Growing your own pineapple plant from a pineapple

I realise this hobby may seem expensive and inaccessible to many. If I posted what I have paid for seeds that had absolutely no guarantee of even sprouting many would cringe and call me crazy but you don't always have to spend alot of money, time or equipment to grow your very own tropical fruit at home and pineapples are a perfect example!
A home grown pineapple is a beautiful thing. It is delicious and since it's picked at peak ripeness it's way sweeter and juicier than its commercially produced counterparts. It is also a tough attractive plant requiring only a little care.

So to start you just need an ordinary store bought pineapple. Try to get one that's leaves are not all dried out but don't worry too much if the tips are dry.

Firmly grab the base of the leaves and twist them in the oposite direction to the fruit. Then eat the pineapple and yes this is required as you wouldn't want to anger the fruit gods by wasting it;)

Take the bunch of leaves you have and start pulling off  the little leaves at the base until the shape is something like this. Also make sure there is no pineapple flesh attached to the bottom as this will cause it to rot. If there is any residual flesh still attached carefully use a knife to cut/scrape if off.

Next leave it for about a day to calous over.

The next day the pineapple top is ready to root. There are two ways to do this:

The first is to just take the top and put it in an appropriate size glass. Fill with water upto the calous and make sure to change the water often to prevent rot. Then put it in an warm area with bright light like a windowsill. This method definitely works but sometimes the roots have a hard time adapting to soil when you transplant it.

My prefered method though is to take a moist free draining medium or soil(I swear by cocopeat for seeds and cuttings, R13.00 for a block that makes 9l!) and simply plant it in a small pot and water whenever it needs but don't keep it soggy!

Also don't go out an buy a pot rather recycle, just puncture a few holes in a large yogurt tub or bottom of a 2l milk and voila pot:)

After a month or two it should have rooted and you can transplant it to a larger pot if you want mobility or into the ground if you have a good spot. 

Here is two well rooted ones a few months old

Here is a pic from February 2014 of a little pineapple patch iv started. I will post a more recent pic soon

it is a surprisingly resilient plant but can be abit tender to frost so if you grow in pots move it indoors or to a protected area during periods below 0C. If you plant it in the ground mulch well in winter and choose a well protected spot or cover in a frost guard blanket available from most garden centres. Remember especially when it's cold they don't like soggy soil

Expect to get fruit in one to two years. Feed often with a well balanced fertiliser or a slow release if you are less hands on. Remove any side growth as it will use up energy the fruit needs to get nice and big but you can plant these to get another new pineapple plant.

Happy growing and goodluck!