Snarkie

I forgot what thread I was discussing this on, so here's the scoop:

My pineapple top is getting some good roots on it. The longest are close to 1.5". How long should I let the roots get in water, before I plant?

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The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

Kat2

It's been may years since I potted one up from water roots and it mattered so I don't know. What I mean is that I get tops easily here which I've rooted in water and also just stuck in the dirt. I don't think my success rate has so much to do with method but timing--sometimes everyone does well and sometimes none do.

If nobody else chimes in, I'd advise moving your top to good soil now or whenever you want. You know/understand plant propagation techniques/rules so do what you know.

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JP

It should be ok to plant... I'm waiting for mine to be a bit longer though...

crazy banana

The plant does not need any roots at all to be planted. It is more important to grow it in the sunniest spot of your yard and in very well draining soil.
I dip slips, suckers or tops in mycorrhizae and plant them directly in well draining soil with perlite or lava rocks added and never had any problems. I am growing at least 20+ Sugarloaf pineapples this year and expect a lot more to fruit this year than the two delicious fruits I harvested last year.

CraigSS

How long from setting tops in ground till they produce edible fruit?

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crazy banana

In Southern California "Sugarloaf" variety takes about 2 years. Actually mine are not even in the ground, they are in big pots. I cover the pots with frost cloth from December to February.

Kegas76

I did a top from a store bought pineapple a few years ago. I think it took 2-2.5 years to fruit.

Here it is May of last year.


And ripe at the end of July


Now notice the three slips on the plant. I stuck them in water with rooting compound for a few day then into dirt. Cut to now, two of them have died after trying to put them in the ground, but the third which was has been potted the whole time started blooming last week.

37.667910

I plant mine with 1/2 an inch of root and they grow like weeds. Your's are more then ready.

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37.667910

In zone 7 - Never!
In a pot as mentioned, a couple of years.

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crazy banana

Pineapples can be propagated from tops, suckers, ratoon suckers or slips.
The easiest and fastest to fruit are slips (plantlets growing between the leaves of a growing plant) or suckers (plantlets growing at the base of a maturing fruit on the fruit stalk). My favorites are ratoon suckers that grow from the base of the plant and already have a few tiny roots.
Slips should be 4"-6" before transplanting. Next time put some rooting hormone or mycorrhizae on your transplant without putting them in water and they will all survive.
Last year I have propagated about 30 plants (all Sugarloaf) that way and sold another 50 through CL or our SD Garden Group.

john_ny

They can be grown from seed also. Supposedly, they must be pollinated by a hummingbird. There are no hummingbirds in Hawaii, and it's illegal to bring them in. (They don't want seeds in their pineapples.) However, most of the pineapples we get, here on the East coast, come from Central America, and there are hummingbirds there. The seeds are small and look like sesame seeds, only darker. They are found right under the skin. If you go to my photo gallery, page 43, you can see some pictures. ( I don't remember how to repost them in the current thread.)

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John

Alex

I usually grow my Pineapples in pots. I let the base dry out and then just stick it into the soil for it to root. I've only gotten one to produce fruit and it took over 2 years. I actually had forgotten about it and discovered it one day:

Snarkie

Aren't we all?

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Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

Snarkie

Thanks for all the replies and useful info. I'm doing this because my dad told me it wouldn't work. We do this sometimes; he says I can't build or invent something and I do it just to spite him. It started back in 1994, when I bet him $10 I could build an accessory to make a pair of Ruger 10/22s fire up to 32 rounds a second. He paid up.

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Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

Snarkie

No fair! You got Yoda to use the Force on it!

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Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

beam2050

your a lucky man to have a father like that.

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Snarkie

You bet. I have the father that every man wishes he had.

I came to live with my dad in 1981, at the age of 12. Didn't really know him but we were stuck with each other. I had to learn how to cook, and not only that, the apartment we had was so nasty I wouldn't use the oven, so I learned how to cook in a toaster oven! We moved soon after, and I got a real stove to use! Over the years, I f'd up a couple of times, but my dad was always behind me. Even as an adult, he always stood by me, even when I got into politics. I will never forget the day that two federal agents were standing in the driveway, and Dad said, "Whatever Doug is into, I'm into." They didn't know how to handle it.

The years have come and gone, and I have been married and divorced, but I always had a place to call home. We always helped each other out. When Dad was 67, he fell off the roof of my cabin. I rushed around to see him alive and kicking. Literally kicking. He had fractured his heel in the 11 foot fall and was trying to stand up. I asked if he was okay and my dad replied, "Don't just stand there looking at me! Help me off my ass!"

67 years old, and is only concern was that he was laying on his ass.

Couple weeks ago, he fell off someone else's roof. This time, he was 83. He's got a fractured T-11 lumbar and a torn ligament. He's doing well though. He cracks jokes and makes the best of it. Even with a broken back, he's in better shape than a lot people half his age.

Yeah, I have the coolest dad in the world. And one of the toughest as well.

I have had the rare opportunity to spend the greater part of the last 50 years, with my dad. I have the relationship with my father, that most of you reading this, wish you had with yours.

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Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

JP

I hope your dad gets better soon.
Please keep him off roofs in the future!

Snarkie

He learned his lesson, JP. Thanks.

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Doug (D.A. Hänks) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2955582/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


The Only Eastern Redwood Forest in America




"Nuke my 'nanners, will you?!"

Lau

Hi Crazy, are your pineapple plants in pots or in the ground?

Susan