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Patti Nagai: Growing pineapple for fruit can take two years
By Patti Nagai
I started a pineapple top and it's doing fairly well. It gets new growth but it's been two years and I really don't see much progress. I do fertilize my house and garden plants; I know this is important. - Lil, Union Grove
Sounds like you've done very well with your pineapple. Pineapple is in the Bromeliad family, a family that contains plants with interesting growth habits. Many of them are epiphytes, growing in trees with only the rainwater to nourish them. Pineapple, however, grows very well in soil and makes an attractive houseplant. In Hawaii, these plants may get 6 feet tall, but in your home chances are 2 to 3 feet is as tall as it will get.
If you have your plant in a bright location and are careful not to overwater it, you should be able to get it to flower. The plant needs to be mature before flowers are initiated; maturity generally takes about 2 years to reach.
Once flowering is initiated, the plant will produce a spiked inflorescence composed of hundreds of flowers in the center of the foliage. The flowers will open over a period of about two months, and with all conditions being right, a pineapple will form after about four to six months.
Once a plant has flowered and produced fruit, it will die. This is true for all of the bromeliads. You may notice on your bromeliad or pineapple small side shoots at the outer base of the plant. To keep a plant going, you should let the side shoots develop until the mother plant dies and then repot them. Or, with the pineapple, you can start a new plant from the top of the fruit.
Good luck with the flowering effort; continue to water carefully and fertilize with a dilute flowering plant fertilizer every two weeks.
Irish moss is a common name used for several types of plants. The most common is Sagina subulata, not a true moss but a beautiful little bright green plant that grows nicely in cracks and crevices when provided with enough moisture. There is a cultivated variety called "Aurea," which is also known as Scotch moss. The Sagina species and cultivars are hardy to zone 5 and grow quite vigorously. In some areas they may become weedy.
Another plant sold as Irish moss through many of the catalogs is Minuartia verna spp. caespitosa. This plant is not truly hardy here, although I know it's listed in several catalogs as being hardy to zone 4. University listings have it hardy to zone 6. I tried it in my yard and it did not come back after the winter, so my experience was not positive. It certainly is pretty though, while it lasts. It has a much more delicate foliage than the Sagina species.
And another Irish moss type is Arenaria verna, also called sandwort or golden moss. This species is rated hardy to zone 4 and is said to be able to withstand full sun to full shade.
True Irish moss is an aquatic seaweed; it is edible and is the source for the food additive carageenan.
Let me know which one you choose and how well it grows.
More questions?
University of Wisconsin-Extension Master Gardener volunteers can also help you with your gardening questions. Call (262) 886-8451 or send
e-mail to: mastergardeners@racineco.com
Dr. Patti Nagai is the horticulture educator for UW Extension in Racine County. Send questions to: Dr. Patti Nagai, The Journal Times, 212 Fourth St., Racine, WI 53403; or send e-mail to: pattin@racineco.com
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