How to Remove a Pineapple Without Killing the Plant

The pineapple (Ananas comosus) plant will give and keep on giving, at least for several years. When the first pineapple ripens, you can harvest it without killing the plant. Over the next months, several more smaller pineapples will develop. Pineapple plants grow year round in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10 through 12. Outside the growing zone, you can keep pineapple plants indoors as exotic-looking houseplants that produce fruit.

Pineapple plants grow in a rosette pattern of long sword-shaped leaves reaching a height and spread of 3 to 4 feet. The pineapple grows from a stalk at the center of the leaves. Expect to wait a year and a half to two years for a pineapple plant to flower. Once it flowers, it will take another six months until the first fruit is ripe enough to harvest. You will get one large pineapple from each plant.

Harvest the pineapple when it ripens. Smell the skin; it should start to emit a sweet pineapple scent. Hold the pineapple fruit firmly and cut it from the plant. Make a clean cut at the base of the pineapple, using a sharp knife or a pair of garden shears. Lift off the pineapple and set it aside. It's a good idea to wear gloves when handling a pineapple plant to protect your hands from the thorny leaves.

After the first large fruit develops, pineapple plants produce several more fruit. The additional pineapples are smaller than the first fruit, often half the size, but taste just as sweet as the main crop. This follow-up crop, called a ratoon crop, can takes another year to develop and can continue for two to three years. Harvest the ratoon crop by cutting the pineapple at the base of the fruit when it is ripe. Just don't expect them to get full size.

Eventually a pineapple plant will stop producing and die back, but you can propagate your existing plant by rooting the crown from each pineapple. When you harvest the first large pineapple, grasp the leaves with one hand and the fruit body with the other. Give the top a sharp twist to remove. This will remove the leaves and a section of the core. You can replant the top section in an 8-inch diameter or larger pot with good drainage holes and filled with a soilless potting mix. The pineapple top will develop roots and eventually produce a new pineapple plant.