Why purple?

[BadTicket]

Growing OD @ 61N, I've noticed that purple vs green plants of the same strain, purps can take a beating from cold/moist/rain way better than greens do. They won't mould up as easy or as fast as them greener ones do. Maybe it's just me tho..

And also, Prince is fantastic!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm03wqLY3Nc

 

[therevverend]

I've noticed that purple vs green plants of the same strain, purps can take a beating from cold/moist/rain way better than greens do.

It's a generalization and there's exceptions but overall it seems to be true. Dark colors absorb more heat during the day then green, which helps to evaporate the moisture out of the flowers. When the days get short in the northern hemisphere as you get deeper into autumn getting the most of all the light you can is critical.

Why purple? so people with a low tolerance for THC have something to smoke...

It's strange how the idea that purple is an indicator of low potency still comes up. In the PNW it's the opposite, purple color increases bag appeal and people expect high potency from purple ganja. The first purple stuff most people here experienced was either purple Kush or Oregon or northern Cali purple, which are ridiculously strong. By the early 2000s people would pay out for even purple schwag, the idea of potent purple ganja was so ingrained.

It seems to be the opposite in Europe where purple is often associated with low potency. I read somewhere that during WW2 when tobacco was in short supply there was a purple hemp strain that was smoked in the Netherlands as a replacement. The strain stuck around and is the foundation for the early Dutch seed banks' purple stuff. It has strong mold resistance and finishes early, only it tastes crappy and has low potency. Even now some of the older companies have the stuff hybridized with more potent strains, resulting in a plant that's around 5-10% THC and finishes late September. It is to be avoided unless you have a very wet cool maritime climate.

The most potent strain I've ever smoked was purple. It had the largest THC crystals I've ever seen and it was absolutely coated. If you weren't used to it you would cough your brains out, to the point it was painful. It had a wonderful purple fruity taste and smell, no fuel, skunk, or rubber type smells normally associated with potency. The potency was something else, psychedelic and crippling in mind and body. I'd love to wake and bake with it but if I wasn't careful I'd end up back in bed for another 6 hours. The story I heard was that it was bred indoors in the Bay area from Thai varieties and of course Afghan. The strain was a hermaphrodite, it would always produce a few nanners and usually you'd find a seed or two. Probably why I haven't seen it in 20 years, it's unfortunate.

 

[BadTicket]

Yep, makes sense. Also most of my purples tend to grow a bit on the airy side, while green ones have tighter buds. That's a thing when it gets real damp, get that white mould and shits rot from inside out. Airy purps, not so much

 

[prune]

it's strange how the idea that purple is an indicator of low potency still comes up. In the PNW it's the opposite, purple color increases bag appeal and people expect high potency from purple ganja. The first purple stuff most people here experienced was either purple Kush or Oregon or northern Cali purple, which are ridiculously strong. By the early 2000s people would pay out for even purple schwag, the idea of potent purple ganja was so ingrained.

It seems to be the opposite in Europe where purple is often associated with low potency. I read somewhere that during WW2 when tobacco was in short supply there was a purple hemp strain that was smoked in the Netherlands as a replacement. The strain stuck around and is the foundation for the early Dutch seed banks' purple stuff. It has strong mold resistance and finishes early, only it tastes crappy and has low potency. Even now some of the older companies have the stuff hybridized with more potent strains, resulting in a plant that's around 5-10% THC and finishes late September. It is to be avoided unless you have a very wet cool maritime climate.

Well, I tried to make a brief and easy generalization, but in actuality it's not so much potency that purp's miss, it's pizazz that they lack. No spark, no energy, no definition.

That's fine, lots of people don't want transcendental, they want lull. Purple is good at lulling.

 

[CannaZen]

Growing OD @ 61N, I've noticed that purple vs green plants of the same strain, purps can take a beating from cold/moist/rain way better than greens do. They won't mould up as easy or as fast as them greener ones do. Maybe it's just me tho..

those anthocyanins oxygen molecules though probably protect against mold.
also purples may not be as potent because like thc they also protect against sun ray damage not as much stimuli to produce THC?


also purple plants i've observed tend to be fruity in aroma but i haven't observed many.

