil for adult plants. Such soil can be made independently by mixing peat, humus, garden soil and sand in equal proportions. To give structure and a kind of protection against infections, crushed charcoal is added to the soil up to 5% of the volume. And part of the sand can be replaced with perlite.

How to grow pineapple from the top at home

If you cannot find the seeds of an exotic culture always and not everywhere, then it is quite possible to grow pineapple at home from the top of a fruit purchased in a store, even without special knowledge. True, it is worth approaching the choice of a delicacy that is destined to be given planting material with full responsibility. Pineapple should be fresh, with a green elastic rosette of foliage, without traces of spoilage, cold damage or wilting. When examining, you need to pay attention to the point of growth of the outlet, if it is rotten, withered or simply absent, it will be extremely difficult to get a new plant.

At home, when growing pineapple, the top of the fruit is cut off with a sharp clean knife, capturing not only the leafy rosette, but the area of ​​the fruit three centimeters lower. If the pineapple is completely ripe, you can carefully unscrew the outlet, holding the tuft tightly with one hand, and the stem with the other.

When the future planting material is received, all remnants of juicy pulp, which can become a source of rot, are carefully removed from the outlet. The short lower leaves are removed to obtain a cylindrical stalk up to 3 centimeters long.

Slices must be treated with a saturated solution of potassium permanganate, crushed charcoal or, which will speed up the appearance of roots, with an epin solution.

To protect the stalk from decay, it is advised to leave the pineapple for drying for a day or two before rooting. Moreover, it is better to hang the outlet so that it does not come into contact with any surfaces. A video on how to grow pineapple at home will reveal all the subtleties of the process and clearly show all its stages.

Rooting is carried out by immersing the part of the cuttings cleared of foliage in water. To hold at the desired level, you can use a cardboard wheel or toothpicks, as shown in the photo.

When the first roots appear on the pineapple, the rosette can be planted in the ground, and you should not bury the young plant above the lower tier of leaves. The substrate around the seedling is gently crushed and compacted, trying not to damage the slightly numerical roots.

Further cultivation of pineapple at home takes place under a film at a temperature not lower than 20-22 ° C. If it is possible to achieve warming of the air and soil to 25 ° C, after about a month, new bright leaves will appear in the center of the rosette.

While acclimatization and rooting is underway, the pineapple plant is important:

• protect from falling condensate drops on the outlet, causing the development of mold and decay of foliage;
• moisten the soil regularly;
• ventilate the plantings, preventing the plant from cooling.

The pineapple plant pot is placed in a lighted place where the outlet will not be threatened by direct sunlight.

Propagation of pineapple by root cuttings

If there is already an adult pineapple plant in the house, you can propagate it using the daughter processes formed in the lower part of the stem or under the seed fruit, which are easy to break out and root. As planting material, you can use cuttings that have already given several rows of leaves and have reached 15–20 cm in length.

Like a rosette at the top of a pineapple, the stem can be twisted or carefully cut with a sharp blade.The place of the cut must be sprinkled with charcoal, and then the cuttings are handled by analogy with growing pineapple from the top at home.

If the root rosette already has root rudiments, it can be immediately planted in light soil from a mixture of peat, perlite and a ready-made substrate for indoor plants.

How to care for pineapple at home?

Homemade pineapple care consists in providing all conditions for the growth and development of the plant.

• For pineapple, it is important to select and maintain a loose, nutritious soil.
• Create acceptable lighting, temperature and humidity conditions.
• Pineapple needs well-organized watering and feeding.

When planting pineapple and caring for it at home, you need to remember that the plant has a not too powerful root system of a surface type:

• The soil must be permeable to both moisture and oxygen.
• The pot must provide a decent drainage layer.
• The container itself should not be deep, but pineapple treats wide pots very well.

It is best to grow light-loving southern pineapple at home on southern, western or eastern windows. At the same time, in the summer, when the sun is hottest, it is better to shade pineapples on the southern side, but in winter plants need illumination, which extends the daylight hours by 6-8 hours.

