The concept of purple marijuana speaks to the imagination of many. But how much is true of the urban myths and the almost fantastical aura that follow around purple weed?
While certain ideas are clearly true or false, in some cases it’s more nuanced, the jury is still out and even experts don’t always agree.
Join us having a fun time as we trim the sugar leaf and learn a thing or two about purple marijuana, the most popular purple strains, as well as some lesser-known intriguing strains. And, of course, we’ll look at the best and worst growing tips to care for purple weed plants.
Purple marijuana is… purple.
This seems obvious but the answer is not a straight-forward yes or no. It’s complicated!
If you’ve never seen any and are looking for buds that are blatantly purple, as in Pantone 248 “Orchid Purple”, HTML #800080, or the saturated hues of flowers? You’ll be searching for quite a while and probably in vain. What we refer to as “purple” in the world of cannabis has more subtlety to it.
Purple weed can have a dark blue-ish hue that veers on indigo, or a grey-ish purple shine, for example. It may take some imagination to identify buds as purple. This picture is a good example of realistic coloring:
And here is another image of a realistic hue on dried flower:
As anyone who so much as dabbles in photography won’t fail to notice, this plant poses for her portrait in a more “dramatic” style. It looks as though a purple spotlight is used to add color and shine from the side.
Nothing wrong with the artistic effect above… However, if you’ve never actually seen a “purple marijuana” plant, it can skew expectations. The kolas won’t be quite as ready to audition for a 1950’s technicolor movie, but beautiful nonetheless!
The color purple can be created through certain growing techniques.
It’s a tenacious concept that there are certain things one can do to a cannabis plant to make it purple. And it does sound as though it may be possible to “improve” on an already existing genetic predisposition.
Some growers claim that a certain treatment of any given marijuana strain will cause the flowers to turn purple. However, that is not the general consensus.
Increasing or bringing out an already present genetic tendency to veer on shades of purple: yes. Creating it from scratch, with any given strain: probably not as easily done.
The apparition of colors other than green near the end of the cannabis grow cycle is a reaction of the plant to the turning of the seasons, similar to what happens to the colorful leaves of trees in the fall. The production of chlorophyll comes to an end and other pigments become visible.
Let’s take a look at what exactly you need to do to mimic the components of fall weather inside.
Temperature & Genetics
MSNL (one of the best Dutch seed banks) explains what needs to happen in their environment for cannabis plants to turn purple.
It sounds simple enough. Control the temperature and the light. During the dark cycle/night cycle, the temperature needs to be under 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
However, even MSNL starts by saying you’ll want to grow a strain that is naturally high in anthocyanin – the pigment responsible for purple hues. Clearly, both surrounding factors and genetics play an important role in producing the most stunning purple marijuana.
What they strongly advise not to do, by the way, is depriving the plants of oxygen, carbon dioxide, or nitrogen, or adding purple food coloring or dye to the water. Those first things have disastrous effects on growth and yield; artificial coloring can even kill plants.
Growing Tip
Regardless of which color you’re aiming for, the general consensus among experienced growers is that the most important thing is to start with strong genetics.
Ideally, order from a place that has both high-quality seeds and excellent customer service. That’s why most seed banks we recommend have some kind of a guaranteed delivery policy.
Because cannabis seeds are a natural product, there is always a reasonable amount of uncertainty about their performance. Only a handful of places offers seeds with guaranteed germination; more on those here.
Purple marijuana is more potent
No, that’s definitely a myth.
Purple marijuana is not more potent than green, or blue, or any other hue. There is a small caveat. The flower won’t be more potent as a result, or the direct side effect, of being purple. The time spent on the plant before harvest, however, has a direct influence on both the cannabinoid levels and the color of buds.
CBD is at its highest when cannabis is harvested sooner rather than later. THC, on the other hand, tends to increase the longer marijuana flower is left to mature on the plant.
