Garden Detective

Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of one day visiting our 50th state. Ever since 1972, when I sat on the edge of my seat, three weeks in a row, watching The Brady Bunch's cliffhanging three-part episode -- the one where Greg finds an "ancient" tiki idol, which he believes is responsible for the string of unfortunate events that follow.

I finally made it to Hawaii this summer. I didn't nearly drown, nor did I have any run-ins with tarantulas or Vincent Price. I didn't see any ancient burial grounds like my Brady friends did, but I did get to visit some beautiful gardens. I wore a Plumeria lei, watched my kids surf in the Pacific and said things like "mahalo" and "aloha" whenever the opportunity arose. I attended a luau, took a ukulele lesson, ate Poi, sat on Kailua beach and hiked to the top of Diamond Head, the crater of an inactive volcano. I even learned how to propagate pineapple plants during a visit to the Dole Plantation in Waialua.

It's an unusual process. So simple. And fun for the kids, too.

To get started, cut the leafy crown off the top of an ordinary, store-bought pineapple, keeping the knife blade as close to the crown as possible. Slice off any remaining flesh until you see small dots circling the underside of the crown. Those are the root buds.

Allow it to dry at room temperature -- upside down -- for 7 days. You'll notice the cut end will become hard to the touch.

Strange as it sounds, all you have to do next is place the crown on top of a potful of soil. Twist it in a bit, but don't get any soil in the leaves. The crown and the leaves should stick out of the soil so that it appears you've buried an entire pineapple and left the top inch or so exposed with the leaves attached.

Dole experts recommend using a porous clay pot and lining it with an inch of gravel before filling with a mixture of 70% light soil and 30% compost.

Place in a sunny indoor spot, water every week and fertilize every four months with ordinary houseplant food. In 18-22 months, you'll be eating your own, Long Island house-grown pineapple.

At around 18 months, the plant should sprout a red cone.

Soon afterward, you'll be rewarded with rows of beautiful blue flowers -- the predecessors of fruit. Allow the fruit to remain on the plant for 6 months. When it's rich gold in color, it's time to feast. Your plant will be shot, but you'll have another crown to plant.

TIP: If a red cone doesn't sprout by month 20, Dole recommends coaxing it by placing the entire pot in a sealed plastic bag with a ripe apple and setting it in a dark spot for 3 days. The apple emits ethylene gas, which induces flower production. Remove the plant from the bag and place it back near the window. Look for the cone within 2 months.