 

[therevverend]

Well, I tried to make a brief and easy generalization, but in actuality it's not so much potency that purp's miss, it's pizazz that they lack. No spark, no energy, no definition.

That's fine, lots of people don't want transcendental, they want lull. Purple is good at lulling.

Well, that's what I was getting at with the Purple Giant. It was the most transcendental, energetic, defined ass-kicking you could ever get from Mother Cannabis. It was magical stuff. You'd get scared, turn off all the lights, shut the curtains and hide when the phone rang. We'd always argue over why they were calling us, what they wanted, who had to answer it. Walking up to the counter to buy a cup of coffee was terrifying. The term 'trip weed' gets tossed around, the stuff was so potent it was like a mushroom trip and you'd be feeling no pain.

I understand if you haven't tried cannabis like that, a lot of people haven't if you weren't in the right place and time. The other strain I had at the time I wish I had back was the purple Hawaiian. It changed how I viewed the potential for cannabis. I was at Scenic hot springs in the Cascades one afternoon, smoked out this guy and shared my beer with him. He didn't have any goodies to share so he gave me 3 small crappy little seeds, brown with no stripes. One was actually kind of yellow. He said he was from Hawaii where the strain came from, on his way to BC. Said it was his strain, and it was the best. He was right. One didn't sprout, one was male I culled (wish I knew what I was doing at the time) and one grew into a plant that was so purple it was almost black. It had bright orange hairs and glowing green resin glands. It looked in season for Halloween. It tasted exactly like Hawaiian Punch, so much so that when I'd smoke people out they'd tell me the grower had watered the plants with the stuff to make it that flavor. I sprouted it for my first grow. In my amateur hands it degraded quickly but we kept it for 7 or 8 years. Between the taste, the looks, the effects, I never sold any of it. It was all personal stash.

Purple strains, good ones, are special. The fruity or grapey or hashy Christmas candy ones are the greatest and most sacred cannabis in the world. There's lots of other stuff I love but right now I have a purple plant that blows me away. Makes me think of the old time stuff. The pistils were purple from day one. It's got me excited about growing and breeding again.

 

[willydread]

Where I come from most of the plants turn purple in reaction to the cold, I have seen everything from afghans to haze turn purple ... and I confirm, many in Europe think that purple plants are lighter ...
In my "experience" I have found that many sativas, when they turn purple, have a less electric and more "drunk" effect.
Purple drops

Purple ot1haze x thai

Honduras (purple pheno)

 

[willydread]

Honduras purple pheno

I have some autos that turn purple, even if they bloom in the middle of summer ...
Unfortunately I only have this photo ...

 

[therevverend]

Where I come from most of the plants turn purple in reaction to the cold, I have seen everything from afghans to haze turn purple ... and I confirm, many in Europe think that purple plants are lighter ...
In my "experience" I have found that many sativas, when they turn purple, have a less electric and more "drunk" effect.

Yeah that sums it up well. It's rare to come across a true purple sativa that's potent although we came across a few in the 90s. They ended up lost because although they were interesting and tasty there was other stuff that was overall better, along with the difficulties growing sativas indoors. It's both a shame and a reason to keep sprouting seeds and pollen chucking.

Prune does have a point, there's not a lot of truly great purple strains right now. I've noticed that many of the northern Cali purple strains are degenerated compared to what they were 20 years ago. Something like Grand Daddy Purp is certainly a tasty Indica but nothing like the electric psychedelic purples that used to go around. Blueberry is another purple type that's good but difficult to find a truly ass-kicking example of. A lot of the old stuff was tricky to grow and hard to clone. Didn't fare well when grown hydroponically. A lot of growers switched over to stuff that's almost as potent but much larger yielding and easier to grow.

