Red Pineapples for Florists

Clinton Scott and small group of investors acquired some of the very few Ananas bracteatus (wild Brazilian red pineapple) plants in NZ, had them tissue cultured and grew an initial 5000 plants at a remote nursery on the Karikari Peninsula in the Far North. They have now multiplied to about 50,000 plants, from which Clinton harvests flowers for sale at flower markets in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The long, dramatic pink/red flowers are used as centerpieces in flower arrangements. Rangiputa Plantations is believed to be the only commercial grower of red pineapple flowers in the world. Clinton believes there is scope for new growers of red pineapples for fruit, although his land is not suitable.

Clinton also makes wood-fired stoves and buildings from Darjit plaster, made from recycled materials.

Pineapples are members of the Bromeliad family and the Ananas genus is a very small group of about 10 varieties, including Ananas bracteatus (red) and Ananas Comosus (green) pineapples. There are now many commercial cultivars of green/yellow pineapples.

Cultivation of green pineapples was attempted on a commercial scale in New Zealand after World War Two in Northland but the climate is not suitable for ripening this tropical fruit. However red pineapples were imported from Brazil by Jury Bros of Waitara, Taranaki about 40 years ago.

These are more cold-tolerant, although the fruit can be randomly sweet or not.

Fruit also over ripens quickly on the plant and will not ripen any more once picked, so timing of harvesting and sale is critical.

Clinton Scott has been involved in horticulture for the past 15 years, and he saw some red pineapple plants growing in a Kerikeri nursery. He obtained a few plants and had them commercially tissue cultured for a parent stock of about 5000 plants, which were planted out at Rangiputa after a couple of years.

They are very prolific reproducers – growing pups, slips, suckers and rations (from the Spanish “to sprout”), all of which cause the original plant to clump and spread. After each section of the plant flowers, it dies but is replaced.

Clinton now believes he has close to 50,000 plants, but they are very hard to count.

They will grow in full sun or partial shade, and colours of the flowers vary a little from purple through to pink. Winter picked flowers have shorter stems.

Rangiputa has very poor soils, which means the pineapples are very hardy plants, not affected by drought, wind or even light frost. The plantation has dripper irrigation and the plants receive some liquid foliar fertilizer and some solid nitrophoska. But Clinton doesn’t spray and the only diseases or bugs of note are slaters, which can put holes in the flower stems.

After about two years a red pineapple plant develops a flower, which after about six months will turn into a fruit. The individual fruits of a flower (perhaps 200 to a stem) join together to form the pineapple, which is on the end of a stalk, and thus prone to damage or breaking.

Clinton induces whole rows of plants to flower with a weak solution of ethylene and cuts the flowers about three to four months later, before full fruit development or maturity. He boxes 50 and they sell for between $1 and $3 return to the grower, which makes red pineapples the most expensive flowers on the local market. They are 30-40cm in length and very hardy, not requiring water gel or any other hydrating. They will last up to two weeks in the box and perhaps one month in a vase.

Clinton has planted shelterbelts of Eucalyptus gomphocephala (gum trees) originating from Western Australia. They are very hardy and produce a timber which is twice as hard as jarrah, and should form extreme ground-durable posts. The trees can be coppiced for multiple leader formation. The shelter belts are now providing good protection for the pineapple plant rows.