how to grow a pineapple Archives - Thinglish Lifestyle

I see pineapples, thousands of pineapples. They are totally tropical and seemingly everywhere I go lately.

Where Do Pineapples Grow?

Everywhere! The pineapple (Ananas comosus) (สัปปะรด) is an indigenous plant from South America. Today the largest commercial producers of the fruit are Costa Rica with a whopping 2.7 million tons of production per year. Thailand ranks 4th in the world with a healthy 2.2 million tons of annual production and growing.

Pineapples are a large, sweet fruit made up of many individual berries fused together around a central core. Each outer scale is an individual berry.

Traditionally, pineapples were grown in the South Western provinces of Thailand. However, with the steep decline in natural rubber prices (dropping from 99 baht per kilogram in November 2012 to 61 baht in November 2016), many Thai farmers are now cutting down their rubber trees and cultivating pineapples in new areas, including Trat province, where we live.The price of rubber bottomed at 10 baht per kilo but as of mid 2024 it back up to over 70 baht. Many rai of rubber trees have been cut to plant durian in the last few years.

Anyway, you’re not here for rubber or durian, but if you’re interested in the cost of fresh pineapple in the world markets, you can view all the price data here.

When we purchased our property there was 8 Rai of rubber trees directly behind us. It looked very beautiful and was a peaceful place for an afternoon stroll in the shade. A month or so ago the area was levelled as it wasn’t commercially viable to farm rubber anymore.

Do Pineapples Grow on Trees?

Contrary to popular belief, pineapples don’t grow on trees. They grow from the center of a leafy plant, which is an aggregate fruit formed from a cluster of flowers, or inflorescence. Each pineapple consists of 100 to 200 individual flowers fused together, creating the unique fruit we enjoy.

The pineapple plant features a short, sturdy stem with tough, waxy leaves, and the fruit emerges from the center. It takes approximately 18-24 months for a pineapple to fully mature. This ground-level growth is unique among fruit-bearing plants.

In case you’re wondering, pine tress don’t produce pineapples either. They produce pine cones.

As can be seen from the photo below, the farmer cut down the rubber trees and sold the lumber and is now planting it out with pineapple plants. This is hot and backbreaking work for the small team of 3 or 4 labourers.

How to Grow a Pineapple for Healthy Profit

Growing pineapples isn’t hard and can be done just about anywhere. If you are in a cold climate (unlucky!) you can grow them indoors. I’ve grown pineapples I bought at the market from their tops. You simply discard the fruit and two thirds of the leaves and pop your pineapple into a pot or directly into the ground. It will take about 2 years to produce its first fruit.

Pineapples have a very shallow root system and take most of their feed through their leaves. They will grow just about anywhere but a bog. They also like lots of sun but will flourish almost as well in semi shade.

In Thailand you can buy a small pineapple plant for 2 Baht. Plant it and a year later harvest the fruit. The local farmer tells me he sells each pineapple for 30 Baht. So not a bad profit margin and it certainly beats leaving your money sitting in a bank at next to 0% interest with inflation eating your savings.

I bought 55 pineapple plants for 100 Baht and planted them on a border about 30 centimetres apart. I will plant a few hundred more to create a soi dog proof border that will keep those pesky canines from bothering the chickens.

A pineapple plant can grow up to a meter in height and diameter and their leaves are razor sharp so are a great natural way to keep the street dogs at bay.

One quirky thing I learnt when planting the young plants was to just lift a tuft of turf and tread the plant in at about 45 degree, within a week they upright themselves.

Planting 55 pineapple plants didn’t take me to long. In the field behind us they plant from sun up to sun down. They’ve been at it a week now! Ouch!

The Nutritional Benefits of a Pineapple

One of the main reasons we grow our own food is that it not only tastes better picked fresh directly from the garden but we can also guarantee it to be pesticide free. I’ve heard and can now confirm commercial growers use three or more carcinogenic pesticides on their crops. We don’t want our food covered in poison thank you very much.

An organic homegrown pineapple is very nutritional and contains high amounts of vitamin C, manganese and fibre. All natural and all good. Perfect for smoothies, desserts and a healthy snack.

Additionally, we pick pineapples when they are ready to eat. Commercial growers pick pineapples before they’re ripe, which is why they end up lacking flavour. Eating fresh juicy pineapples is awesome!

So if you want a taste of the tropics from a set and forget plant, pineapples are the way to go… or are they?

Varieties of Pineapple

Did you know there are over 100 varieties of pineapples, categorised into four main types:

Smooth Cayenne: This is the most common variety and includes the popular “Hawaiian” pineapples. They have a high sugar and acid content, making them very flavourful. The fruit is large, with smooth, spineless leaves.
Red Spanish: Known for their resistance to disease, these pineapples have a slightly more fibrous texture. They are often grown in the Caribbean and have a reddish skin.
Queen: Smaller and sweeter than the Smooth Cayenne, Queen pineapples are less fibrous and have a more delicate flavour. They are commonly found in South Africa and Australia.
Abacaxi (Pernambuco): These pineapples are known for their exceptionally sweet and juicy flesh. They are often grown in Brazil and other parts of South America.

Each type has its own unique characteristics and growing conditions, contributing to the diversity of pineapple varieties available worldwide.

Where to Buy Pineapple Plants and Shoots Online

We have a limited number of rare and ornamental pineapple plants for sale exclusively in our Etsy shop.

For Red Variegated Pineapple culls click here.
For Dwarf Pineapple Plants click here.
For Green Pineapple Shoots click here.

Does a Pineapples Grow on Trees?

If you look at the above photo you can clearly see pineapples grow on trees. However, don’t let your eyes fool you. OpenAi’s Dall-e2 created this ‘fake’ AI image . I can categorically say that pineapples do not grow on trees. I’ve tried and failed many times.