Pineapple cultivars!
 

Hello!

I am searching for various pineapple cultivars such as ''Pernambuco'',''Cayena Lisa'' and other true Smooth Cayenne group cultivars,big Queen group cultivars and others,except MD-2(which i am already growing) and ''Sugarloaf''. I tend to favor the big growing ones with potentially big and sweet fruits :)

Tops/slips/pups,all welcome and i am of course willing to pay for them and their shipping. Shipping is at my risk.

Thank you very much in advance! :)

Re: Pineapple cultivars!
 

Check the pineapple threads here, and particularly those in zone 10. Some of the cultivars you've mentioned are zone 12 plants.

Re: Pineapple cultivars!
 

Thank you very much for your reply Richard! :)

I have checked them all! I really like the cultivars ''Kew'',''Sarawak'',''Abacaxi'',''Natal Queen'',''Pernambuco'' and would like to have ''Cayena Lisa'' as well or another real Smooth Cayenne cultivar. I havent found much info on cold tolerance but i am more than willing to test them to my local conditions in Pyrgos when i have them! I am sure they wont be so wimpy as bromeliads in general are not easily cold damaged! :)

Do you maybe have any of the above cultivars for sale? :)

Re: Pineapple cultivars!
 

Kostas, I've been growing pineapples for a few years now and they seem to do relatively well in the ground in my 9B climate. I'm not sure what cultivars I have exactly, but I've started mine from store-bought varieties. Some of them are definitely Del Monte's "Extra Sweet Gold".

As far as cold tolerance, the past two winters have been harsh (many nights below freezing) and I've covered the patch with blankets. They were certainly damaged, but survived and made it through to produce the following year. Here's a pic of one that flowered in the spring.

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Re: Pineapple cultivars!
 

I am in Northern California in Zone 9a-9b I have no idea what kind I am growing but it did fine at 32 degrees last night. It looks like the kind you have Nate. No barbs right? Now I want to grow more.

Re: Pineapple cultivars!
 

Yes, Steve - leaves are smooth and flavor is awesome! One thing I've noticed: when I grow these varieties in the home garden, the central core of the fruit is soft and edible - not woody like typical store-bought pineapples. I don't recall ever getting one from the store where the core was edible, so it is a curious phenomenon. Not sure if this has to do with letting the fruit fully ripen before picking or what, but I think every fruit I have harvested has been this way.

I know what you mean... I started with one plant and now I've got a patch of about 8 or 10. They seem to grow well in my sandy loam with some compost mixed in.

Re: Pineapple cultivars!
 

Pineapples are the least cold tolerant of any of my Bromelaids. Most of my bromelaids have seen temepratures in the 30sF without any damage, but once I left my Pineapple outside at 40F and it rotted in the center. If it was in the ground and not in a container, it probably would have handled temperatures in the low 30sF, but still a pretty tender plant!

I take mine inside when it starts getting cool outside usually around late October. They are one of the first plants to go inside for the winter.

Re: Pineapple cultivars!
 

Sugarloaf is a soft-core variety. There are others. The commercial varieties typically have fibrous cores.

Re: Pineapple cultivars!
 

So would true Smooth Cayenne have a semi soft core? On my fruits the very center is a little tough but nothing like the store bought fruits. I was thinking it may have to do with actually getting ripe before harvesting?

Re: Pineapple cultivars!
 

Mitchel, this is my experience so far: letting the fruit ripen before harvesting tends to make the core softer and (at least in some cases) edible. I've never purchased a commercial variety that had an edible core, yet the ones I have propagated from the same store-bought varieties have produced fruit with edible cores.

Re: Pineapple cultivars!
 

Thank you very much all of you for your replies and for sharing your experiences growing pineapples! :)

The most common commercial varieties we find at the grocery store are MD-2(Gold extra Sweet) and Gold,which are actually siblings and complex hybrids of different pinapple varieties and contain about 60% of the original ''Smooth Cayenne'' cultivar.
So far,i am only growing the MD-2 as this was the easiest to find and i found an organic grown one which made for the perfect start i wanted :)

About the core of MD-2(which is erroneously called ''Smooth Cayenne'' some times),i personally find it edible and many times i eat it all...I like its taste even if sometimes it leaves a little too many fibers in my mouth :) I think its all about personal preferences.



Now if only we can find some other varieties as well....