Sometimes our cannabis plants turn a magnificent purple color—this distinctive color does not mean that purple cannabis has higher medicinal value than commonly used cannabis, but it most definitely looks great! Why does weed turn purple? What if you want to grow purple cannabis? Want to learn? Follow along in this article.
Why Does Weed Turn Purple?
The most direct cause of marijuana turning purple is the presence of natural pigments such as anthocyanins. Not only found in cannabis plants, anthocyanins are also found in many other plants, which make blueberries blue and some grapes red. But it is not only that marijuana containing anthocyanins will grow purple; the color of marijuana is also closely related to light, temperature, and pH levels.
That said, if the variety you’re growing isn’t genetically high in anthocyanin the plant simply won’t be able to display colorations—so whether your marijuana turns purple or not depends on a combination of genetics and the external environment. A necessary condition for turning cannabis purple is to lower the temperature. The cold breaks down plant chlorophyll, helping reveal those hidden brilliant colors.
Facts About Purple Strains
Here are a few strains with high anthocyanin content, see if there are any commonalities:
Purple Trainwreck
Purple Kush
Blueberry Kush
Blackberry
Granddaddy Purple
Purple Haze
So are the purple strains “better?”
Most purple strains tend to have lower THC levels. Purple marijuana is usually difficult to get through stress training, which means that if you buy purple marijuana at dispensaries, they are basically marijuana strains with the purple gene, which usually implies low THC levels.
While you can deliberately grow purple strains that are high in THC, it requires a lot of unconventional effort but it is possible and growers and producers can do it but it is relatively uncommon.
How to Grow Purple Cannabis?
Here are a few facts about growing purple cannabis:
1. Cold conditions are good for growing purple cannabis: As we mentioned at the beginning, cold environments promote the breakdown of chlorophyll, which brings out the beautiful purple color of the plant. But an environment that is too cold could freeze your plants to death so you need to be extra careful.
The best time to set a cold environment for your plants is when your plants are about to be harvested. Before that, your plants will need to work harder to grow more buds (meaning they will be under higher stress) and need the right temperature to maintain a stable growing environment. When you are about to harvest, your plants are basically mature, and affecting their health isn’t as easy to do as when they are younger.
So when is the best time to cool you’re your environment? During the dark/night cycle of your grow, gradually reduce the temperature of your grow room, preferably maintaining it at 50°F or 10°C, but don’t decrease the temperature so fast that it could hurt your plants.
2. Your pH levels affect how purple your cannabis becomes: So we already know that the key factor that determines the purple color of cannabis lies in the anthocyanins. Anthocyanins exposed to different pH levels appear in different colors. As the pH changes from low to high, the color of anthocyanins changes from red to blue-violet. So you need to keep your growing medium at a moderate pH to encourage purple coloration.
A Few MYTHS About Growing Purple Cannabis:
1. Freezing can turn cannabis purple: Strains containing the purple gene can indeed turn purple in cold temperatures. But having the purple gene and the right cold environment is essential. A strain without the purple gene won’t ever turn purple even if you freeze it to death. Even with strains with the purple gene, you can’t treat your plants with quick freezing or ice-cold cooling. This will lower your plant’s THC levels and even freeze it to death.
2. Stressing your cannabis turns purple: We are used to putting plants under pressure to get the results we want. There’s always been a popular saying that not providing your plants with enough nutrients (especially potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen, which are most needed for cannabis growth) can cause them to turn purple. I don’t know where this saying came from, but it’s very widespread. In fact, this does nothing but make your plants starve and die.
3. Dyeing turns cannabis purple: It’s not exactly a planting method, it simply turns your plant’s exterior purple. If you’re really obsessed with color, you might as well go straight to growing purple strains rather than dyeing. If you’re trying to sell marijuana pretending to be purple in this way, be moral, don’t do it. Dyeing marijuana doesn’t make sense from any point of view.
Wrap-up What Makes Weed Plants Turn Purple
Purple marijuana isn’t actually a mystery, it’s just a type of marijuana! Since purple cannabis usually has low THC levels, planting is not recommended unless you are particularly fond of purple and are looking for a gentle high. Of course, it is up to you whether to grow varieties of purple cannabis or not. After all, growing makes us happy so ultimately it doesn’t matter what kind of plant you grow! It is all worth it.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
And be sure to check out our other blog posts for useful tips on becoming a great grower!
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