Giving the plant(s) that extra week to see whether the color can get more pronounced? This could also increase the potency of the buds – if, of course, more THC is what you mean by ‘potency’. If CBD potency is what you’re after, it’s a different game.
So when you’re waiting for the buds to turn shades of purple at the end of the flowering stage, keep in mind that cannabinoid contents may also somewhat fluctuate – not in any way related to the coloring. It is nothing other than a simultaneous, correlating effect.
Strains
Between the classics – Purple Haze, Purple Kush, Purple Urkle, Grandaddy Purple – and some intriguing lesser-known ones such as Blackwater Purple, Purple Glue, Amnesia Purple or Purple Power, there’s no shortage of purple cannabis strains.
Some of these are Indica or Indica-dominant, whereas others lean heavily on the Sativa side. Among the strains put in the spotlight below, there is a good amount of variation in growing difficulty, size, yield, as well as flavor, and effects on the mind and body. Which is great because it means there’s probably something purple for everyone!
The best purple cannabis strains to grow from seed really depends on what you’re looking for. Here are a few suggestions.
Purple Kush
Purple Kush (from Crop King Seeds) starts off with a fun, euphoric high and settles into a relaxing body buzz. Yield is around 400 grams per square meter indoors and 250 grams outside.
They may take a bit longer to ripen under LED lights and are not quite as easy to grow, being vulnerable to mold. If you want to take the plunge as a beginning grower, check out these crucial steps to prevent mold from infesting a grow-op.
With that said, Crop King’s customer service is known to be excellent, so what the heck… If you’re ready to give one of the more demanding strains a try, this might just be the one.
Here’s what reviewers say:
“The quality and potency is absolutely fantastic. Knocked my socks off.”
“It turned deep purple for me. The flowers were so beautiful I felt bad cutting it down.”
“The most purple buds I’ve ever grown! Great flavor and stone. Definitely stands out.”
Purple Haze
Purple Haze is shorter than many Sativa-dominant strains but still quite tall. This strain is easy to grow – though best suited to warm, sunny weather if grown outdoors – and very resistant to disease.
Plants produce a high yield, with proper care the output per square meter (or 3x3ft) should be at least 11 but can be up to 19 ounces (well over 500 grams).
Over 250 five-star reviewers rave about how their Purple Haze seeds from I love growing marijuana grow into strong, healthy plants that are easy to work with and also easy to clone.
Purple Power
Purple Power is one of those lesser-known strains that tend to fly just under the radar. Yes, less renowned purple strains like Purple Power live in the shadow of the big names, but if you’re looking for something different, listen up.
Purple Power plants are a cross between Dutch Dope and Super Skunk, and a few weeks into flowering they are supposed to get a mean purple glow. Color aside, Purple Power is a strain that really sparks creativity.
Purple Gelato
Gelato and Purple Haze had a baby and it’s called… Purple Gelato. An interesting purple hybrid strain with 15-19% THC and very dessert-like flavors indeed: mint, citrus, and berries. This high-yielding hybrid strain is definitely an intriguing one.
Purple Marijuana: Conclusion
What we can all agree on? Purple buds looks good.
The general consensus is that purple flower has a certain je-ne-sais-quoi and it seems this is one thing about purple cannabis at least most of us won’t deny. Whether this is merely a matter of standing out from the green crowd or whether there is something more mesmerizing (or even therapeutic) about the shades of purple, it’s visually appealing for sure.
If you want to grow purple marijuana, it’s crucial to start with the right strain as some are clearly predisposed to these hues over others. After that, the most important thing to fiddle with (when growing indoors) is the temperature. Outdoors, the onset of colder fall weather should do the trick.
What makes some marijuana strains turn purple is the breaking down of chlorophyll. Without this bright green pigment dominating the scene, other colors – in this case, various shades of blue and purple – get the chance to shine through.
Purple buds are basically the psychotropic equivalent of peak leaf – that time in autumn when the trees have their most vivid colors!
