The Pineapple: A Symbol of the Tropics

Today I would like to write about the Pineapple, which has been a symbol of the tropics for centuries, maybe longer.
Above img. credit

Larger of our two pineapples

Smaller of our two pineapples

You either love it or hate it - although I haven't met many people who hated the pineapple. I have heard that the pineapples in the store will never taste as good as a pineapple you grow yourself. This is most likely because when you grow something yourself, you are able to let it fully ripen and pick it and eat it that very day. With commercial growers, they have to pick things green and then either chemically or otherwise have them ripen up afterwards, so the fruit never reaches its peak ripeness - so it often lacks in flavor.

Here is some information I found on Wikipedia regarding the pineapple. It's origins, cultivars, nutrition, etc.

Here is some information taken from Charles R. Boning's Florida's Best Fruiting Plants:

The pineapple fruits from July to October, much like most tropical fruits seem to do

As we can see by the photo of the map of where pineapple grows best in Florida, the whole southern part of the state, from Orlando and Tampa down to the Keys can enjoy growing pineapple. I wouldn't be surprised if the whole state could grow it, but maybe northern parts of Florida would have to either put it in a greenhouse or bring the plant inside over the winter, something that wouldn't be hard to do.

Pineapples can be propagated by cutting off the green top of an existing pineapple and planting it. This is how I've propagated my one pineapple that I have. The other one was given to me by a friend of mine.

Hope you enjoyed learning more about the pineapple!