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How to Grow Pineapple

Ananas comosus

Perennial

Pineapple is a tropical bromeliad that needs a heated greenhouse in the UK with temperatures above 15C year-round. Give bright direct light, water sparingly, and allow compost to dry between waterings. Feed fortnightly with a balanced liquid fertiliser during the growing season — foliar feeding works well. Each rosette fruits only once, so grow on the suckers for future crops. Avoid waterlogging at all costs as pineapple roots rot easily.

Yearly Lifecycle

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JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Flowering Fruit Set Harvest

Care Essentials

Feed fortnightly with a balanced liquid fertiliser during the growing season (April–September). Foliar feeding works well as pineapples absorb nutrients through their leaves. Stop feeding from October to March.

Watch For

  • Mealybug at the base of leaves and in the rosette
  • Scale insects on leaf surfaces
  • Red spider mite in low-humidity conditions
  • Heart rot from water pooling in the rosette
  • Root rot from overwatering

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Care Requirements

☀️ Light

Full sun; heated greenhouse essential in UK

Needs bright direct light. In the UK, grow in a heated greenhouse or sunny conservatory with maximum light exposure year-round. Supplement with grow lights in winter.

💧 Watering

Let compost dry between waterings; reduce in winter

Water sparingly — pineapples are drought-tolerant bromeliads. Allow the compost to dry out between waterings. Reduce watering significantly in winter. Avoid waterlogging at all costs.

🌱 Fertilizing

Liquid feed fortnightly in growing season; foliar feed effective

Feed fortnightly with a balanced liquid fertiliser during the growing season (April–September). A foliar feed works well as pineapples absorb nutrients through their leaves.

❄️ Overwintering

Minimum 15°C; heated greenhouse over winter

Maintain a minimum temperature of 15°C. Keep in a heated greenhouse or warm conservatory. Reduce watering and stop feeding from October to March.

🍎 Harvesting

Harvest when golden and fragrant; grow suckers for next crop

Fruit is ready when it turns golden-yellow and smells sweet at the base. Twist or cut the fruit from the stem. Each rosette fruits only once — grow on the suckers for future crops.

Growing Tips

Water sparingly

Allow compost to dry out between waterings; pineapples are drought-tolerant bromeliads that rot in wet soil.

Foliar feed works

Apply foliar feeds as well as root feeds; pineapples absorb nutrients efficiently through their leaves.

Grow the suckers

Each rosette fruits only once; grow on the suckers that form at the base for your next crop.

Warmth and light

Maintain a minimum of 15C year-round and provide maximum light, supplementing with grow lights in winter.

Pests & Diseases

Pest Mealybug

Identification: White cottony masses at the base of leaves and in the leaf rosette, sticky honeydew

Organic treatment:
  • Dab with a cotton bud soaked in methylated spirit
  • Introduce Cryptolaemus ladybird as biological control under glass
Chemical treatment:
  • Spray with fatty acid or plant oil-based insecticide
Pest Scale Insects

Identification: Small brown or white bumps on leaf surfaces, sticky honeydew

Organic treatment:
  • Wipe off with a cloth dipped in soapy water
  • Introduce parasitic wasps as biological control
Chemical treatment:
  • Spray with plant oil-based insecticide
Pest Red Spider Mite

Identification: Fine webbing on leaf surfaces, stippled yellowing leaves, tiny mites visible with a hand lens

Organic treatment:
  • Increase humidity by misting regularly
  • Introduce predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis
Chemical treatment:
  • Spray with fatty acid-based miticide
Disease Heart Rot Phytophthora nicotianae

Symptoms: Central leaves turn brown-black and pull out easily, foul smell from the centre of the rosette

Treatment: No cure once established. Remove and destroy affected plants

Prevention: Avoid water collecting in the leaf rosette. Ensure good drainage and air circulation

Disease Root Rot Phytophthora spp.

Symptoms: Yellowing lower leaves, soft mushy base, plant collapse

Treatment: Remove from pot, trim rotten roots, repot in fresh free-draining compost. Reduce watering

Prevention: Use very well-drained compost. Allow soil to dry between waterings. Ensure pots have good drainage

Spacing & Planting

Plant spacing 30 cm
Row spacing 80 cm
Mature height 100 cm
Mature spread 80 cm

Herbaceous perennial bromeliad. Plant in double rows. Can be chemically induced to flower year-round. Ratoon crops from suckers.

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