Buds at the bottom of the plant are MORE crystally?

[hush]

I honestly don't get it. I've never experienced this before now. Maybe it has something to do with the 1000w light, as this is my first grow under one, but I can't make any scientific sense of it...

The buds down underneath the dense canopy actually have MORE trichomes than the ones up in the light. How is that possible? Why is that possible?

I should also say that the top buds are definitely chock full of crystals. It's not an issue of the top buds being less crystally, so much as it's an issue of the lower buds being more crystally. Does that make sense?

I'm not imagining this, either. It's crazy. There is an obvious "line" on all of the buds, that marks the boundary of that which is above the canopy and that which is below. The lower portion of these buds are very bleached, light green almost white colored foliage, from having not received the light that the top buds get. Then, above this line, the buds look normal, with all the colors they normally exhibit.

So I'm wondering, is it possible this is an optical illusion based on the "whiteness" of the bleached portion of the branches, that weren't receiving light? Meaning, just because there are no pigmentations present, I am just seeing the crystals better?

Or is there some evolutionary reason why the buds that are shielded from the light are producing more trichomes?

I always thought that trichomes and cannabinoids were the plants' defensive response to UV rays from high amounts of light, so this throws a wrench in my understanding of that.

 

[greekgardner]

I have noticed some strains will ripen faster from the bottom up,opposite of most strains that ripen from the top down,dont worry about it..........

 

[ZZTops]

That is Strange, I've never seen that...

Maybe the 1000w was to close and Vape the Tri's on the top...

Maybe the 1000w gave it more then it need and energy to spare...

Just thinking out loud...

 

[Hugh Midity]

no i'll agree, seen it many times. I always assumed it was the less intense light and exposed area, the lowers get brushed up against a lot less

 

[Hugh Midity]

these are almost at the bottom of the plant and a lot frostier than the top

 

[hush]

Yeah, it's a really noticeable thing in my garden. I'll be harvesting next week, so I'll make sure to take pictures of a whole cola, to show the difference.

 

[redneck shogun]

I'm shocked to find out that for the last 6 years what I thought was normal is not. Frostier bottom nugs have always been normal for me. However I do run 95% from seed, maybe something to do with it.

 

[hush]

I've only ever really done small or micro sized gardens before now, other than large outdoor plants which look altogether different anyway. So maybe the problem is with me, since I'm just a noob at doing large-ish grows.

 

[soil margin]

Interesting thread. I'm an indoor grower who has just converted to an outdoor grow this year and am noticing what seems like higher resin concentrations on many of the lower buds. Never had anything like that in the past many years of indoor.

 

[nephrosis]

agreed. first 2 grows i did, the lower nugs were almost ready to be plucked 3-4 weeks earlier!