In a healthy specimen, young foliage has a bright green tint. And the leaves from the lower rows are not dry and withered, but gray, tight and juicy. With sufficient light, the rosette forms symmetrically.

The lower air temperature limit for pineapple at home is 18 ° C. in such air the plant goes into hibernation. And for active development, the air must be warmer. In spring and summer, the optimum temperature can be between 22 and 30 ° C.

Homemade pineapple care includes regular, infrequent, but plentiful watering, for which they take warm, ambient temperature, settled water.

On hot days, plants are irrigated, but wet foliage on cold days inevitably causes disease and wilting. The same effect should be expected if the pineapple gets cold air from an open window, or if there is a drying effect from a hot battery.

From mid-spring, when an active growing season begins, and until October, pineapples are fed at home at home. The schedule is organized depending on the state of the plant, but more often organic matter and mineral fertilizers are applied once every 1-2 weeks.

In winter, feeding is canceled, watering is reduced, and the temperature of the content is also reduced.

How to make homemade pineapple bloom and care for it?

Fruiting time for pineapples begins 2-4 years after the formation of the rosette. True, even with industrial plantings, fruits are obtained by treating the plants with acetylene or acetic acid using a special technology. At home, growing pineapple, such methods are not very acceptable, but even here you can force the obstinate plant to form an inflorescence.

Regular feeding of the plant with liquid organic fertilizer becomes a good stimulant. If the pineapple receives such a top dressing twice a month during the entire growing season, then after 2-3 months you can wait for flowering. Some experts advise spilling the inside of the outlet with a solution of acetylene obtained from a liter of water and 15 grams of carbide for several days.

A similar effect is given by setting a jar with a small amount of water and a piece of steaming carbide next to the pot. During the procedure, it is better to cover the pot with a bag or put it in a greenhouse. Ordinary apples, which release ethylene during storage, can also provoke the plant. For this, fresh apples are laid out next to the pot in the greenhouse for several days.

Most often, to activate flowering, flower growers use fumigation of the plant with ordinary smoke. This procedure should last 10-15 minutes and be repeated 2-3 times in a week.

2-3 months after processing, with proper care of pineapple at home, first the inflorescence appears, and then, after 30 days, the ovary. Fruit ripening lasts from 4 to 6 months, after which you can taste pineapple grown with your own hands.

How to grow pineapple at home - video

Breeding pineapple at home is very simple. It is enough to buy this fruit in the store and root its top correctly. The plant looks very attractive, so even before the first fruits appear, it will undoubtedly be a wonderful home decoration.

Is it possible to grow it at home and how to grow pineapple at home from the top step by step, how to root it correctly - we will tell you in this article. Pineapple belongs to the bromeliad family and has the same appearance and requirements as other plants in this family. The size of the fruit depends on the method of cultivation and the place of origin, as well as on the conditions prevailing there.

There are fruits on sale, the weight of which is about 1 to 2 kg, however, on plantations, some samples reach a weight of five or more kilograms. In Brazil, the plant grows up to 1.5 m in height, while in other conditions it can be much more compact.

The largest plantations are located in China, Mexico, Hawaii and the Philippines.

The fruit grown in a pot is usually small in size (just over 50 cm in height). It forms a rosette of long leaves arranged in a spiral. When grown properly, you can get a fairly large plant that can bloom and even bear fruit.

At home and in greenhouses, three forms of pineapple are grown.

1. The A. comosus variety is characterized by green, narrow leaves and bears fruit well.
2. A.comosus Variegatus has shorter and wider striped leaves. This plant looks very beautiful in the interior, decorating it, but rarely bears fruit.
3. A. bracteatus Striatus is the largest plant in comparison with the above. It is characterized by green-yellow leaves.

Growing pineapple - step by step, instructions with photos and videos

To grow this beautiful plant with a tasty fruit on your own, first of all, you should buy the fruit along with a rosette of leaves located on the top of the fruit. This outlet is relatively easy to root. We will explain below how to do this, starting with the purchase of the fruit.

