Red pineapple (Ananas bracteatus) Gardening
Red pineapple (Ananas bracteatus) is a terrestrial bromeliad species in the family Bromeliaceae, native to Brazil. It is related to the pineapple and is commonly grown as ornamental plant for its red fruit. Ananas bracteatus var. striatus is the most popular and commonly grown cultivar.
Red pineapple is an evergreen erect plant growing up to 1 meter tall, with a spread of 1-1.3 m. It has long, spiny green leaves with wide white margin along the edges of the leaf. Stalk bearing pink bracts and blue flowers rises from the center of the plant. In bright light or under the sun, the plant has a pink tint. It becomes scarlet once the fruit starts to develop. The red fruit is edible, although the fruit is not well developed as the pineapple (Ananas comosus).
Red pineapple plant prefers warm growing conditions, high humidity and bright direct sunlight. The sunnier the position, the leaf color will be stronger as compared to planting it in shade.
Red pineapple is propagated vegetatively by suckers from between the leaves, slips from the stalk below the fruit, ratoons from the underground stem, or crown at the top of the fruit. The plant needs to be divided every few years to avoid becoming a colony. Pests are mealy bugs, scales and mites.
Red pineapple (Ananas bracteatus)
Author: Conrado (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)
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