Pineapples are being grown in the Gulf of Morbihan! Thanks to the mild winter, 150 plants of the Candida variety are reaching maturity.
When the ''magician gardener'' Erven Gicquel at Tropical Parc brought ten or so pineapple plants back from his holiday in the Réunion he did not expect such a successful result.
Grown in greenhouses over the winter, the 150 plants were taken outside in April, ''the more the temperatures increased, the more they grew. Winter was hot, the pineapples are bigger this year''. They are about 8cm wide and 10-12cm in height and weigh between 500-800g. The harvest is expected between July and August but will not be sold, they will be kept for the parks visitors.
To grow pineapples it is important to keep them in greenhouses between November and April and then plant them in the ground for the summer. Pinapples like a light, well drained soil, preferably acidic. Pineapples will survive even in a poor, dry, gravelly soil. They need little watering and need to be dry in the daytime so must never be watered in the evening. Pineapples like morning sun, but the afternoon sun's UV rays burn them.