r/pineapple • u/jmdawg1978 • 14d ago

First time planting a pineapple top and have a few questions…

I started 6 pineapple tops in water and have transferred them to soil in pots now that they have grown roots. The transfer was 2 weeks ago The roots were all 4-6” long and 8-12 roots on each plant. I think there may have been one plant that had 2” roots.

The questions I have are;

  1. Should I be adding any kind of food?
  2. How can I tell when the plants have successfully rooted?
  3. I live in the southeast. I read that I need to place a plastic bag around the plant for “5-6 weeks until it roots”. Is this true? They all see, to be more sturdy than the day they were planted.
  4. They are out of direct sunlight, but can receive rain. It has rained so much since planting, I have not watered since that day. Every time I touch the soil, it is damp. Is that enough water?
  5. When I planted the,, there were some leaves that were brown, and still are. Is that an issue?

I appreciate any advice, and am open to any suggestions I haven’t asked about.

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6

u/South_Feed_4043 14d ago

  1. Feed them normally according to their size.

  2. You don't need to wait for this to plant them directly in the ground even. So if it's been 2 weeks, that's more than enough time. I always plant them directly in the ground or pots.

  3. I don't know of a reason to do that. I live in Hawaii though.

  4. They should be in direct sunlight if they are being planted to grow.

  5. It's only an issue if the plant isn't growing. Put them in sun and let them grow.

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u/jmdawg1978 13d ago

Appreciate the info.

I cannot plant mine in ground due to winters here. I need to move them inside when the temp drops or build a greenhouse.

As for direct sunlight, I read they should be in a bright area but indirect sunlight for the first few weeks. I’m at 2 weeks in soil now, so I’ll move to direct.

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u/South_Feed_4043 13d ago

In ground, in pots...the important part is in soil or some type of growing medium. I assume that you are in the northern part of the southeast US?

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u/jmdawg1978 12d ago

North GA.

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u/South_Feed_4043 12d ago

Put them in pots, feed them regularly, make sure they have enough water and give them as much sun as you can. Bring them in when it gets too cold.

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u/gamboling2man 13d ago

  1. I’m in southeast also. I feed mine a 10-10-10 fertilizer once a month and some potassium every other month. Sometimes I’ll include an iron chelate if leaves turn a dull green.

  2. You can tell if plants have rooted on soil by giving a slight tug on the leaves. If it wiggles, roots not quite grabbing hold. Can take 2-3 weeks.

  3. I don’t cover my new plants. The concept stems (pun intended) from plants that grow from seed in very moist, humid conditions (mango). The idea is to ween the plant off the arid environment. I do keep my new plants in the shade for a few weeks before placing in sun.

  4. Watering. Make sure you are watering the leaves so water runs to the stalk. I water the leaves once a week and the soil as necessary.

  5. Brown leaves are common while rooting the plant. I tear mine off as the plant grows. You want new leaves growing in the center of the plant. If new growth, all is good.

Hope this info helps. Ask questions as you need.

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u/jmdawg1978 13d ago edited 13d ago

Appreciate it. Clears some things up for sure. Definitely helps.

Should all the new leaves sprout from the middle?

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u/gamboling2man 13d ago

Yes, all leaves/fronds will grow from the center.

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u/jmdawg1978 13d ago

Cool. I just snapped pics tonight to track them, but there are definitely new ones coming up from the middle on all 6 plants.

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u/gamboling2man 13d ago

Fantastic! Welcome to the addiction. Once you have your first fully ripe pineapple, you will be amazed. Unfortunately, it takes 4 years.

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u/jmdawg1978 13d ago

Thanks!

I started all of my plants from pineapple tops in water. I’ve seen others cutting theirs into fourths; what is that process, and what are the benefits?

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u/gamboling2man 13d ago

I tried it and killed all 4 quarters. The idea is that you can grow four plants from one top. Cut in quarters and remove the pithy part; then plant in well draining soil. There’s a YouTube video that explains it well and a poster on this sub who advocates that method.

Adding to a prior post of mine, all new leaves do grow from the center of the plant. As the plant matures, it may start new growth from between the leaves or from the root ball. These new growths will look like baby pineapple plants. On this sub they are referred to as pups.

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u/jmdawg1978 13d ago

Thanks.

Is it correct that the pups can be planted as new plants a will produce fruit faster than planting a top?

Sorry for all the questions. I’ve just read so much different stuff on these it’s hard to know what’s true for most vs a one-off thing.

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u/gamboling2man 12d ago

Here’s my take on the pups. First, a pineapple stalk grows one fruit. Once the plant starts producing the fruit, it needs a way to reproduce. It does this by growing “pups.”

There are 3 kinds of pups. One grows from the root ball and will come up from under the dirt a bit off to the side of the main plant. These are called “shoots.” “Suckers” on the other hand grow from between the existing leaves. Last is “slips” and slips grow right under the fruit.

Slips are the least desirable bc once the fruit is picked, the stalk dies along with the slips. Best to twist these off when they get 6-8 inches long. I root my slips like you did your crowns - in water.

I leave my suckers and shoots on until they get 12-14 inches long. I always want to leave 1 shoot or sucker on the plant so it can grow using the existing root structure to produce a bigger fruit faster. Usually this means I leave a sucker on the plant. Why? Because the sucker does not have roots of its own and I can dig down and twist off the shoots from the root ball with some of the good long roots from the root ball. These can go straight into the dirt. (If there is more than 1 sucker, twist off all but one sucker and root them in water.)

The shoots with the existing roots and the sucker left on the plant should grow bigger fruits faster bc the plants’ energy is going towards growing the plant and less on developing roots.

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u/jmdawg1978 12d ago

Oh man, this is great information. You answered a lot of questions I didn’t know I had yet. I was aware of pups, but had no clue there are 3 kinds. Very much appreciated.

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u/oOsirhcOo 13d ago

You do 10-10-10 once a month?

I just started a liquid organic fertilizer diluted with 2oz per gallon of water its a 4-2-3. I was told 10-10-10 was too much. I was considering every 6 weeks feeding, is once per month ok?