I've been attempting to find something comparable to the old strains I remember but it's hard to find stuff in the same league. Grape Ape is probably the best one, it checks a lot of boxes but doesn't have that extra psychedelic crunch. Here's the one I'm stoked on this year, it was purple from the moment it started forming flowers out of tufts.

It's got a sweet purple hashy skunk smell with an underlying nasty fresh fecal stink. Very close to what I'm looking for.

 

[PizzaMan5000]

I fed my rose bushes this year, had lots of new growth. The newest growth turned red and had me fearing rose rosette disease spread by mites.

Supposedly vigorous new growth produces the red to protect against UV damage.. so a very vigorous rose bush will have red stems and leaves.

Here's the kicker: I had a sucker from a locust tree grow up through the rose bush... It also turned red. Like vapors/hormones off the rose bush turned another species (within inches) red as well.

So can we buy this chemical and just fog our shit and make it go purple?

 

[therevverend]

I'll share some more information about Purple Giant some of you might find it interesting. The strain didn't do well indoors during the summer, it required cool temperatures to shine. Summer crops tended to show more intersex traits, tended to be mostly green instead of purple, and the flowers weren't as dense. The fruity delightful smell was partially dependent on the plant turning purple, the green morph was not nearly as tasty. If someone was running it in a warm room they'd never realize it's full potential or how great it was. The purple Hawaiian was similar, it wouldn't turn as dark purple, wasn't as sweet or fruity, and wouldn't produce well when the nighttime temperatures were high. Ideally you'd want to run it in a basement or pipe in cool outside air.

I wonder if this isn't the case with strains like Pakistan Chitral Kush, Purple Urkle, Mendocino Purple. If your plants aren't turning colorful, aren't as tasty or potent, try dropping your nighttime temperatures. Especially in late flowering. I'm thinking a lot of big commercial grows with controlled environments are running too hot, in the 80s and 70s instead of 70s down to 40s and 50s.

 

[SuperBadGrower]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkHKvX1z0PM
"Anthocyanins in Cannabis. How to trigger it, the science & my successful experimenting results"

October 6 by 'AussyCC'

 

[MAHA KALA]

Where I come from most of the plants turn purple in reaction to the cold, I have seen everything from afghans to haze turn purple ... and I confirm, many in Europe think that purple plants are lighter ...
In my ;experience I have found that many sativas, when they turn purple, have a less electric and more drunk effect.

some yes, some not. I found purple thai haze to have more warm effect to me, than green thaihaze for example.. and more comfortable too. some purple sativas are very psychoactive and beat green ones. if you say about purple sativas would give drunken effect, not sure what you mean. sounds weird. what would you say about glue or chemdog then?

purple yes, green yes and what about those between? rainbow ones? those are the best imo

 

[willydread]

some yes, some not. I found purple thai haze to have more warm effect to me, than green thaihaze for example.. and more comfortable too. some purple sativas are very psychoactive and beat green ones. if you say about purple sativas would give drunken effect, not sure what you mean. sounds weird. what would you say about glue or chemdog then?

purple yes, green yes and what about those between? rainbow ones? those are the best imo

I'm not an indi boy, a few spliffs are okay every now and then, but 90% of my grows are "sativa"
It doesn't always describe an effect, but I'll try:
-purple haze x thai don't make me want to do something, work, rather they make me lose in the meanders of the mind and soul, in the grip of paranoia, it's not Afghani, you're NOT relaxed, on the contrary ...
-Honduras purple is like being at a Central American party, you are cheerful, sunny, but the brain says one thing, the body another one LOL
- green haze x thai is like a sunny day in the heart ...

Obviously each of us is different, even in trying and describing the effects ...
Rainbow weed? Interesting, we're working on it .....

