How to Grow Purple Marijuana: Full Guide

Creating purple marijuana plants is a Holy Grail for some cannabis growers. The main reason for this is that it looks fantastic. Demonstrating your ability to create purple marijuana plants also helps you demonstrate your growth potential. Don’t assume that the purple plants you produce are “better” than ordinary “green” cannabis, though.

The widespread misunderstanding is that purple marijuana is more powerful. In reality, it all depends on the variety.

Granddaddy Purple is a renowned cannabis strain that is highly powerful. Its potency, like that of a plant’s color, is determined by genetics. Some purple marijuana has a high THC content, while other strains have an average THC level.

In this article, we’ll give you a short tutorial on how to cultivate purple cannabis. This includes the proper and incorrect approaches to take. Let’s start with the elements that influence a marijuana strain’s color first.

What Causes a Cannabis Strain to Turn a Certain Green or Purple?

The majority of cannabis plants are green, as you can see. Cannabis, like many other plants, employs chlorophyll to convert light into energy and use it to grow. It so happens that plants lack a use for the green wavelength of light spectrum. Because it absorbs all hues except green, chlorophyll appears to be green. This is why almost all plant life is green.

However, plants employ a variety of other pigments to convert sunlight into energy. Anthocyanins, for example, which absorb all wavelengths except those in the Indigo spectrum. This is responsible for giving plants a purple tint. As a result, instead of chlorophyll, purple plants contain anthocyanins as their major pigment.

What Parts of the Cannabis Plant Change Color?

Here are the four main parts that offer colors apart from green:

• Leaves: The color of your plant’s fan and sugar leaves may change, although this will not have a significant impact on the bud’s color. When purple pre-harvest, it is perhaps the leaves that offer the most stunning visual appeal.
• Pistils: Female plants have thicker and longer hairs that protrude from their buds to let you know it’s female. They begin as white in color, before changing to brown, red, or orange over time. They might, however, turn purple or pink at times. The hue of these hairs persists when your cannabis has been harvested, cured, and dried!
• Calyxes: Your buds are made up of numerous small pods. The cannabis flower is made up of hundreds of calyxes stacked on top of one another.
• Trichomes: When buds are very young, they’re coated with glistening white trichomes. The trichomes may be amber as harvest approaches and passes. You can, however, make them purple.

3 Steps to Growing Purple Cannabis

There are a few things you may do to make your marijuana’s purple hues brighter. However, without the proper genes, you will not be able to succeed.

Choose Purple Genetics

The final color of a strain is almost completely determined by its genetics. You’re wasting your time if you choose cannabis that doesn’t tend to turn purple. THC and CBD content, as well as taste, are also influenced by genetics. Here are a few excellent choices:

• Granddaddy Purple
• Purple Queen
• Frisian Dew
• Purple Trainwreck
• Smooth Smoke

Also, choose a strain that has as many of the plant’s components as possible are colorful. The ideal plant would have pistils and calyxes that are purple in color.

Look for purples that are as vivid as possible after drying and curing. These strongly colored strains, also known as “black” strains, become brighter when dried and cured. It’s better if the color penetrates throughout the buds, so it’s best to pick them while they’re still a little damp.

If you’re using a bush trimming tool, make sure it’s clean and dry. After trimming, your buds will lose some of their color; keep this in mind.

Adjust the Temperature

While many colors are stunning all year, certain colorful strains are only visible at night when the grow room temperature is a few degrees cooler than during the day. This procedure should be completed during the flowering stage if at all feasible. The daytime temperature should be set between 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. At night, lower the temperature to 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit. Chlorophyll production is slowed down in colder temperatures, which encourages the strain to create more anthocyanins.

However, certain strains, such as Panama, are immune to this approach. Because of its genetics, some items, like as Panama, change color regardless of the temperature. Querkle is more inclined to exhibit its color in warmer days and regular night temperatures.

Use Powerful Lighting

In response to strong, direct lighting on the leaves and buds, some purple strains produce a brighter hue. This is something you should try out to see if a certain strain responds. Keep an eye on your marijuana to make sure it isn’t damaged by light burn. It’s not necessary if you choose strains with suitable genetics in the first place.

Is There Anything Else That Can Help Turn Cannabis Purple?

Other techniques are attempted. However, it appears that pH levels influence the color of plants. There are species in the plant kingdom that change color depending on the pH level at the roots. Because it is a rarely employed technique, further study is required.

According to one seed maker, one of its strains produces reddish or pink pistils when the soil pH is around 7.0. You could give it a try for yourself, but determining if you need more acidic or alkaline growing media might be tough.

There isn’t much more to it, otherwise! Choose the appropriate genetics and play around with slightly lower nighttime temperatures. You could also try the lighting technique, but proceed with caution. It’s also preferable to grow cannabis indoors since you have better control over the environment.

What to Avoid When Growing Purple Cannabis

There are a number of myths and lies associated with growing purple marijuana. While some are amusing, others may be deadly to your plant. It has been suggested that you should deprive your plants of CO2 or oxygen.

Another advantage is that increasing the amount of nitrogen in the soil will help your plants produce a deeper purple color. This might result in a color change. It’s unfortunately connected to the sickly yellow tinge linked with a nutrient burn!

Furthermore, limiting phosphorus intake is ineffective. Only by increasing nutrients will there be consequences.

The leaf temperature should not be lower than 65 degrees Fahrenheit at night, and it is advised that you do not drop below 55. At the same time, crops should be kept as cool as possible to avoid any problems. Furthermore, a maximum of 15 degrees Fahrenheit must be cut from the nighttime temperature. Some growers believe that plunging it by 30+ degrees causes purple cannabis. In any case, your plants will suffer shock. The best-case scenario is a stunted growth rate. The worst-case situation is if your plants die!

Finally, avoid using any artificial dyes! The color of the harvest is determined by genetics. Marijuana strains that are non-susceptible to purpleing will not do so. Adding purple coloring to the buds just raises the danger of toxins being absorbed.

Final Thoughts on Growing Purple Marijuana

Finally, there is no secret recipe for turning marijuana purple. It all comes down to a plant’s genetics. In the hopes of turning Green Crack, Green Door Kush, or Green Dream purple, don’t buy them. Instead, concentrate on the following:

• Purple Kush
• Ayahuasca Purple
• Purple Haze
• Shaman
• Purple #1

The strain’s anthocyanin content is what gives it the purple hue. You won’t be able to enjoy the beautiful purple marijuana you want if you don’t have it.

Finally, there’s no need to be concerned about purple marijuana outside of aesthetics. There’s no proof that it’s any more potent or superior than normal “green” cannabis. If a vendor claims that purple bud is superior, you should disregard them and go somewhere else!