How to Grow a Pineapple Plant
The leafy crown twisted off the top of a store-bought pineapple can be rooted and grown into an attractive houseplant, with a real fruit as a slow but genuine possibility.
Rooting the Crown
Twist or cut the leafy crown off the pineapple, remove a few of the lowest leaves to expose an inch or so of stem, and let it dry for a day or two to callous over. Suspend the base in water, or plant it directly in well-draining potting soil, and keep it warm and in bright light while roots develop over the next several weeks.
Once rooted, a pineapple plant wants consistent warmth and bright light to keep growing steadily toward maturity.
A pineapple plant can take two to three years to mature enough to flower and fruit — a genuinely long-term project best enjoyed for its striking spiky foliage along the way.
Encouraging It to Fruit
Once mature, sealing the plant in a bag with a ripe apple for several days exposes it to ethylene gas, which can help trigger flowering — the step that eventually leads to fruit. This is a well-known trick among pineapple growers for coaxing a stubborn plant into producing.
