my birthday was last week and one of my co-workers, who i admire very much, gave me a pineapple plant! amazing!

this might make me sound ridiculous, but i really had no idea that another pineapple (Ananas comosus) could grow from the top of your old pineapple! my parents and i did do interesting growing experiments when i was a kid; with avocado, celery, or potatoes, but never with tropical fruits. we live in zone 7 (while the pineapple plant likes zone 9) and so i suppose my parents never thought that they would be able to keep a living pineapple plant alive. so, i was excited to learn more about this super cool (and sharp) bromeliad!

first of all, the pineapple plant needs warm weather and should never be allowed to be exposed to temperatures less than 20 degrees. this means that to grow it in our area, we will need to keep it inside or in a greenhouse. my plan is to keep it inside near a very sunny window until true spring and summer hit and then give it some time outside in the bright sun. it also likes soil that is somewhat moist so i expect i’ll need to water it at least once a week while inside and every few days while it’s outside basking in the sun.

it is great to have this plant as an addition to our homestead; pineapple is rich in manganese and vitamin c, and the juice can help breakdown and digest protein. my mother always says that some pineapple for dessert is a great thing for aiding in digestion! also, the fruit and the root can be eaten or applied to the skin to act as an anti-inflammatory.

a last fun fact about pineapple: a pineapple will never become any riper that when it is picked! unlike other fruits, a pineapple does not ripen once removed from its plant. instead of “ripening,” the pineapple gets soft once an enzyme inside of it gets activated. this enzyme works to break down the structural material inside the plant. cool, huh?

cool… just like the smoothie that my yummy pineapple will end up in sometime in the future!

.:.