The Grand Dame & her Little Prince - hanging out on Day 40.
Today is Day 40 in our adventure to grow our own pineapple. So far, it’s been glorious. The biggest surprise, besides how fast she’s growing, is the rows of gorgeous purple flowers. I never expected that. In fact, I had no idea it would bloom all around the pineapple. It’s really beautiful. Here’s a close-up of the flowers so you can see them in all their glory:
And now, here’s a photo of the pineapple I got for Mother’s Day. It came from the grocery store. In fact, it is the pineapple we used to create Spike – pineapple plant #2. Notice those golden pentagon shapes on the sides of the pineapple? See those little brown pointed tags sticking out of each pentagon? That’s where the purple blooms emerged and then died back. Who would have guessed?
The store-bought pineapple that birthed Spike.
How cool is that? I had NO idea that those little shaggy brown things on the side of a pineapple used to be gorgeous purple flowers. I’ve learned so much from our pineapple plant. I really have. And because of it, I have a much greater appreciation for every pineapple I see in the grocery store, and for the people who grow them. I wonder if they name their pineapples, too?
Here’s the gratuitous 3-panel shot so you can see how she’s doing. As you can see, the shoots are bulging from the base of the pineapple fruit. I keep expecting them to pop out onto stalks any day now. They’re fascinating. Since we’re hoping to get at least one more pineapple from this plant, we’ll have to cut at least one of the shoots off once they fully emerge. According to my trusted Hawaiian Ag website, I should be able to plant the shoots to create additional plants. Then we’ll have a full-fledged pineapple farm (of 3-4 plants). Okay, it will be more like a pineapple “patch” but I’m okay with that. Overall, things are progressing beautifully. Maybe I’m just a proud pineapple mommy, but I think my baby is turning into one gorgeous little lady. “Who’s a pretty girl?”
To see them up close, click on the photo. To return, just hit your “back” arrow.
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