Pineapples can be grown here in southern Georgia if you keep them from freezing in the winter. They are fairly easy to grow in pots and spring is a good time to get them started so you will have the entire growing season before cold weather. In Georgia, it will take at least two growing seasons to produce a pineapple.

The next time you buy a pineapple save the crown. Remove any flesh on the crown and pull the bottom leaves until you see the stalk with small round root buds. Let the crown dry for about a week. It is also possible to place the stalk of the crown in water until you see roots form.

In 2004, I visited a Costa Rican pineapple farm, and the farm manager said they remove the crowns from the pineapples and replant them within two weeks. He also stated that the crown will probably store six months or more and still root.

Pineapples in Costa Rica are sold without crowns to prevent the locals from planting and producing their own pineapple plants which are patented varieties developed by Del Monte. Pineapple plants also produce suckers from the plant which are the preferred method of propagation because the suckers are usually more advanced than the crown and will fruit faster.

Plant your freshly rooted crown in a good well drained potting soil. An eight-inch clay pot works just fine to start. When the plant outgrows this pot move it to a 12-inch pot. Pack the potting soil firmly around the base of the crown to help hold it in place. Make sure the potting soil is well-drained.

A good household plant food containing iron and magnesium every few months will provide needed nutrients. Pineapples need iron and magnesium in addition to nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, which are found in all fertilizers.

Keep your potted pineapples in full sun during the summer, spring and fall months. In the winter when temperatures begin to reach 40 degrees it is best to take your pineapples inside. Prolonged exposure to 40 degree temperatures will cause the interior of the plant to rot. In the spring slowly acclimate your pineapple to the outdoors again.

Exposure to frosts will severely damage the crown and freezing temperatures will likely kill the pineapple. In pineapple-producing countries, one plant will produce one pineapple per season. If you get one pineapple in two years here, you are doing well.

In Costa Rica, the plants are allowed to produce two pineapples then the plants are replaced. One pineapple is first produced at the top of the plant the first year, the second pineapple is produced on a sucker the second year and is usually smaller.

Mealybugs and scales may be a problem on your pineapples. Physically remove any insects if you only have a couple of plants. Horticultural soaps and oils will help reduce the populations.

If your plant is two feet tall and still has not flowered, you may have to induce flowering. You need to force the plant by making acetylene gas by placing two ripe apples in a trash bag with your pineapple for about a week.

In a couple of months, you should notice an inflorescent red bud form in the center of the plant that will emit a red cone that will be the pineapple. Six months after you first noticed the flower the fruit will begin to ripen.

It will turn yellow from the bottom up. When it yellows about half way up it can be picked. If you wait longer, it will be sweeter. Do not wait until the pineapple is completely yellow or it may be too ripe.

 

Jake Price is the University of Georgia extension agent/coordinator, Lowndes County. More information: Call (229) 333-5185, or email jprice@uga.edu.