Grow Pineapple Indoors

No need to live in the tropics in order to grow pineapple. If you enjoy eating this tasty fruit, cultivate it in your indoor garden. Pineapples are surprisingly easy to grow indoors. Here’s how.

Start with a ripe pineapple

In order to have luck rooting a pineapple plant, begin with one that is ripe and ready to eat, but not overripe. Look for fruit with golden-brown skin and dull-green leaves. Avoid fruit that smells overly ripe and has brown leaves.

Remove the leaves

Twist the leaves off the top of the fruit along with about ½ inch of the white stalk located at the base of the leaves. If you are unable to remove the foliage and stalk by twisting, cut the leaves off the top of the fruit, making sure to leave about an inch of exposed stock. Cut off any yellow fruit clinging to the stalk, as this could rot. Air-dry the leaves and stalk for two to three days. This allows the stalk tip to heal over so that it will form roots rather than rot.

Root the pineapple stalk

Once the end has healed over, dip the stalk in rooting hormone and insert the tip into a shallow bowl of warm water. Leave the pineapple stalk in the water for three to six weeks while roots form. Refresh the water a couple of times a week as needed during this process. Plant the rooted pineapple Once roots form on the pineapple and get to at least two to three inches long, pull the stalk out of the water and pot the plant up in well-draining organic potting soil. Put the plant in an 8- to 10-inch pot that has drainage holes. Cover the roots with soil.

Pineapple growing tips

Place the plant in a sunny eastern or southern facing window or under full-spectrum lighting. Water when the top ½ inch of soil shows signs of drying out. Expect slow growth at first. It will take the pineapple a couple of months to become established. New leaf growth indicates that the plant is actively growing. Once this occurs, fertilize with an organic liquid food, continuing to do so monthly. Expect the plant to grow 6 to 8 inches the first year and eventually reach about 2 feet tall. After two years, you should see fruit appear in the center of the plant. It takes six to eight months for the fruit to mature. Prior to the fruit maturing, the plant will produce pups, which are baby plants, around the perimeter of the mother plant. After the fruit ripens, remove the entire mother plant to give the baby plants room to grow. Cut the fruit from the plant and enjoy eating it.