Pineapple is a popular tropical fruit, the cultivation of which at home is becoming increasingly common among the inhabitants of our country. But this culture is rather capricious and demanding of conditions, therefore, in order to properly plant, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic information regarding not only the rules for its conduct, but also the selection and preparation of planting material,
Planting pineapple at home
You can plant a pineapple at home in two ways - by seeds and using the top. To get the desired result, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic rules of the chosen landing method.
Planting Pineapple Seeds
If you want to grow pineapple using seeds, it is advisable to purchase them in a store. The fact is that in the majority of seed fruits that are on sale, there are either no seeds at all, or they are small and immature and therefore not suitable for planting. But pay attention to the seeds - the seeds that are in the fruit you bought are still worth it, because they can be quite suitable for sowing.
Pineapple seeds suitable for sowing, flat, semicircular, have a reddish-brown color and reach a length of 0.3-0.4 cm
In pineapple, the bones are in the pulp right under the skin. If they meet all the requirements and they can be planted, then carefully remove them with a knife and rinse in a solution of potassium permanganate (1 g per 200 ml of water), then remove, dry on a paper towel and proceed to pre-sowing events.
- Soak. Place moistened material (cotton cloth or cotton pads) on the bottom of the container or on a plate. Put the bones on it and cover them on top with the same moistened material. Place the workpiece in a warm place for 18-24 hours. The seeds should swell slightly.
- Sowing in soil. Fill the sowing tank with a mixture of peat and peeled sand (they should be taken in equal parts), moisten the soil and plant seeds at a distance of 7-10 cm from each other, deepening them by 1-2 cm.
- After sowing, be sure to cover the container with film or glass and place in a warm place.
The time of emergence of seedlings depends on the temperature: if it is + 30 ° C - + 32 ° C, then the seeds will germinate in 2-3 weeks, in colder conditions the sprouts will appear no earlier than in 30-45 days.
Further care for planting is timely moderate watering and regular ventilation (10 min 2 times a day). When 3-4 seedlings appear near the seedlings, the shoots must be planted in separate pots. Since seedlings are in a common capacity, it is more convenient to use the transplant method.
Pineapple shoots must be peaked to ensure proper development
- 2 hours before transplanting, water the soil well.
- At the bottom of individual containers with a volume of 0.5-0.7 l, put drainage material (3-4 cm), and then fill with soil (peat (1 part) + humus (1 part) + sand (1 part) + garden soil (1 part)) and moisten it.
- In the center of each container, make a hole 2-3 cm deep.
- Carefully remove the sprout from the total capacity (for convenience, you can use a teaspoon) and place it in the hole, spreading the roots.
- Fill the hole with soil, compacting it, and water.
- Cover the plantings with a bag and place in a warm, bright place.
Planting a pineapple outlet (top)
If you want to grow pineapple in this way, then carefully consider buying a "mother" fruit. Try to choose a fresh fruit without defects (bruises, rot, etc.). Also inspect the leafy outlet: it should be fresh, resilient, green in color and have a live, undamaged core.
In addition to the appearance of pineapple, it is worth paying attention to the time of its purchase. You will have the highest chance of growing pineapple if you purchase fruit in late spring, summer, or early fall. You will have almost no opportunity to get a new plant from pineapple, bought in winter, because in this case the fruits are often in the cold air and their tops freeze.
The top suitable for planting must be fresh and have an intact center.
After you have chosen and purchased a suitable fruit, you can begin to plant the top. There are two ways to carry out this procedure, and you can choose the most convenient for you.
Method 1. Landing the top without rooting
1. Using a sharp, clean knife, carefully cut off the apex while grabbing a portion of the fetus 3 cm lower. If the pineapple is ripe, then you can remove the top by holding it with one hand and turning the fruit with the other. After you have removed the top, remove all the flesh, as it may cause the planting to rot. Also remove all lower leaves to get a 2.5-3 cm long cylindrical stem.
Carefully remove the flesh to avoid decay of the apex
2. Disinfect the sections by sprinkling them with activated charcoal (for this you need to crush 1-2 tablets) or placing them for 1 min in a bright pink solution of potassium permanganate (to obtain it, dissolve the powder on the tip of a knife (1 g) in 200 ml of water). After soaking, do not forget to wipe the stalk with a paper towel.
3. Place the tip for 5-7 days in a dry, dark place, the air in it should be at room temperature. To avoid contact of the top with the surfaces, it is advisable to hang it on a twine or a strong thread.
