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I'm having a baby pineapple plant - it has been growing pretty well.

At this point the pineapple seems to become too heavy, the plant is leaning towards a side and the stick on which it is attached feels a bit softer than usual. Not in an extreme matter though.

enter image description here

I'm unsure what to do with it? Is the pineapple ripe for harvesting and should I just cut it off? How do I see that he is ready? Should I then use the top of the baby to get a new plant?

What to do with the old plant? Remove the stick? There are also smaller baby plants (without a stick) growing on the side of the mother plant. Should I just pull these out and put them in a separate pot?

Thanks in advance.

I attach another image to get a clearer view of the pineapple itself: enter image description here

DJanssens
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The fruit will signal that it is ripe by turning a good yellow colour and filling the room with a sweet pineapple odour. At that time it is perfect for cutting.

When you cut, examine the top of the fruit for slips - shoots that may appear in the top foliage. If present, tease one or more off carefully with its base intact and sit it in potting compost where it will form roots and a new plant. Also check the base of the plant for suckers which will appear, perhaps after cutting the fruit. After producing the suckers the parent plant will die. Wait for the suckers to attain a size convenient for carefully detaching and planting as for slips. This is how the pineapple makes more plants, through slips and suckers. You just have to root them and bring them on as new pineapple plants. If pulled at the right time they should root readily enough.

Colin Beckingham
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  • The pineapple on my picture still shows some green color, it also doesn't smell sweet yet. The stick where it is standing on is however bending as you can see. Should I just wait longer? Maybe support the pineapple with some bamboo stick? – DJanssens Sep 14 '18 at 13:49
  • Wait a bit longer, it will turn darker yellow and give off a good scent. Support if you like, but now that it is turning colour it is unlikely to get any heavier. – Colin Beckingham Sep 14 '18 at 14:56