Cannabis growing is gaining popularity in many parts of the world. This is because unlike in the past, more states now legalise the use and growing of weed mainly because of the realisation that besides the high, cannabis also comes with medical benefits. CANNABIS growers grow the crop either for their own use or as a source of income.
Whichever the reason, growing weed is both adventurous and challenging. growing the crop is also a great learning experience for weed lovers because they get to learn about different things such as the best STRAINS, the things you can create with cannabis after harvest, the benefits of THC and CBD and much more. Another discovery that growers find is that cannabis does not only grow to have the usual green buds but it is possible to have buds baring other colours. The most interesting colours besides green are purple and pink.
Purple and pink colours are both catchy shades and more people are choosing to grow cannabis that produce buds with these colours in order to earn income from their crops. Because the sellers know the colours appeal to their buyers, they sell the purple and pink cannabis buds at higher prices than the usual green buds. Others just want to try something different from the norm and will therefore go with purple or pink all for fun.
For new growers that would love to go with the colour appeal, below is a guideline on HOW TO GROW PURPLE OR PINK CANNABIS BUDS.
Read More: OG Kush Marijuana Strain Review
Are purple or pink cannabis buds more potent than the green buds?
Before we go to the guidelines, there is probably one nagging question you may want answered first. The question is if the purple or pink cannabis buds are more potent than the green buds. The answer to this is a resounding no.
The reason why some people prefer the coloured buds is because they look more appealing to the eye but the taste, potency, and smell does not change. Choosing buds that are more colourful is just like choosing your favourite fruit from a range of different shades. Instead of choosing a plain colour, you will most likely choose one with a brighter colour.
Step by step guideline on how to grow purple or pink cannabis buds
Find out about the strains that produce purple or pink buds
Before you even think of anything else, the first step would be to find out what cannabis strains will give you purple or pink buds. The colourful buds do not just get to be that colour by accident and you cannot force the plants to have the colour you desire. The colour comes from the parent plant.
Purple or pink cannabis buds have a much higher content of anthocyanin as compared to green bud cannabis. Depending on the pH levels of the grow medium, the colours may also appear blue or red. Anthocyanin, which is mainly found in plants of all kinds, is a water-soluble pigment.
Once you have identified the strains genes that will give you the colourful buds, it is time to go to the next step. Some of the most popular strains high in anthocyanin are Blue Cheese, Northern Light Automatic, Blue Mystic, Haze Berry and Bluematic. The best purple hybrid strains are Purple Diesel, Purple Wave, Purple Trainwreck, Granddaddy Purple, Purple Kush, Purple Haze and Sour Grape among many others.
You Can Buy cannabis strains from Ilovegrowingmarijuana
SHOP ON I LOVE GROWING MARIJUANA
Choose the right seeds
Once you know the strain you want to buy, the next step is to buy the right seeds from a reputable seller. If you do not know anyone around your location that sells quality seeds, you can buy quality-feminized seeds from reputable seed banks such as QUEBEC SEED BANK or TRUE NORTH SEED BANK among others.
Create the right temperature for your crops
If you want those colourful pink or purple cannabis buds, you have to set the right temperatures for them. Ensure that the night temperatures are cooler than day temperatures especially during the flowering phase. Not every strain will react well to cooler night temperatures though so you must research well on which strains will withstand the levels you set.
To be on the safe side to cover all kinds of strains, set the temperatures at 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit at night and if you have to reduce, do not overdo it.
Set the correct lighting spectrum
Lighting is one of the major requirements for all cannabis strains. Levels vary from strain to strain and if you want your purple or pink buds to thrive, ensure that the plants receive direct light on the buds and leaves. Full light spectrum on the leaves and buds increases anthocyanin production rate in the tissues of the plants.
Doing this is hard for novices, as it requires enough practise and the use of the best-LED GROW LIGHTS. The belief is that an increase in light creates stress to the plants and in turn they react by producing more anthocyanin.
Best Led Grow lights Grow Cannabis:
Keep the pH levels at convenient levels
Marijuana expert growers will tell you that one of the best ways to bring out the colours of various strains out is by keeping pH levels at particular levels. The average pH ranges in soil are between 6.0 and 7.0 while the ranges in hydroponic grow mediums is 5.5 to 6.5. If you want to bring out the pink colours of the buds, keep the pH ranges lower than normal and if you want nicely coloured purple colours, keep the ranges neutral.
Monitor the growth stages well
One of the most interesting things about growing coloured cannabis is watching the changing of colours. You should monitor all the phases of growth well and help the crops attain their colour by ensuring that you limit the number of hours you expose them to light especially during the blooming phase. During this period, the leaves start to change their colour in a process called senescence.
