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Years ago I read somewhere that you could make a pineapple re-grow from the top - i.e., when you cut the top off and stick it in soil, it'll grow again, at least into a kind of house plant in our climate.

Has anybody ever done that? I know I tried it once, but unsuccessfully (I think the pineapple bottom rotted away eventually), and before I try it again I thought I'd see if anybody has experience with this: what compost/soil to use for example, whether it needs a lot of water or not...

(And if you ask yourself why on earth would anybody want to do that - well, I don't know either; I suppose I'm just curious to see if it works !)

Ina

go for it ina! i have had this useful link u might want a look at...
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/803/
but go down and read Kameha's post. Now, i have pineapples....but they are not doing well... they have this withering disease thing - i blame the neem trees near it, they are vicious in the dry sdeason for water...i have grown mine from suckers though, but i have friends in takoradi who, everytime they have a pineapple, cut off the top, and plant it. they have a hill full of them! plus, they are cape coast pineapples....very nice...if u go to sainsbury's, and look for organic pineapple pieces, i don't know if they still do them , but they are from the cape coast...anyway, as long as top is all there.

sometimes, the man from Del Monte cuts the tops off his pineapples so u cannot plant them... it has to all be there. they are saying on this site to pick out fruit from around core and wait for a day to dy out and stuff. well, these guys i know live in such humid conditions, the pineapple would never dry out and it does fine. but rotting fruit is not good, so maybe you should...but they do like organic matter, free draining is very important. bromilades hate being water logged (pineapple plantations tend to be on hills even!). There is stuff about water the top only, everything but the top, but I would just do some overall misting, and maybe even keep a propagator over your pineapple. The Victorians used to grow them over heated bricks, though, so you may not even need that (they weren't in Kincardineshire though ) but just keep an eye on it all. u don't want it rotting. i would even put it in sand till it starts to root. but as a house plant, they will look like an overgrown agave or something like that. but you have nothing to lose right? the rest of it u get to eat! but there is some interesting stuff going on with pineapples....there is a new variety out called MD2...pineapples take a while to grow. it is a bit like setting up a mangofarm...you have to forsee the market in five years time - or just be lucky - to make the money. but the usual supply and demand chain has messed up the diversity of even the commercial pineapple. everyone is now growing MD2...so i think maybe two or three months from now the world is going to be full of the little suckers(sorry)....and no one really knows how they will do. they are meant to be better travellers and lookers. no one thought about taste? but anyway, someone tell me if they still do those sainsbury's pineapple organic pieces? they are worth the £2 or £3 you know...

Thanks for all that advice, Matty! Just as well that I'm not going to grow them commercially - well, I'd need my own power plant here in Scotland to do that!

Unfortunately that is the same over and over, whichever fruit or veg you look at: suitability for commercialisation is all they tend to look at, never mind the taste. Strawberries - the only variety you gst around here seems to be Elsanta nowadays. It's the first variety on the market and the last, and it travels well, plus the fruit is quite large, so that saves on picking cost. The farmshop nearby sells them, but they also have other varieties most of the season, so I always go for them, and they all taste much better!

I'll definitely try the pineapple. I don't get to Sainsbury's (or other supermarkets) much, but I'll have a look next time I'm there. The one I've got just now is an organic one, and it looks quite healthy, that's why I thought it would be a good opportunity to try it out again.

Cheers
Ina

I've seen these instructions in various forms on the web. This seems to be the most complete version.

I planted one myself a few months ago. I don't think you could say it was flourishing yet, but it's not dead yet, either. There was a chap on the radio a few weeks ago talking about the pineapple that he had planted. Took seven years to bear it's first fruit.

nice one Muddypause. plus, the cane is off my back if ina's pineapple rots!...
But seven years is a long time. I have heard of the seven year biological cycle, but that is a bit much. it is encouraging though, as maybe my pineapples will fruit after all here - they should be almost ready now, but haven't grown much at all in the last 8months - no sign of fruit even! and have even been looking at them today wondering if they should go....you may have just saved their souls. but yeah, ina, i think there is some much sounder advice here for sure. i recommend pineapple jam by the way to anyone willing to try. top stuff. only ever bought it though. so no tips i'm afraid.

Was just reading this old thread on pineapples and wanted to add that I have followed the instructions on the link that Muddypause has added and its worked 4 times now. I have one that is now a really good size and has been re-potted twice. As the thread says u have to screw the top off, not use a slice of it and slice the leftover flesh away until u get to the spots. Its definitely worth a go if u have a fresh pineapple and very rewarding to see them growing!

Fascinating stuff!
I missed this the first time around, thank you. It's definitely something I want to try!

I tried it, but i was useless - they all went mouldy!!!

However, a bloke at work trie it too, and he's got 2 pineapple plants growing now (out of 4) so it worked for him.

He kept his pineaples drying on top of a bathroom cabinet. Don't know if that helps any!

I put them in a tiny bit of water in a glass on my windowsill and keep an eye on them. Change the water every couple of days and the leaves that have got brown pull off. Ive had one that went sort of squidgy and mouldy but just rubbed it off under running water, removed the dead leaves - its been fine and has now rooted. Had to admit trying several before the first one took, now they seem to take every time.

they grow quickly here, sadly the b8888y monkeys get them before they are ready to harvest LOL

we just plant the tops in the ground and they grow, the few we've got to before the monkeys have tasted great, no idea what kind they are tho'.

I've got another top on the go. Got a pineapple with the veg delivery a couple of weeks ago, so its ripened nicely.