The top of the pineapple must be dried in an upright position
4. Prepare a pot with a volume of 0.5 - 0.7 liters. If you want to use a smaller pot, it is advisable to choose at least one whose diameter is slightly larger than the diameter of the tip. Make drainage holes in it, if there are none, and place it in the pan. At the bottom, put a layer (2 cm) of drainage material (expanded clay, fine gravel). Fill the pot with soil (composition: sand (1 part) + peat (1 part) + turf land (1 part) or peat (2 parts) + coniferous humus (1 part) + garden soil (1 part). If possible, prepare such a substrate no, then you can use the ground for cacti). Pour boiling water over the soil abundantly 2 days before planting.
Sod land, sand and peat - mandatory components of the pineapple soil mix
5. Moisten the soil, make a hole in it with a depth of 2.5-3 cm and sprinkle the bottom with 0.5 tsp. chopped charcoal.
6. Carefully place the top in the hole, sprinkle it with earth to the bottom leaves, and then tamp well and water the soil.
7. Cover the landing with a film, plastic bag or place it under glass and place it in a warm, bright place, but not in direct sunlight.
In order to ensure the most favorable development conditions for pineapple, it must be placed in a “greenhouse”
As a rule, rooting of the apex takes 1.5-2 months. If the apex takes root, then at the end of this period several new leaves will appear in its center.
Method 2. Landing the top with rooting
1. Remove the top, remove the flesh and lower leaves from it, so that a bare cylinder 2.5 -3 cm thick remains.
2. Disinfect sections using potassium permanganate or activated carbon.
3. Within 2-3 days, dry the top in a dry, dark place at room temperature.
4. Take a glass, pour warm water into it and place the cleaned part of the top 3-5 cm into it. To fix it, you can use toothpicks or cut a cardboard circle. Put the glass in a warm bright place, you can on the windowsill. Roots usually appear after 2-3 weeks. During this time, the water in the glass must be changed 1 time in 2-3 days. The top can be transplanted into the pot when the roots reach a length of 2 cm.
It usually takes 2-3 weeks to root the apex
5. Prepare the pot and fill it with suitable soil.
6. In moist soil, make a hole 2-3 cm deep and carefully place the top into it, being careful not to injure the roots. Sprinkle with soil to the bottom leaves.
7. Tamp and water well again.
8. Cover the landing with a plastic bag and place it in a warm, bright place, but not in direct sunlight.
Based on my experience, I can say that rooting plants is a useful procedure, because it allows you to immediately see whether the planting material is viable or not (this applies not only to pineapple, but also to cuttings of various fruit crops, etc.), and you subsequently, you don’t have to spend time caring for a damaged plant or occupying it in a pot. When growing pineapple, I also recommend holding this event, especially to those people who had no previous business with it and therefore could well have missed something during the preparatory work. If the top does not take root, then you will immediately have time to replace it with another, without repeating the mistakes made earlier, and get a good plant. And in the future, when you learn to do everything right, then you can plant a pineapple or any other plant in the ground without preliminary rooting, without fear that it will not take root or will not germinate.
Pineapple Rooting
Top transplant
Like any other plant, with the growth of pineapple, its root system develops, so you have to transplant. In order for it to be successful, before this time it is necessary to provide your plant with proper care, which will strengthen its health and allow you to move the "relocation" with less stress.
After you put the top into the ground, it must be kept under the film for 1.5 - 2 months. During this period, the pineapple needs to be ventilated (2 times a day for 10 minutes) and sprayed with leaves 1 time per week, since the pineapple accumulates moisture in them. Watering is recommended moderate and only if the earth dries. Those who have experience growing pineapple from the top, advise you to water not only in the ground, but also in the socket itself. Also, if possible, try changing the film or wiping the glass, as the condensation (droplets) that appear is harmful to the leaves and, if they get on them, can cause them to rot. In addition, do not neglect fertilizers. For this purpose, you can use complex mineral additives (for example, diammofosku) at the rate of 10 g per 10 l of water. The top should be fed every 20 days. In the autumn-winter period, planting must provide a sufficient amount (not less than 12 hours) of light, illuminating it with a fluorescent lamp.
A pineapple top transplant is performed one year after planting. In this case, it is advisable to use the transshipment method, since it is the most sparing for the root system. For this purpose, do not water the pineapple for several days. When the earth is completely dry, remove the plant along with a lump of earth and transplant it into a pot with a volume of 1.5 - 2 liters.
Using transshipment, you can extract the plant from the pot without damaging its roots.
Preparing the pot and proper planting is done as follows:
- Put a layer (3-4 cm) of drainage material on the bottom of the pot.
- Pour the soil onto the drainage layer (you can use the same that you applied immediately).
- In the center, place the top with a lump of earth.
- Fill the empty places near the walls of the pot with soil, water well and put the pineapple in a sunny place.
As you can see, planting a pineapple is not a complicated procedure, but the arrangements for preparing the planting material require attention and accuracy, because the further life of the plant depends on how correctly and accurately they are carried out. Follow all the recommendations carefully, and the desired results will not be long in coming.
