- 1). Cut the crown off a ripe pineapple fruit with a sharp knife leaving one inch of the fruit attached. Scrape out any fruit from the underside and remove the bottom 10 leaves by pulling gently on them. Leave the crown to dry out for 5 days on a sunny windowsill with the underside exposed.
- 2). Plant the top in a large pot at least 8 inches in diameter. Use a compost formulated for succulents that has sharp sand in to aid drainage. Bury the fruit part of the top under the compost and leaves the leaves protruding.
- 3). Place the pot on a light and warm windowsill where the temperature does not drop below 60 degrees Fahrenheit and is preferably around 70 degrees Farenheit. Turn the pot every week to ensure that the plant grows evenly.
- 4). Water your pineapple top when the surface of the compost is dry but do not allow it to become waterlogged. Fertilize the plant after three months once it has started to produce roots. Fertilize once a month after this with a liquid houseplant fertilizer diluted to a quarter of the recommended strength. Apply fertilizer directly to the leaves of the plant as pineapple plants receive most of their nutrients directly via the leaves rather than their roots.
- 5). Place your pineapple plant outside in the summer months or once there is no danger of frost. In frost free climates pineapples can be planted outdoors in well drained soils in light shade.
- 6). Re-pot your plant once it is a year old into a one gallon container with high-quality compost with 30 percent sharp sand or perlite. Reduce watering during the winter months when your plant will become dormant or only grow very slowly.
- 7). Put your pineapple plant inside a large plastic bag with a ripe banana once it is three years old. The banana will release ethylene gas which stimulates fruit production in pineapple plants. Leave the plant in a warm place out of the sun for four days and then remove it from the bag and return it to its normal spot. Your plant should start to produce flowers within six weeks and fruit soon afterwards. Pineapples take six months to ripen.
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