Buying fruit

First you need to choose the right pineapple in the store. Pay attention to whether it has a full rosette of leaves along with the center. It is important to choose the fruit that is ripe and healthy, with beautifully colored green leaves. The plant should not have a brown top. A flower sprout should protrude from the outlet - this will give us a guarantee that the plant will bloom.

How to root it correctly?

To germinate the roots, it is important to properly prepare the tail for planting so that the plant grows roots. First, cut off the rosette of leaves at the top, leaving 1-2 cm of fruit near the outlet, a photo of the correct cut is shown below.

A fragment of the fruit must be peeled with a knife in the form of a slightly rounded heel. Then we cut off the remnants of the pulp with a knife so that the fibrous part remains. It is important to remove all the pulp when preparing the seedlings, otherwise it will start to rot. If white dots are visible on the cut, these are root nodules; it is advisable not to damage them during cleaning.

Growing fruit of their tail, photo

Leaves should be torn off from the bottom of the outlet in an area of ​​about 2 cm. To avoid damage to the roots sprouting from under the leaves, clean the trunk from the leaves, tearing them off perpendicular to the trunk. On some pineapples, after removing the leaves, already at this stage we can see small sprouted roots.

Germination and planting

The planting material obtained in this way is soaked in water to half a fragment of torn leaves. After about 1-2 weeks, they start to take root.When the roots are several centimeters long, remove the seedling from the water and place it on a paper towel. Let it dry for 2-3 hours. After drying, the seedlings are planted in soil intended for growing palm trees. The soil in the pot should not be too wet, but only slightly damp. It is necessary to bury the entire section of the stem without leaves in the ground.

Growing pineapple - video

Of course, our little palm tree needs proper care.

• Pot for this exotic plant, it should be large enough so that after planting the seedlings, about 2 cm of soil remains around the plant to the edge. Usually pots with a diameter of 12 to 14 centimeters are suitable. When new leaves appear in the center of the rosette, it means that a well-rooted plant is starting to grow. After that, you should put the pot in the sunniest place in the apartment. Pineapple is transplanted once a year, it is better to do this in early summer. It is imperative to select the diameter of the pot so that it is about 2 cm from the plant to its edge.
• The soil: It is easy to buy special soil made for palm trees in garden stores. The plant is quite tolerant of the ground, so a universal soil can also be used. A drainage layer should be created at the bottom of the pot to minimize the risk of flooding and thereby reduce the risk of root rot. This soil is fertile enough for pineapple, so it does not require additional feeding.
• Bloom: The first flowers begin to appear about 1.5-2 years after planting. In very sunny places, fruits develop from flowers.
• Temperature:pineapples feel comfortable at room temperature - 25 ° C in summer and 20 ° C in winter.
• Watering: the seedling does not need constantly moist soil. In summer, pineapple grown in pots is watered 2-3 times a week, in the cold season at a temperature of about 20 degrees, the plant should be watered no more than once a week. Water can be poured into the socket. Before watering, tap water should be prepared - filtered or at least defended so that it does not contain harmful salts and chlorine. The plant loves regular spraying.

Diseases and their symptoms

• Pale leaves: This means the plant is not getting enough light. It should be moved to a lighter position.
• No bloom: should help the plant a little. Some pineapples flower after 18 or even 30 months. Such a long period on an industrial scale is not economically justified. However, people have learned to speed up this process. Wise scientists have noticed that pineapple blooms much faster if it is treated with ethylene gas. This gas is released, including some fruits. At home, we can get it using apples. To do this, cut the apple in half, place one half of the fruit flat on the ground (cut to the soil), place the other half on a leaf outlet. Cover the entire plant with a plastic bag and leave for 2 to 4 weeks. At this time, the apple will begin to release ethylene, which, going to the roots, will stimulate the appearance of flowers. When we see the first flowers, we should remove the bag and remove the apple pieces.
• The lower leaves dry out, wrinkle and curl: this usually means that the plant is standing in a draft. Move it to a place that is more protected from drafts.
• Dust on the leaves: Leaves should be wiped with a damp cloth.
• Leaves are wrinkled and dying: this always happens after fruiting. Pineapple dies after fruiting, but new plants can be grown from the outlet.
• Slow growth: may indicate that there is a lack of trace elements in the soil. The plant should be fed with fertilizer for flowering plants.
• Dying leaves usually appear if the plant is in too hot and dry place.It should be watered and moved to a cooler place.
• Yellow spots on the leaves usually associated with the fact that our exotic plant was attacked by scale insects. This is manifested as follows - brown spots begin to appear on the underside under the sheet. Pests can be removed with a cotton swab or cotton swab soaked in soap.
  

