Pineapple

 

Bromeliad family. Homeland Brazil. Some species of pineapples are grown as houseplants, they even form fruits, although small and not edible. The main advantage of pineapples is a beautiful rosette of leaves.

  • Pineapple large-holly variegated Ananas comosus variegatus - on the leaves the stripes are cream and pink. This type of edible pineapple is akin to the one whose fruits we buy in the store. Only in the store are pineapples with pure green leaves and they are not decorative. This is the most suitable variety of large-holky pineapples, as the most compact of them.
  • Ananas bracteatus striatus (tricolor) - juicy green leaves have stripes of cream and pink flowers, about 50-70 cm long. The fruits of this species are not edible.
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Of particular interest may be the species Pineapple pineapple, or rather its dwarf variety - Pineapple nanus (Dwarf) Ananas ananassoides var. nanus - This delicious little pineapple is pot-perfect (10-12cm is enough), decorative at home, but unfortunately not edible. This pineapple variation has pink inflorescences!

 The rosette is open, the leaves are slightly bent, the bush is about 30-60 cm tall, 40-60 cm wide. The leaves are whorled dark green or grey-green, often turning red to maroon in full sun. In density - tough, leathery, with sharp spikes that can pierce the skin. Outwardly, they look like the leaves of a centenarian (not fleshy) or pandanus. The inflorescence is like a regular pineapple, cone-shaped, with a tuft of leaves at the apex and a peduncle from 30 to 50 cm from the center of the leaf rosette. The peduncle, like the leaves, is covered with hairs and looks gray. The flowers are tubular, small, mauve or lavender, about 5 cm long. The dwarf pineapple blooms in spring, moreover, it blooms at the age of two. To represent the size of this species, the size of the pineapple fruit is no larger than a chicken egg.

Pineapple care

Temperature: The usual room temperature is about 22-26 ° C in summer, in winter with a lack of light - cool 16-18 ° C, the minimum winter temperature is 15 ° C. Anansas likes to keep his feet warm. He doesn't belong on a cold floor or a stone windowsill. In autumn, you can leave on the balcony if the temperature drops to 12 ° C, only if the ground is dry and the pot is insulated (in planter or wrapped in foam rubber).

Lighting: Bright diffused light with some direct sun in the morning or evening. It can be grown on the west and east windows. On the south window, you will need shading in the hottest hours in the summer from a light net. However, it should be borne in mind that pineapples with light stripes on the leaves need a lighter place, otherwise the diversity of color is lost.

Watering: During the period of active growth, plentiful, in autumn and winter - moderate. The water must be soft and at room temperature. Just standing water is not enough, it is better to use filtered and boiled water. In addition, gray stains remain on the leaves from hard water.

Pineapples, unlike other bromeliads (echmeas or vriesias), are not able to retain water, although they have special hairs on the surface of the leaves that allow them to absorb water well. Pineapple at home especially does not have a clearly designated outlet - the leaves grow loosely, tiered and loose. Therefore, pour pineapple into the soil! The frequency and degree of watering during the growth period is such that the soil from above has time to dry, but in the depth of the pot it remained slightly moist, that is, it did not dry to dust. When cold, pineapple should be watered less often, drying the soil well and completely.

    From
  • March to August, feeding is carried out every two weeks with fertilizer for bromeliads or orchids. Top dressing can be carried out not only by adding under the root, but also by spraying the leaves. The main thing is that the fertilizer contains more minerals, in addition to nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, additionally magnesium, boron, iron and other elements.
  • You can use fertilizers for flowering indoor plants in 1/4 of the dose recommended by the manufacturer. These are fertilizers Fertica Lux, Agricola or Pocon for blooms, etc.

Humidity: Pineapples love high humidity, ideally around 70%. Therefore, outside the heating season, you can spray once a day, and if the humidity is below 60%, increase it in other ways - with an air humidifier, placing the plant on a wide tray with moist moss-sphagnum. If the pineapple is already large and does not fit on the pallet or the leaves hang from the edge of the windowsill, it is wiser to put the pot on a stand, a shelf, closer to the window. But cover the batteries with a damp terry towel or diapers, moreover, wet the fabric regularly (2-3 times a day). If the heating works powerfully, then set the building aside, but turn on the additional lighting.

Transplant: The non-flowering plant is transplanted after a year, and after flowering, only daughter rosettes are transplanted, which are formed at the base of the mother plant. If the soil in the pineapple pot is covered with a salt coating or crust, you need to remove the upper 2-3 cm of soil and replace it with fresh soil (at any time of the year). Soil acidity (pH) is normal 5.5.

Approximate soil composition:

  • 2 part of light sod soil, 1 part of pine bark, 1 part of humus, 1 part of fine gravel
  • 2 of peat, 1 of garden loam and 1 of sand or perlite

You can use a purchased soil mixture for orchids or bromeliads. If you choose other store soils, then it is important that their acidity is not alkaline, but slightly acidic. In addition, vermiculite, coconut fiber or gravel must be added to the store soil for porosity. All this is necessary so that after watering the soil in the pineapple pot dries faster, ideally at a temperature of 22-24 ° C, it should dry no longer than three days.

The container for landing should not be too deep, it is better to use wide plates.

