More things that bloom

Pineapple update time! And yes, they do bloom too!

It makes sense. When you cut the outside off of a pineapple from the store you sometimes find the little black or brown seeds just below the surface of the fruit. 

I never knew pineapple flowers were purple! Its neat to see the progression of the flowers emerging from the bottom to the top of the fruiting structure. And also how the fruit is now obviously different from the leaves on top.

So now the question is, how long until they are ready to pick?

Pineapples!

I've been trying to grow pineapples for the last few years. I'm good at growing the plants, but have not been able to get them to fruit. I even had several produce pups and then die, so some of my plants are actually second generation.

All that changed a few weeks ago. I had to move one of the potted pineapples and noticed this in the center.

I'm kind of surprised. The pineapples have been indoors since Christmas, not getting much light or water. Everything I've read said they need direct sun and heavy fertilization to fruit. These have been in pots for over two years.

A few days ago the weather was finally warm and stable enough that all four pineapple pots got moved out to the front porch.

Even the "little" plants (the bottom two pictures) have the beginnings of an inflorescense.

I have no idea what will happen from here. Good thing I have a blog to report the progress.