|
|
Ananas comosus
Pineapple
| Yes, you can grow your very own pineapples, provided you meet their demands for strong light, still air and high humidity. Outside of the tropics, this means a greenhouse or conservatory. They also make impressive, though fruitless, houseplants, still requiring good humidity. Ananas bracteatus (Red Pineapple) produces a showy 6-inch, red to lilac flower head, and seedy but sweet fruit. Ananas comosus bears fruit at 3 years. Forms of both species sport variegated leaves. Give as much direct light as possible, with slight shade from the hottest summer sun. Completely shelter from drafts, especially the variegated strains of Ananas comosus. For best fruit, keep a summer minimum of 60 to 68 degrees F and rest in winter at 55 to 60º F with less water. During growth, water generously when soil nearly dries out. When fruits start to swell, feed liquid fertilizer, reduce water and humidity. Harvest just before completely ripe. Container plants produce smaller fruit. Root 1½-foot-long offsets in late spring, or let the cut fruit's leafy crown dry slightly, then pot. Sponge off any mealy bugs or brown scale. Remove and burn plants infested with white scale. |
A rosette of narrow, arrow shaped leaves with toothed margins grow from the leafy top of a pineapple rooted in water or damp sand and peat moss. After 2 years, it may form a flower head then fruit to less than 1-foot tall. The fruit is orange-brown. Cultivars exist with variegations in pink, white, and olive green.
|
Attributes - Ananas comosus
Plant Type: Perennial
Bloom Season: Mid Spring through Late Spring
Flower Color: Red, Yellow
Foliage: Evergreen
Height: 1 ft. to 1 ft. 4 in.
Width: 1 ft. 4 in.
Sunlight: Full Sun
Climate: Zones 10, 11
Notes: Edible. Susceptible to Mealybugs, Spider Mites, Thrips.
|
|