With leftover pineapples you have valuable material for your own cultivation in your hands. How the tuft of leaves is transformed into a finished plant is explained here in a practical way.

How to prepare the crown of leaves for cultivation

Choose a ripe pineapple with fresh green leaves and firm, rich golden flesh. Additionally, if the fruit is freshly harvested and has not been exposed to cool temperatures, it has excellent growing potential. Cut off the tuft of leaves so that a 3 centimeter long piece of fruit initially remains on it. Thanks to this prudence, the root systems in this area are spared.

In the next step of the preparation, remove the pulp around the stalk on which the leaves are located. This stalk is now shortened to just below the first leaves. Then pull off the bottom 2-3 rows of leaves from top to bottom to expose the shoot points located there. Prepared in this way, the former crown of leaves dries in an airy place for 2-3 days.

Put in the tuft of leaves and let them root

After the interface on the leaf crown has dried, planting is on the agenda. Choose a sufficiently large planter for the cultivation, as the pineapple develops a sprawling habit. The pot should also have an opening in the bottom so that excess water can drain off. On top of this, create a drainage made of inorganic material, such as grit, pebbles or broken pottery. Proceed as follows:

  • A peat-sand mix, cactus or pricking soil are suitable as a substrate
  • ideally there is a slightly acidic pH of 5 to 6
  • the addition of 25 percent Perlite (37.51€) optimizes permeability
  • make a well in the substrate
  • put the pineapple leaf in it up to the lower edge of the leaf
  • press the potting soil all around and water it

Cultivation only has a chance of success if there is a humid and warm microclimate around the pot with a humidity of more than 60 percent and temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius. If there is no heatable mini greenhouse (7.95€) available for this purpose, put a plastic bag over the cultivation vessel.

Professional care during and after rooting

The more sustainable the conditions during cultivation simulate a tropical climate, the faster rooting progresses. During this time, the cover is aired daily to prevent mold from forming. The substrate must not dry out at any time. Only water with collected rainwater.

If a fresh leaf sprout from the middle of the former leaf crown, the cultivation is going according to plan. The plastic hood can now give way. Spend the young plant in a warm, bright location with high humidity, such as the bathroom or conservatory. As soon as the growing pot is fully rooted, transplant the young pineapple plant. From now on she will be cared for like an adult specimen.

tips and tricks

Cultivation soil should always be lean so that the roots make an effort to search for nutrients. A thin layer of compost on the bottom of the pot provides an additional incentive for growth. Use finely sieved, mature garden compost, which you fill in very thinly between the drainage and the growing substrate.

GTH

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Trees