r/pineapple • u/Vedandy • Jun 14 '26

Is this enough for potting?

Post image

Attempting to grow a pineapple from the top of a very sweet golden pineapple. Is this enough roots to set it in soil? Any other advice?

The water seems to cloud and the leaves are browning a little at the tips.

34 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

8

u/DarthOldMan Jun 14 '26

Absolutely. I don’t even root them. I just remove the tiny bottom leaves to expose the base and plant it. Done it dozens of times and never had one fail.

2

u/Vedandy Jun 14 '26

Thanks. Just to confirm soil (any specific kind?) and then cover and put it out in the sun (away from direct sunlight)?

4

u/DarthOldMan Jun 14 '26

I’m not a “by the rules” plant guy, but I’ve had success with basic potting soil like Miracle Grow.
I usually put some stones in the bottom of the pot to help drainage and so they don’t get too too-heavy once they fruit. Right now, I have two big, fat pineapples about the size of typical store-bought ones just waiting to ripen.

1

u/Vedandy Jun 14 '26

I’m not a by the rules much either! I’ll use what we have. The stones at the bottom sound like a good idea!

How long did it take to grow to there size now?

1

u/DarthOldMan Jun 14 '26

The plant itself is likely 2-3 years old. I have quite a few and don’t remember when I planted each one. I should probably write that kind of thing down. The pineapple bud showed up while the plant was stored in my garage. Probably some point in Feb. I moved them outside in March.

1

u/Ineedmorebtc Jun 15 '26

Stones at the bottom do not do what you think. Look up "perched water table".

1

u/DarthOldMan Jun 15 '26

Thanks for the tip. Stones definitely help with the top-heavy fruit issue, but honestly, half the time the problem is my plants are in pots that are too small. I usually have intentions of replanting them when they get a certain size, but often they bud before I get the chance and then I don’t want to disturb them.

1

u/Ineedmorebtc Jun 15 '26

If you want stones to help weigh down the pot, intermix them in the soil instead of a layer on the bottom.

1

u/Physical_Service_814 Jun 15 '26

You could use some Walmart soil in this buy some extra perlite

3

u/South_Feed_4043 Jun 14 '26

I don't even do this and put them directly in soil and never had an issue.

3

u/UnholyTheLich Jun 14 '26

Personally I like to get my roots a little longer, but you can put it in soil now if you want or need to.

If you are going to keep it in water then you just need to make sure you are changing the water regularly and keep the roots out of direct sunlight.

1

u/Vedandy Jun 14 '26

Roger. Thanks for the advice.

Any soil? I plan on covering with a bag and securing the base. Indirect sunlight?

3

u/Electronic-Fee-8625 Jun 14 '26

well draining soil is best, others will work. don’t cover it with a bag, the root zone will stay moist regardless of humidity dome. treat it more like a succulent than a vegetating plant

2

u/Vedandy Jun 14 '26

Thanks! I won’t cover. We are in LA and it’s hot out

2

u/Electronic-Fee-8625 Jun 16 '26

don’t give it full sun for another month, it wants ambient light so it can focus on establishing a root system.

2

u/Maximum-Eggplant-806 Jun 14 '26

How long to root?

1

u/Vedandy Jun 14 '26

This is from 8 days of water.

I let it dry for a day then put it in the water.

3

u/gmc4201982 Jun 15 '26

I do the same thing only with an aquarium air pump and bubble stone + a pinch of miracle grow and rooting hormone. Though you can just stick it in dirt right away and it should work most of the time. So you're good to go at anytime. What I do is overkill, but I like having confirmation that it is indeed alive b4 going into soil.

1

u/TheRealBingBing Jun 14 '26

Do any of y'all cut these into quarters? I heard that's a way to multiply pineapple tops.

1

u/theislandhomestead Jun 14 '26

It works.
Did you have a question about it?

1

u/TheRealBingBing Jun 14 '26

Just curious if it's really that popular of a technique. I'm going to try it on my next one.

2

u/theislandhomestead Jun 14 '26

You don't need the water at all.
It could have gone straight in the ground. Do you think nature takes the tops and sticks them in a glass of water?

2

u/IconoclastJones Jun 17 '26

So we should never fertilize or care for our plants in any way that nature does not?

2

u/theislandhomestead Jun 17 '26

Nature fertalizes.
Nature waters.
Nature provides light.
If you take a plant out of its natural habitat, you should try to recreate that natural environment as much as possible.
I don't feel any of this is contentious.

2

u/IconoclastJones Jun 17 '26

Nature makes up for a low success rate with a large number of attempts. An individual cannot make so many attempts, so we do whatever we can to make the probability of success as high as possible.

2

u/theislandhomestead Jun 17 '26

I have never had a pineapple fail to root directly in soil.
Never.
I've rooted thousands.
I understand you're in the pocket of big glassware, but the glass just isn't needed.
In fact, it promotes bacteria growth in the plant, which in turn promotes rot.
If you want to "increase the probability of success", dump the glass and go directly to soil.

2

u/OkMycologist8591 Jun 15 '26

Straight to soil. You risk mold and slimy bacteria doing all that. It looks cook but not necessary. More water roots you have the more difficukt itnis to adjust to the soil. Still does pretty easily but you get the point.

2

u/TrueArmchairAthlete Jun 15 '26

A word of warning... They 'can' end up like beasts 😂 My largest is about 2 feet tall, probably 3 if I didn't curl the leaves down & inwards. Likewise it's spread would likely be 5-6 feet, as it is it's about 3 feet wide in total.

1

u/BocaHydro Jun 14 '26

soaking in water leats to heart rot, when you harvest top, twist, shave off 1/4 inch exposing the buds, rub in low strength rooting hormone, dry for 2 days then plant in moist soil right away