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Getting a pineapple to bear fruit is harder than growing one. Once your plant is approximately 25-30 inches tall it will flower and produce fruit on its own. But how many people have the space for a 30 inch plus spiky plant? It will take at least two years to grow a plant of that size in a temperate climate.
Luckily, there is a way to force your plant to flower and bear fruit when it is half that size.
Wait until the winter season when the days are shorter and the nights cooler. Pineapple plants normally begin to produce fruit during this time. Place the entire plant, including the pot, into a plastic bag with some ripe apples. As apples rot, they emit Ethylene gas which tricks the plant into forming a flower instead of producing new leaves. Keep the plant in the bag with the apples for approximately 2 weeks or so. Place the plant back in a sunny window and wait for a flower spike to form in the center of the plant.
After several months the flower will dry out and the pineapple will form at the top end of the stem. Wait until the fruit turns a golden yellow colour before picking. After harvesting the fruit you may notice new shoots left on the plant. These can be removed and planted in the same method as the original mother plant. You can also grow another plant from the crown of the harvested fruit, leaving you with several, new, free plants.
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