By Lisa Chmelecki,Staff Writer

POLAND – Luvon Nash has never thrown away the tops of her pineapples.

Ever since she was a little girl, she stuck the bunch of spiky leaves in a glass of water and watched for roots.

She changed the water every week for months before eventually giving up.

“I never thought I’d actually grow one,” she said.

Then she got a pineapple straight from Hawaii. Her sister-in-law went there on a vacation in 1997 and brought one back as a gift.

The fruit was fresh and sweet; the leaves, long and green.

In the water, the top went.

Nash kept the glass by the window with her other plants. She changed the water every week. Months went by. She had no expectations.

Taking root

Then one day, while making the rounds with her watering can, Nash spotted roots sprouting from the leaves. She waited for just the right time to transport them to a 6-inch pot.

Nash’s house on Tripp Lake Road in Poland has plants in every room. Her mother taught her how to take care of them when she was a child.

She also taught her how to grow her own fruit and vegetables: tomatoes, onions, corn, green beans, beets, the usual.

If nothing else, Nash figured, the pineapple leaves would make a nice addition to her house plants.

For years, that’s all it was. But Nash was determined.

She knew if any pineapple would take, it’d be the one from Hawaii. She started soliciting tips.

Two sources – a fellow gardener and a trusted Web site – suggested putting apple slices in and around the leaves.

Last October, nearly seven years after Nash got the pineapple from her sister-in-law, she cut up an apple and stuck slices in between the leaves and around the dirt.

“I waited and waited and waited,” she said.

Pretty incredible’

The apple slices were brown and shriveled when Nash decided to remove them in January. As she reached in to grab the one in the center, she saw it: a baby pineapple, the size of a half-dollar.

She could do nothing but stare.

“You think of pineapples in Hawaii, pineapples in Florida, not in Maine and definitely not in January,” Nash said.

Local plant experts agreed.

When told about Nash’s pineapple, Andrea Weymouth, an employee of Provencher Landscape Nursery, asked, “Do you know if she has a greenhouse?”

Nope. No greenhouse. Just a sunny spot in front of a window during the winter and her deck during the summer.

“That’s pretty incredible,” Weymouth said. “I’ve never heard of anyone growing a pineapple around here. Most people don’t have enough sun or warmth in their house.”

Nash watched the pineapple grow from the size of a lemon to the size of … well, a pineapple. It eventually got so heavy that it tilted to its side.

Last week, it broke off.

The pineapple is now sitting on her kitchen counter. Nash squeezes it every day, waiting for the right time to slice it open.

“Even if it’s tart, I’m eating it,” she said.

Now, if only apple slices would work on those avocado trees in her backyard.

Copy the Story Link