How to Grow a Pineapple at Home in 8 Steps

Pineapples (Ananas comosus) are a type of bromeliad, a family of flowering plants that includes Spanish moss and desert-dwelling succulents. Pineapples are grown commercially in places with tropical climates, like South and Central America and Hawaii. You can grow a new pineapple plant at home from the ripe tropical fruit in grocery stores.

Growing pineapples at home is a fairly straightforward project that requires a few key tools and materials:

1. 1. A fresh pineapple: A ripe pineapple should be mostly yellow on its exterior, with a little bit of brown at the crown where its leaves are. A green pineapple isn’t ripe enough, while a dark golden yellow or orange may be overripe. Choose a pineapple with as much bright yellow skin as possible.
2. 2. A six or eight-inch pot: You will need a six or eight-inch potting container, preferably clay or terracotta, for your pineapple plant. (After a year, you may need to transfer your growing pineapple to a bigger planter.)
3. 3. A sharp knife: You can twist off the pineapple top, but use a sharp knife to trim the edge of the stalk and remove any excess fruit before planting.
4. 4. A glass jar: Use a mason jar for the initial phase of rooting, which occurs in water.
5. 5. Potting soil: Organic potting mix for succulents or cacti is a good choice, as is any soil with a combination of sand, peat, and perlite.

Propagation of a pineapple plant from a store-bought piece of fruit is accomplished in stages. Follow these steps to grow a pineapple:

1. 1. Remove the crown of your pineapple. Grasp the leaves at the top of the pineapple and twist to remove the crown or the stem. It can help to wear a gardening glove since pineapple leaves can be pointy.
2. 2. Trim the excess fruit flesh. After removing the crown, use a sharp paring knife to trim away excess fruit flesh, the bottom leaves, and suckers—the small growths between the leaves.
3. 3. Trim the bottom of the stem. Then, trim the bottom of the stem by making small slices. Look for the root primordia, which will appear as a ring of tiny brown dots. This is where the roots of the pineapple plant will emerge.
4. 4. Dry the stalk. Drying the stalk can take a couple of days, depending on the humidity. Place the stalk in a warm, sunny area with good air circulation. This will allow any excess moisture—which can cause rot—to evaporate away.
5. 5. Place the crown in a glass jar. Fill a jar with warm water and place the crown of the pineapple inside, submerging the bottom of the stem. The leaves should prevent it from sinking down into the jar. (This is an optional step for root growth—some growers skip this and plant the pineapple crown directly in the soil.)
6. 6. Change the water every few days. After about a week, you should notice small root sprouts emerging from the bottom of the stalk. Once these roots reach three inches or so in length—this might take a few months—it’s time to pot your pineapple. It’s okay if the lower leaves start to turn brown; as long as some of the leaves remain green, your pineapple is doing okay.
7. 7. Place the pineapple in your prepared pot. Cover the bottom of the pot with some soil, then place your pineapple in the pot. Fill soil around the plant so the pineapple crown is sticking out of the top. Place the plant in indirect light for the initial few weeks and water the plant when the soil is dry. Eventually, you’ll see some new leaves growing in the center of the plant.
8. 8. Move your plant into full sun. Once the plant is fully rooted and showing good health with new, green leaves growing, you can move it in a place to receive full sun. Keep the soil moist, but avoid overwatering.

Growing pineapples can be an exciting home gardening and culinary project, but requires a significant time commitment. The initial stages, from fresh-bought fruit to rooting a new plant, take several weeks. Then, once in the soil, your pineapple will produce fruit anywhere from just under a year (in ideal conditions) to three years. Maturing takes time, and before fruiting and flowering occur, you will probably need to move the plant to a bigger pot a few times.

The climate where you live can affect the growth of your pineapple. Pineapples are tropical plants and do not thrive in cold weather. In colder climates, they need to be brought indoors during the winter months. Freezing temperatures can kill pineapples. If you live in a warm, humid place, you can leave your pineapple plants outside year-round.

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