ALASKAN TROPIC

WASILLA — It takes a lot to turn the head of a serious green thumb in Alaska.

Have 50-pound cabbage? That’s for amateurs. A 20-pound kohlrabi? Just a good start for some of the Valley’s giant vegetable growers.

The 14-inch ripening pineapple growing in Mary Kay and Maynard Shively’s living room is enough to make even a hardened veteran Valley grower do a double take.

“That’s cool,” said Doug Jacobson, owner of Jacobson’s Greenhouse and Nursery in Wasilla. After controlling his chuckling, he said that when the fruit is harvested, “I’d like to get a sample.”

Because pineapples take so long to grow — the Shivelys’ was planted in November 2005 — and take up so much room — it stands 6 feet tall and is 6 feet wide — Jacobson said he doesn’t grow the traditionally tropical treat.

“No, we don’t grow those, but I can see where you could,” he said. “As long as it has the right temperature and moisture — and you have enough room.”

Alaska may not be the first place one would look to find a pineapple on its plant, but that never stopped Mary Kay Shively from trying to cultivate what she calls an aggressive “brown thumb.” She’s tried to cultivate avocados and grapefruit before, and when Avril Johannes returned from a Hawaii vacation with a pineapple, she planted the top of the fruit.

“It was just kind-of a fluke,” Mary Kay Shively said. “I planted grapefruit seeds and avocados and dumb stuff like that. So, I thought why not pineapples? I went online to find directions on how to do it.”

A little more than four years later, it’s a miracle the plant not only survived, but thrived enough to develop a fruit, she said.

“It just kept growing and growing and growing,” she said. “Unless people have a lot of space, they shouldn’t plan on planting a lot of pineapples.”

Although usually grown in warmer, more humid climates, the atmosphere in the Shively home seems just right, Mary Kay said.

“We really had to do nothing,” she said. “I’m a brown-thumb gardener. We don’t change anything. I watered it when I thought about it — every two to three weeks, when I got around to it.”

Maynard Shively has also had fun watching the pineapple mature, but says his wife really deserves the credit for growing it.

“I’m more into swamp buggies and boats and stuff myself,” he said. “It’s kind of fun. I’m happy to see it all good and healthy. It’s trying to take over the living room.

Since planting her first one, Mary Kay has planted others and gives them away if they start growing. But the excitement started building this past June when her first plant began showing signs of developing a fruit.

“That was just this past summer,” she said. “We were pretty excited, because you could see this little sprout coming out. It’s been a really slow-growing thing, but from what I understand, that’s what it’s like.”

Along with taking up a large space in the couple’s home, the pineapple has become an entertaining curiosity.

“It’s fun, and it’s a conversation piece when people come over,” Mary Kay said.

When the first fruit is finally harvested in about a month, the Shivelys plan on eating it plain right off the plant. Mary Kay blanches at other preparation suggestions, like floating its pieces in lime Jell-O.

“What a desecration that would be,” she said. “We’re just going to cut it up and eat it on a plate, not mix it with anything, just straight.”

And after it’s eaten?

“Then I’m going to take that top and see if it’ll start too,” she said.”

Although not as exciting as a swamp buggy, that would be fine with Maynard.

“Oh yeah, she’ll do it again,” he said. “Every time she gets a pineapple she plants the top. But that’s OK. I like pineapples.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.

GROW IT YOURSELF

Want to try your hand at growing a pineapple in your home? The folks at eHow.com have some simple step-by-step instructions.

1. Examine the crown of the pineapple. Its pointy leaves should be healthy and green.

2. Lay the pineapple sideways on a cutting board. Cut off the crown of the pineapple and carefully trim away any excess flesh. You should cut close enough to the crown to see the small dots that indicate root buds. These will become the roots of the pineapple plant you grow.

3. Remove any leaves around the base of the crown. These can rot when you plant the crown and you want a bare stem around the base of the crown.

4. Turn the cut crown upside-down and let it dry for one week. The cut end of the crown should be hard by the end of this time.

5. Put the dried crown in a container of water and set the container in a place where there are few temperature fluctuations.

6. Change the water in the container every few days.

7. Check the crown for slight root growth after three weeks.

8. Fill the bottom of a pot with small stones.

9. Add potting soil to the halfway point.

10. Remove the crown from the water and set it on the soil in the pot.

11. Add more soil to fill the pot, tapping it down firmly around the crown.

12. Fertilize and water the soil just after planting.

13. Put the pot in a sunny place and keep the soil moist, but not wet.

14. Look for new leaves within about six to eight weeks.

15. Water the pineapple plant every week.