Beneficial features

This fruit is prized for its delicious, juicy and highly aromatic fruits that are eaten both raw and cooked. We can buy it canned, in jams, compotes, juices and many other types. A very important feature is that pineapple contains the enzyme bromelain, which facilitates digestion and helps to lose weight. Fresh fruits contain the most vitamins. Canned fruits lose some of their beneficial properties during processing.

1. Pineapple is a great fruit for people on a diet because it contains a lot of fiber. Fiber speeds up digestion and removes toxic metabolic products.
2. Bromelain, found in pineapples, promotes weight loss, and also acts as an anti-inflammatory, anti-edema and analgesic to prevent blood clots.
3. The fruit is used supportively in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.
4. The fruits contain disinfectants, and also have the ability to remove dead tissue without damaging new ones, therefore they are used to heal wounds, treat burns, bites, bruises and edema.
5. As an adjuvant, they can be used in the treatment of allergies and respiratory diseases, as well as for digestive problems.
6. Pineapples are also used in cosmetics. Vitamin C contained in the fruit removes age spots and brightens the skin.
7. This fruit strengthens blood vessels. The organic acids and bromelain contained in the fruit gently exfoliate dead skin cells, while minerals nourish it. Pineapples are especially recommended for people with skin pigmentation and acne.
8. Pineapple is often used as an aphrodisiac.

Snoring Assistant

If someone snores a lot in the house, there is a perfect solution. Peaceful sleep will be provided by a pineapple in a pot. Statistics show that the problem of snoring affects one in four adults - usually men.

According to NASA research, pineapple plants produce oxygen and improve air quality throughout the night. Thus, they help you sleep better and quieter. For anyone who has had to run from a bedroom to another room due to their partner's snoring, this discovery can be a godsend.

Plants grow from 21 months to 2 years and eventually give a small fruit. If there is no problem with snoring in the house, they can simply bring a little exotic to the interior.

Pineapple is one of those exotic fruits that we can grow ourselves. It is enough to cut off the top leaf rosette and plant it in a pot. It is very important that this part of the pineapple, which we put in the ground with leaves, is dry, without pulp, otherwise the plant will rot. As a result, we get an ornamental plant that improves the air and can even bear fruit.

Many are surprised to learn how pineapple grows. We are used to picking potatoes, radishes and other root crops on our site, but tropical plants are associated exclusively with exotic palms. But pineapple is not only a tasty and healthy plant, but also completely unique, it grows right on the ground. Today we will talk about how to grow it in a pot on a windowsill.

What is pineapple

There are still ongoing debates between scientists about how to classify it. It belongs to the Bromeliad family, it is a herbaceous fruit plant. By the way of fruiting, it is similar to cabbage, but still pineapple is a fruit. His homeland is the arid regions of South America.It is a perennial plant, and it can be harvested regularly.

Contrary to assurances, it does not grow in the ground, like a root crop. Straight leaves up to 90 cm long emerge from the soil. In the center, an inflorescence is formed on a fleshy peduncle, from which the fruit is formed. Probably, everyone will be interested to know that an elegant cone is a seed, a cluster of small fruits, each of which is formed from its own flower. Therefore, its surface is so cellular. Hummingbirds pollinate them, and what we eat is the fruit of self-pollinated flowers that do not form seeds. Knowing how pineapple grows, you can try planting it at home.