Reproduction: After flowering and fruiting, the plant dies, but before that forms at least one daughter rosette, which grows on the side of the base of the mother plant. These lateral shoots are cut after they grow their roots. Sometimes the mother plant dries up and does not die immediately, look at the circumstances, it is important that it does not take away food and does not block the light of the growing baby. Pineapple is also propagated with seeds and apical cuttings from fruits bought in the store.

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Seed pineapple

Pineapple seeds can be obtained from very ripe fruits. They are small 2-4 mm, sickle-shaped. They need to be cleaned of pulp, rubbed with fingers in water. Then soak for 5 minutes in a pink solution of manganese. For sowing, prepare:

  • cake or cake jar
  • boiled water
  • paper napkins or towels

Put napkins (3-4 pieces) on the bottom of the mini-greenhouse, seeds on top, and moisten them so that the seeds do not float! Put in a bright place, a sunny windowsill. You can use both vermiculite and a mixture of sand and peat for germination, but napkins are easier.

Seed germination occurs faster during soil heating, at a temperature of 32-35 ° C. You can put a greenhouse on a battery, on an electric heater or on a shoe dryer. Do not forget to ventilate twice a day, shake off the condensate. Under such conditions, the seeds germinate for about a month. Without heating for 2-3 months, sometimes longer.

As soon as seedlings appear, you need to make sure that they have enough light. If you sowed in winter or early spring, you need to do additional light so that the total daylight hours are 14 hours. Maintain uniform humidity of the substrate (napkin), but you need to ventilate more often, preferably 3-4 times a day. When seedlings form rosettes about 4-5 cm in diameter, you need to plant them.

Earth is a mixture of leafy earth, finely chopped pine bark, garden earth and vermiculite (in equal parts). Be sure to sterilize the ground for bromeliads! Pots about 8 cm in diameter should be placed in a bag, the edges of which should not be tied, just straightened. You need to accustom to drier air gradually. Alternatively, put the pots in the aquarium and cover partially with film. If spring has already come, then the first 2-3 days after transplanting the shade from the direct sun.

By the way

Pineapples are quite resistant to drought and can be planted and moistened like ordinary succulents - fat, aloe, gasteria, hafortia, etc. In winter, it is better to increase the intervals between watering, leaving the plant to stand dry, thereby preventing rot of the roots.

In nature, pineapples grow mainly in relatively cool and arid places in central Brazil, on rather poor and well-drained soil, at an altitude of about 500-600 m above sea level.

Root the pineapple

You can get an independent plant by rooting the top of the pineapple fruit. To do this, choose a pineapple, in which the leaves are best preserved and cut off the crown with a small part of the fruit itself, capturing about 1-1.5 cm.

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Then the flesh of the fruit is cleaned with a spoon, leaving the central rod. The thus obtained cuttings are dried for 2-3 days and placed in a glass of water. Water should be poured so that it does not reach 5-10 mm to the pineapple handle. When water evaporates, periodically add fresh.

If you can't root the pineapple in this way, try another way - on the ground.

On the surface of a loose, slightly moist substrate (sand in half with universal soil). The soil should not be damp, but only slightly slightly moist.

For rooting to occur, there must be moderate soil humidity, high air humidity and a lot of light.

Therefore, it is best to do this: take a transparent bowl from disposable tableware. Pour the soil and put a pineapple handle on it.

Then place them in a spacious transparent bag. Spread it thoroughly, spray the leaves from the spray gun with a solution of succinic acid (1 tablet per 1 liter of water). Seal the bag with tape so that it is inflated.

Then make sure that it is light enough, you can turn on the fluorescent lamp nearby.

Observe - there should be constant drops of moisture in the bag, you no longer need to water. Since the humidity is about 100%, the soil will not dry out.

When the roots appear, they will be visible through the walls of a transparent bowl.

It is best to put pineapple cuttings on rooting in March-April. Roots form for a long time, about 2 months. If you notice that the leaves in the center of the outlet began to turn black, then the handle has rotted, you can throw it out.

It is important that the crown of the pineapple fruit is at least slightly frozen, while the fruits are delivered to the store or to the market, it will not take root. You need to choose the most green, beautiful, strong fruit with good leaves.

Pineapple pests

Bromeliad shield - settles on both sides of the leaves, the pest is similar to small brown plaques. Affected leaves turn yellow and die off.

Control measures. Wipe the leaves with a soapy foam sponge. Leave a thick soap cap for 20 minutes. Wash off with warm water. Repeat a week later. You can water the soil and spray the leaves with actara.

Mealy worms. They are found as white shaggy (fluffy) lumps, similar to cotton wool. They focus in the basal zone. Worms damage the leaves, and sooty fungus settles on its secretions. The plant is stunted, the leaves turn yellow, if not taken measures, it can die.

Control measures. Remove pests mechanically - with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol. Then spray with insecticide (fufanon, actellic, actara). And pour the soil with a solution of aktara.

Spider mite. The web is not always noticeable, but the signs of the pest are in the yellowing of the leaves. The spots are small at first, then cover the whole sheet. The plant dries up and dies.

Control measures. Take the pot to the bathroom and rinse the leaves thoroughly under a hot shower (water temperature 45-48C). Repeat hot shower twice more every week. You can pre-wash the leaves with green soap (sold in flower shops).