Pineapple blooming

[wetfeet101b]

This is the first time I have gotten a pineapple to bloom.
I hope it completes the process and turns into a fruit.

Picture of the plant.


Close up of the inflorescence showing the flowers emerging. The flower "ball" is about the size of a baseball.


Older pictures:

This is a different group of plants. I just wanted to show you what they looked like when I started. Chopped from the tops of pineapple fruits bought from the store.


About a year later.

[eaglssong]

There you are John!! I was starting to worry about you, especially with this heat.

My next door neighbor has a pineapple planted. I was concerned because it's in an area where those tiny little orchids are. I know we shouldn't keep fruit near our orchids in the house, but does that apply to growing fruit plants outdoors?

[rich63]

John those are looking good.A friend has been growing pineapples here,just north of Tampa Fl.for a couple of years now.The fruit never gets as big as the ones purchased from the stores,but they are very sweet and tastey.Anne,I don't think that the amount of ethylene gas from the fruit outdoors would be anything to worry about.You just wouldn't want to rippen any fruit indoors in close proximity to your chids.JMO Take Care,Rich

[Tmai]

Yum. When do we eat fresh pineapple?? Maybe grilled???

Tami

[Brutal_Dreamer]

That is cool. I should try that. Is it a problem to grow the plant along with the orchids in the Greenhouse?

Cheers,
BD

[ang709]

Wow, that's really cool. How long ago did you plant the ones that are blooming now?

[wetfeet101b]

Angie,
The blooming plant is about 2 years old (from the time the pineapple top was cut from the fruit).

Bruce,
I keep the younger plants in the greenhouse for protection until they have established themselves in the pots.
After that I move them outdoors since each leaf can reach 3 feet and I do not have room in the greenhouse for such wingspan.

Last winter I put all the pineapple plants in the greenhouse for frost protection. I did trim some of the longer leaves so that I can move around the greenhouse without getting cut by the pointy leaves. Once it warmed up, I took them all outside again.

[Cjcorner]

We have to be careful here or people come along and steal the pineapple before it gets ripe! I have several growing out in the yard...hopefully they'll get fruit sometime soon.

[margo]

It looks great!!! I have 3 growing but I think they need to see your picture. One is over two years old and the other two are about year and half. I think its just about time isn't it?! My neighbor has a few and 2 or 3 are growing fruits now... and we planted them about the same time...mine are just sitting there and doing nothing...

[smartie2000]

cool! thanks for sharing, I wondered what a pineapple inflorescent looked like. A pineapple fruit is acutally a aggregate fruit composed from many individual flowers and ovaries that fuse as they develop unlike other fruits.