Did i trim too much of my pineapple plant?

Question

While my pineapple plant was outside it grew long, wide leaves. When I brought it inside I had to trim the leaves or it would not have fit. That was probably in October and now it is January. The root ball seems to be getting weak when I jiggle the plant. Should I try repotting the plant in new soil? Or did I trim off too much. I am in Minnesota. I started the plant from a store bought pineapple top and planted it about three years ago. I never had to trim the leaves as it wasn't as big and the house I was in had plenty of room. See photo. Thank you for any input

Answer 1

Pineapple is a curious plant from the point of view of a temperate climate location. As an epiphyte it relies on air humidity and collected water in leaf axils for drinking rather than the roots which are mainly for anchoring against wind and other bumps. In your location indoor air is much drier, usually, than outside air, particularly in winter. So likely the pineapple is losing water faster than it can replace it from air humidity. This results in the plant deflating and appearing wobbly in the pot. When you trimmed the leaves you helped a little by reducing the area of leaf.

Corrective action would be to increase air humidity surrounding the plant if you can, and when you water be more concerned about getting moisture into the pockets formed where the leaf joins the centre of the plant. Watering from the bottom in the root area is not so helpful and might encourage disease. The plant is more likely to survive the winter indoors if on the dry side than wet.