Where pineapples grow

Pineapples grow not only in their homeland, but also in all tropical countries, in Hawaii, the Philippines, there are a significant number of plantations in India. In Russia, they are also engaged in cultivation, but for this they use greenhouses. Pineapple fields are an amazing sight. Fleshy thorny stems rise from the ground, and golden cones crown them. Depending on the timing of ripening, the color can vary from red to straw yellow.

In the first year, seeds are used for planting. After about 12 months, the plant will release an arrow and begin to form a fruit. After it ripens, it enters the multiplication phase and releases lateral processes from the sinuses. They are harvested to grow new plants and so that the pineapple begins to bear fruit again. After harvesting the second harvest, the plants are uprooted and the plantation is replanted. The presence of seeds in fruits greatly spoils their taste, so people diligently prevent pollination.

Probably, the reader will be interested to know how pineapple grows in the wild. These plants have stronger leaves and smaller fruits. Since no one bothers the birds here to pollinate pineapples, they are full of seeds. Some animals enjoy these fruits with pleasure.

Reproduction methods

If we talk about how pineapple grows, then the question of reproduction arises. There are three ways. The first is seeds. For them to be viable, the fruit must be overripe, with soft pulp, while imported fruits are harvested green. They ripen just under the skin. It is possible to grow such a seed in a pot, but it will take many years, and even then, provided that suitable conditions are met. Otherwise, the sprout will die.

The second method is side shoots. An adult plant lets out small crests from the sides, resembling the top of the fruit, and after a while roots begin to grow on them. Then they can be cut and planted.

The third method is the most accessible. They are usually used if they want to grow such an exotic plant. This is the tip of a normal bud. The green tuft, which we usually discard, can be a valuable planting material. Growing pineapple is a very interesting activity. Even if it does not bear fruit, it still looks very impressive. And if your friends are fond of floriculture, then a pineapple planted in a beautiful pot will be a great gift.

Rooting the plant in water

First you need to choose a good fruit. It is important that there is no rot and traces of diseases on it, special attention should be paid to the quality of the leaves. Above should be a strong "sultan" of green leaves. The season also plays a role. A fruit bought in winter is more likely to be frostbitten, even after spending a short time in the cold air, it will lose the ability to root. The most suitable season for buying is late summer - early autumn. Choose fruits from good supermarkets, the market is too likely to buy stale goods.

Growing pineapples at home doesn't require you to have tremendous gardening skills. The main thing is patience and adherence to the temperature regime. More on this later, but now you need to separate the green crest from the pulp as soon as possible.To do this, collect all the leaves in a bunch and turn it counterclockwise with an elegant movement of the hand. You will have a stalk in your hands, from which you need to remove the lower leaves. In this case, the roots may be exposed, but you should not rely on them, they will no longer germinate. Do not rush to put the stalk in the water, it will definitely rot. Better to rinse it in a weak solution of potassium permanganate and hang it on a string to dry for three days. During this time, the slices will heal. While you can enjoy the wonderful taste of the tropical fruit.

Prepare a dark glass jar with a soft lid, in which you can make a hole and fix the stalk well, so that the upper leaves do not float in the water. On top of the jar with the pineapple placed in it, you should put on a plastic bag in order to maintain a humid microclimate. The water needs to be changed approximately every two days. With the appearance of roots (about a month later), you can remove the package and start transplanting into the ground.

Rooting in the substrate

Some people prefer to immediately plant the cutting in a pot so as not to injure the roots during transplantation. You also need to carefully select a healthy large fruit and cut off its upper part with a clean knife along with the green "cockade". Now carefully separate the excess pulp to leave a green part with a small stump leg. An obligatory step is to dry the outlet. It is also washed in a solution of potassium permanganate and left hanging on a rope, so it should spend 3-5 days.