The leaves experience a reduction in the production of chlorophyll due to the less light they receive. Eventually the leaves die and all the resources in the plant go into ripening the flowers and building potent and more quality buds.
Do other parts of the plant change colour?
The assumption when you are growing purple or pink cannabis is that only the buds look colourful. Contrary to this belief, other parts of the plant change colours too. The main parts that change colour are the Pistils, Calyxes, Leaves and Trichomes. This however does not hold with every strain and some pink or purple strains may not have colored pistils or leaves. Below is a look at how the following parts appear in coloured strains.
Pistils
Pistils tell a lot about a cannabis plant and even though majority of the growers prefer keeping the hairs in their natural colours, they could opt to turn their colours too if they so wish. Colourful pistils are rare but when they turn to another colour, it does not mean that they are less potent. Turning pink or purple just makes them look more attractive to the eye. Change in pistil colour also depends on their phenotypes.
Calyxes
Calyxes are responsible for bud formation. In fact buds are made up of hundreds of calyxes that pile up on top of one another to form a bud. By controlling the temperatures and lighting conditions, calyxes of coloured strains can turn into the required color besides the usual green. Let us just say that the colour of the buds is mostly provided by the calyxes. The larger number of colourful calyxes a plant has, the more vibrant the buds colour will be.
Leaves
In some strains, buds may remain green while the leaves turn to another colour. Leaves with a colour different from green make the plants look more attractive to the eye this however changes after harvest time because leaves are trimmed leaving the buds, which may turn to another colour or remain green. Keep temperatures in your GROW TENT low at night to help to change the colour of the leaves. Those that stay in the shade maintain the same green colour at all times.
Trichomes
The trichomes are the ones that determine when weed is ready for harvest. Clear trichomes are an indication that crops are not yet ready for harvest while a milky white colour is an indication that the plants are ready for harvest and have reached their best THC content. Besides milky white, mature trichomes also change to yellow or amber.
Very rarely do trichomes turn purple or pink. When they do, it becomes very confusing for the growers to know whether they are ready for harvesting or not. If this happens and you are not sure whether the purple or pink colour is an indication of maturity, use the pistil method to guide you. A change of colour in the pistils is usually an indication of maturity.
Are pink or purple strains more potent than normal colored strains?
There is belief that colored cannabis buds from certain strains have more potency than those with normal colours. This is however not true as colour has nothing to do with potency. Colour does not affect the quality of the smoke or high from the THC content in your weed. What the colored buds in retrospective with the normal colored buds are high levels of anthocyanin, which provide more antioxidants.
This helps in choosing the best strains to use for medical purposes as antioxidants have more painkilling and anti-inflammatory properties. There is also a great assumption from weed connoisseurs that purple strains have stronger effects than all other strains but the truths is purple plants produce less THC but are no less potent.
Should you judge weed by the colour of its buds?
Only smart and experienced cannabis growers can truly answer this question right. however to be sincere, there is definitive answer to this question because it goes both ways as yes and no. looking at the colour of the buds can sometimes tell you what the strain is but it may not tell you about the potency of the product. Some colours can differentiate between sativa and indica but when it comes to pointing out hybrid strains, it becomes harder to tell by just looking at the colours.
The best way to tell if a plant has potency in their buds is by checking out the crystals. An abundance of crystals is a clear indication that the buds have high potency. Darker coloured buds also have more potency than other colored buds though this is not a truly proven fact. In short, it is very challenging to figure out the potency of buds by using colours as your potency visual indicators.
When all is said and done, it all comes down to the parent strain. If you know about the qualities of the parent strain, then colour or not, you will automatically know if you are growing high or low potency weed. Colours may look amazing and beautiful to the eye but like the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover.
Wrapping it up
Beautifully coloured buds create a kind of lusty impression on many cannabis growers they are catchy to the eye and they add a certain beauty to your grow tent. While these colours may blow your mind away, it is good to learn how to bring the best of their potency out too as much as you do to the colours. Follow the given guidelines on temperature, light and oh control and you will not only have beautiful pink or purple buds, but you will also have potent weed to sell or enjoy smoking too.
What is even better is you can cash in more income by selling your coloured buds than you would sell ordinary looking buds. People will buy because they are unique. Keep in mind that the colour has no influence on the potency of your cannabis but is simply thrilling to see vibrant cannabis growing. It makes it more adventurous and fun to watch the colours change.
We hope this article explains everything you wanted to know about growing purple or pink cannabis buds. You can read more on cannabis growing and the best growing equipment, tools and mediums to use in order to get the best out of your cannabis from our previous articles.
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