Elite Gold Pineapple
Ananas Comosus

days to maturity:
plant spacing: 1 plant every 2 feet
sunlight requirements: 8-14 hours
look out for: slugs, snails and mammals
harvest notes: harvest the pineapple when it starts to yellow and replant the head
perennial

Growing Pineapples is one of the reasons we feel so lucky to live and garden in a tropical climate. Pineapples are in the bromeliad family and like their cousins, ornamental bromeliads, they are a great option for planting in your home landscaping or in containers. Our pineapple plants are all tissue cell culture plants which means they are disease free hybrid replicas of their parent plant.

Pineapple plants grow best in moderately fertile, sandy loam soils of neutral to mildly acid pH. Plants will grow satisfactorily in sandy and calcareous soils with attention to watering and fertilizer. Pineapple plants should be grown in well-drained soils and areas of the landscape that do not flood, and plants oftentimes don’t need any watering in a south florida home garden however if they are in a pot they do need to be watered. 

Once you’ve harvested your fruit your plant will focus on producing “slips” which are young new plants growing from the base of the fruit. Once they are about 6 inches long you can twist them off of the mother plant and replant them. You can also trim all of the flesh off of the top of the fruit you harvested and replant the top, although those take longer to mature than slips. 

Pineapple is particularly rich in Vitamin C and manganese. Vitamin C is essential for immune health, iron absorption, and growth and development, while manganese offers antioxidant properties and aids in growth and metabolism.

Pineapples are not only rich in nutrients but also loaded with antioxidants, which are molecules that help your body ward off oxidative stress. Interestingly, this fruit contains a group of digestive enzymes called “bromelian”, which when coupled with the fiber content of pineapples, makes the fruit a serious aide in digestive health. Bromelian also has anti-inflammatory and pain relieving properties. This is helpful for when you have an infection, like a cold or sinusitis, or an injury, like a sprain or burn. Pineapple can both be consumed for when you have an infection or applied topically as a poultice for when you have a sprain or burn. It also can offset the joint pain of osteoarthritis when consumed regularly.