Further, a depression is made in the soil, into which activated carbon is poured, and a socket is placed there, slightly moistened. It is very important to install additional spacers to which you can attach the handle to prevent it from falling. The top must be loosely closed with a bag. Be sure to put it in a bright, warm place, the rosette takes root at a temperature of about 27 degrees. After about a month and a half, the roots will appear, and the bag can be removed. You need to water it a little and always with warm water.

Planting a plant. We select the pot

Initially, planting requires a pot of the same diameter as the pineapple itself. As you grow, you can increase the volume, but even for an adult plant, it should not exceed 3-4 liters. As a substrate, you can take a ready-made soil mixture for bromeliads, cacti or succulents. Orchid mix is ​​also good. Do not forget to make good drainage from expanded clay and make holes. If you prepare the mixture yourself, then take 2 parts of sod land and one part of leafy soil, humus and sand. The top 3 centimeters of the pot should be filled with a mixture of sand and leaf humus, and in the center - make a depression and pour in charcoal. The first transplant to the plant may be required after a year, but take a pot of slightly larger diameter.

Flowering and feeding

Growing pineapples at home is an extremely exciting process. Don't expect quick results. In the first year, the plant will actively grow, only by the middle of the second year of life, the pineapple can release an arrow. Typically, for a potted plant, this figure is pushed back to an age of two and a half years. If you still have not waited for the arrow, then you can try to stimulate its appearance artificially. Remember that pineapple is a herb, flowering and subsequent fruiting will inevitably lead to the death of the plant. It is almost impossible to achieve a second harvest under indoor conditions. Another thing is that after fruiting, the plant actively reproduces, and a large number of layers can be planted. They are already adapted to their environment and will grow much faster.

The simplest way to stimulate flowering is to create conditions close to the natural habitat of the plant. To help flower growers, special products are sold that can awaken pineapple. The simplest is ethylene. It can be obtained by spreading ripe red apples around the plant.But calculating the amount of gas released is difficult, as is the likelihood of bloom. It is much safer to use calcium carbide. One teaspoon is dissolved in 0.5 liters of water and infused with a tightly closed lid for 24 hours. Then the infusion should be carefully drained so that the sediment remains at the bottom. The resulting water should be watered once a day for a week, pouring 50 ml of liquid into the central part of the outlet. Within two months, you will see flowering, which lasts only one day, and the beginning of the formation of an adorable cone fruit.

In order for the plant to grow and develop well, mandatory feeding is required. This is the answer to the question of how beautiful your pineapple will be. How long it grows in nature, we know - about 2 years. At home, the life span, decorative properties and fruiting depend to a greater extent on the nutrition of the plant. Every 10 days it is fed with a complex mineral fertilizer. You can use strained mullein infusion. Do not use alkaline fertilizers, wood ash, lime.

Transfer

Annual handling is required for normal growth and development. This is a type of transplant. Its peculiarity is that the delicate roots are not affected, the plant is transferred to a larger pot along with a lump of earth, which should be dried a little beforehand. Choose a pot that is slightly larger than the previous one.

Temperature regime

If you choose to grow your homemade pineapple, caring for it will involve keeping it warm and humid. This is a tropical plant, so the temperature should be at least 28 degrees during the entire period from March to September. Good lighting is necessary, at least 12 hours a day, but preferably without direct sunlight, although an adult plant does not get burned even on the southern window. In winter, it is better to keep it at a temperature of 22 degrees. If the thermometer drops below 20, the plant will start to ache and may die. Drafts are also unacceptable, and in winter additional lighting with a fluorescent lamp is required.

Watering

The plant is quite capricious in terms of watering. Have you seen how pineapples grow? Photos of exotic plantations show huge areas planted with thorny plants, which are heated and dried by the sun, feed with moisture streams of warm rains. Approximately the same should be done at home: allow the soil to dry slightly, and then pour warm rain or melt water, be sure to spray the leaves and add water to the center of the outlet.

Conclusion

As you can see, growing pineapple is a very interesting and exciting experience. The plant will delight you not only with decorative leaves, but also with beautiful flowers, and if you are lucky, you will enjoy homemade fruits.