Before granulated sugar and sugar cubes became popular, sugar was formed into rounded ovals called sugarloafs for shipping and storage. The Sugarloaf Pineapple takes its name from those blocks of solid sugar due to the fruit’s similar size, shape, and amazing sweetness. Sugarloaf Pineapples are very easy to grow and can be planted in the ground in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 9 to 11, and in containers in Zones 4 to 11. The arching leaves and central core that make up the plant reach heights of three to five feet tall, and widths of up to five feet.
Two to three years is all the time it takes for a new Sugarloaf Pineapple Plant to grow and produce fruit. Sugarloaf Pineapple Plants like full sun, well drained soil, and require very little care and maintenance to produce their large, sweet, juicy, tropical fruit. The plants can survive temperatures down to 30ºF, and the harvested pineapples even have a soft core that is edible. The leaves have small spines on the edges, but the Sugarloaf Pineapple Plants are not at all considered heavily armed when compared to some other Pineapple varieties. Grow several of these tropical beauties in your edible garden and start harvesting your own gourmet Pineapples at home.
Growing fruit trees often requires large garden spaces, limb pruning, and pest management. This is not the case when growing Sugarloaf Pineapple Plants. The plants are quite small compared to fruit trees, but the pineapples they produce are large, delicious, and nutritious. Plant new Sugarloaf Pineapple Plants in full sun, well drained soil, and be sure the soil has some organic material for plant health. Adding peat moss and compost to the ground when planting is a good start. Water Sugarloaf Pineapple Plants by overhead sprinkling and avoid keeping the ground saturated for any length of time.
Fertilize Sugarloaf Pineapple Plants with time released 15-5-10 fertilizer three times per year. Apply time released fertilizer to your pineapples six inches out from the plant bases, then water in well. Do not over-fertilize Sugarloaf Pineapple Plants and do not add fresh fertilizer to plants that have blooms or fruit on them. You can add compost to the ground under and around your Sugarloaf Pineapple Plants at any time.
Pineapple Harvesting and Uses
Previously known as Super Sweet C, the Sugarloaf Pineapple has juicy, pale yellow to white flesh and a soft, edible core. The edible core means you get more tasty pineapple flesh for each fruit grown. Use gloves, long sleeves, and a sterilized, sharp knife to harvest pineapples. When the fruit’s outer rind has turned from deep green to mostly yellow on all sides, cut the pineapple stalk off at two inches below the bottom of the fruit. Leave the stalk on the plant to encourage a second bloom.
Replant the pineapple tops and grow even more delicious Sugarloaf Pineapples. Store peeled and cut Sugarloaf Pineapple in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Sugarloaf Pineapple can also be frozen or dried. The sweet flesh of Sugarloaf Pineapples is perfect for any dish that calls for pineapple. Of course it is also excellent when chilled and eaten fresh. When you taste the first bite of a home-grown fruit, you will know why they call this the Sugarloaf Pineapple.
Growing Zones
Advice
Sugarloaf Pineapple Plants will not only grow in containers, they will thrive. To grow Sugarloaf Pineapple Plants in pots, choose a sturdy pot from 3-gallons to 7-gallons with drain holes. Use two parts potting soil with perlite, and one part composted cow manure. Plant so that the plant’s rootball is at the soil surface. Leave about two inches of space at the top of the pot, cover the soil with mulch, and place the potted Sugarloaf Pineapple Plant in the sunniest location available.
Water potted Sugarloaf Pineapple Plants by spraying with a hose from several feet away. Do not continually saturate the potted soil. If the potted pineapples are outside, reduce watering when rainfall is heavy. Water potted plants in this way about once per week. After a potted Sugarloaf Pineapple Plant has made fruit, move the plant to a larger container. New plant sports can be potted into their own pots, or left to grow with the parent plant if the pot is large enough for the sports to grow upright.
FAQs
Does the Pineapple Plant die after it makes fruit?
A single Pineapple Plant can bloom and make fruit two or three times if the pineapple is harvested properly with sterile tools and the majority of the fruit stalk left undamaged and intact. Second and third blooms usually produce smaller, but still delicious pineapples.
When do Sugarloaf Pineapples ripen?
In Zones 9 to 11, Sugarloaf Pineapple Plants normally produce fruit that ripens in September.
How long does a Sugarloaf Pineapple take to grow fruit once it blooms?
Sugarloaf Pineapple Blooms will typically mature into full-grown, ripe pineapples about five months after the flower appears.
Is Sugarloaf Pineapple the same as Kona Pineapple?
The Sugarloaf Pineapple is sometimes called a White Sugarloaf Pineapple, or a White Kona Pineapple, depending on the growing region.
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