Growing pineapples in North Florida can be done! It can! Check this out:
Gardeners from non-freezing climates don’t know how good they have it. Everything cool grows there, including pineapples. I used to cut the tops off and plant them here and there around my landscaping. Here in North Florida it’s not that easy, though.
You’ll do great until a good frost hits… then your pineapple plants melt.
There was an Ocala farmer named Adam Eichelberger who launched a commercial pineapple venture over a century ago, as recorded by local historian David Cook:
“After the war [of Northern Aggression], Adam returned to Ocala to try to regain his fortune. It was a difficult time for everyone, but he found a solution in what he now called his Banana Hill Nursery. He would sell trees and plants to others, and also would sell planted orange groves.
He also took a gamble in growing pineapple plants and was wildly successful until the first time the winter temperature fell below freezing. At one time in the 1870s, the Banner said he had shipped more than 500 barrels of pineapples north aboard the Ocklawaha River steamboats. Expectations were high – but soon dashed.”
The cold is insurmountable here. You may do good for a few years… the BAM! Your pineapples are dead.
Fortunately, pineapples are easy to grow in pots. The pictures in this post are of one of the many pineapple plants I inherited when my Grandfather died. I took them up here, potted some and planted others up against the south wall of my house. I now have at least five blooming, both in pots and against the wall… and the frosts have only claimed a few test starts I put out in the yard.
If you haven’t ever tried a fresh pineapple, you’re in for a treat. Grow a few – you won’t regret it. They have shallow root systems and thrive with very little care. Just don’t keep them wet or they’ll rot.
Here’s one more shot of the bloom:
Why grow other bromeliads when you can grow pineapples? They’re attractive and edible. The down side is that they take a couple years to produce from a top or a slip… but the up side is that you can start them any time you want, put them aside, start more, put them aside… and eventually, you’ll have tons of pineapples. Just do it in between taking care of your faster-producing plants and you’ll get there.
For more on growing pineapples outside their native range, check out this post.
9 responses to “Growing pineapples in North Florida”
When I lived in South Florida I did the same thing – and there's nothing quite as tasty as those little home grown pineapples (mine were always small, but delicious).
I think maybe it's time to try them again – in pots, here in central FL.
Very cool. If you grow them from pineapple tops, they'll make smaller fruit – but if you can manage to get some "slips," which are the side shoots on the plants, you can get larger fruit. All mine are from tops at this point, since those are a lot easier to find.
And yeah… the taste is far beyond what you can buy in the store. Totally worth growing.
One of my pineapple plants grown from a store bought top has produced a spike out of the center of the plant. It’s cone shaped, and about 18 inches long. I have never seen anything like this. What the check is going on? Mark.
Send me a photo: d a v i d @ f l o r i d a f o o d f o r e s t s . c o m.
David,
I live in Citra just North of Ocala, I have a great piece of property with some great fully established trees and a bunch of young trees in their first or second season. I’m a retired Paratrooper and I need a little help. I’d love to put in a food forest and start a bunch of old edibles, greenhouse and aquaponics system but reading and YouTube just isn’t giving me what I need. You see I was injured in Iraq and I think a standard garden may be a bit more than I can do. I will be adding Mose raised beds, planters and compost this year. The first couple of years on the property I really wanted the fruit trees in. I’d like to speak with you if you can spare the time. I have joined your newsletter and I follow and read your page. I be interested in inviting you to my home to see what I have done so far. If you can’t get up this way, I’ll pick your brain for as much info as I can get. I’m very interested in medicinal herbs and plants, and anything I can grow here to eat.
Thanks,
Tom
I just sent you an email, Tom – thank you for stopping by.
Just moved by Dunnellon FL from IL…. trying to embrace the huge change in growing things down here…l am a die hard gardner since 10 yrs old…boy am l out of my element! Great article was very helpful to me!
You are very welcome. I have a ton of Florida gardening info on this site. Much like you, I started young – except I gardened in South Florida for a lot of my life.
My first attempt in growing pineapples has been quite interesting. After 2 years of potting tops, I have 3 pineapples growing….2 that rival the size of store bought and one, much smaller. The smaller one has a nice top growing on it, but the larger ones are naked on the top. Do any pineapples grow without a top? Or are they simply not mature enough? I am 30 miles south of Jacksonville. We did not get a freeze this past winter. Also, should I be concerned about critters getting the fruit when they ripen?