 

[CannaRed]

I just heard PotentPonic Steve say that you can raise molybdenum up to .1ppm even all the way to 1ppm and this will turn purple plants purple with no other Ill effects from toxicity. This only works with plants that have the genetic capability to turn purple of course.
I wouldn't go over 1ppm. There's a warning on the label of RapidStart that's says "excessive levels of molybdenum can be hazardous to rudimentary animals" and alot of folk are eating cannabis nowadays.
Here's the link to the podcast where he mentions it. He speaks of molybdenum at 00:51:43
https://anchor.fm/cheaphomegrow/episodes/GWMFG-74-FT-Potent-Ponics-Steve--The-Panel-ehl0jh

 

[therevverend]

if you say about purple sativas would give drunken effect, not sure what you mean. sounds weird.

I'd use 'drunken effect' (for myself, I expect others might think differently) from cannabis to describe the effects from 'hempy' type sativas. Strains that have very little head effect besides a bit of confusion, with a body high that starts about the middle of the body and proceeds down the legs. Causing loss of motor control and balance. I've gotten it from landrace strains where the purple morph is usually the weaker one and the green one is more psychoactive. Especially in strains that might have a hemp influence, Lebanese is one example. Indian strains can turn out like this.

It's common in certain genetics, I remember the strains being weaker stuff that's less then 12% THC. It sucks because you'll have a beautiful purple plant and a plain-looking yellowish green one and the purple one is no good. These sort of strains are rare out west where the purples tend to indicate potent and psychoactive Afghan and/or Thai influences. It's a similar phenomenon to how you'll get a tall lanky morph and a short bushy morph from a strain.

purple yes, green yes and what about those between? rainbow ones? those are the best imo

I agree. If you're used to thinking cannabis is green at harvest, or maybe purple, you may be growing very nice cannabis but you're missing something. Most strains turn brown, yellow, red, purple, black, orange, etc. at harvest. Green flowers can mean overfertilization, too high of night temperatures, early harvest, etc. Especially outdoors. At harvest you want those leaves turning yellow and starting to droop.

I always notice the true green strains. I've found blueberry hybrids will sometimes come out green. I've got a couple (Grape Ape x Romulan) X Sour D that's staying green, maybe a bit of red at the tips. The Sour D, at least the morph in my lineages, tends towards green as does the bubblegum. I mentioned it before but a lot of people who associate purple with low potency might be surprised to see their favorite strain turning purple when grown outdoors for instance.

 

['Boogieman']

I grew a dinafem Blue Widow outdoors that turned a purple/blue and is still the most potent weed I ever smoked, euphoric and very sleepy, great night time weed.

That said where I live I usually try to avoid buying anything purple because 99 out of 100 times it has very little potency.

 

[Brother Nature]

I'll share some more information about Purple Giant some of you might find it interesting. The strain didn't do well indoors during the summer, it required cool temperatures to shine. Summer crops tended to show more intersex traits, tended to be mostly green instead of purple, and the flowers weren't as dense. The fruity delightful smell was partially dependent on the plant turning purple, the green morph was not nearly as tasty. If someone was running it in a warm room they'd never realize it's full potential or how great it was. The purple Hawaiian was similar, it wouldn't turn as dark purple, wasn't as sweet or fruity, and wouldn't produce well when the nighttime temperatures were high. Ideally you'd want to run it in a basement or pipe in cool outside air.

I wonder if this isn't the case with strains like Pakistan Chitral Kush, Purple Urkle, Mendocino Purple. If your plants aren't turning colorful, aren't as tasty or potent, try dropping your nighttime temperatures. Especially in late flowering. I'm thinking a lot of big commercial grows with controlled environments are running too hot, in the 80s and 70s instead of 70s down to 40s and 50s.

That's quite interesting, makes me wonder how those older strains would do indoors now with LED tech being where it's at. I grew up in Northern California and also remember purple generally meaning they were more potent than the green varieties. My last run was clones of a plant that had a lot of purple genetics in it (Phantom Cookies x Black Domina) that weren't expressed in the first run during summer. With the clone run in winter, all the plants had a beautiful red/purple tone near the end and the smell improved to a beautiful cherry candy smell with a sweet red wine taste after harvest. They were incredibly potent too, just not the high I prefer. Almost completely in the body, a great medical strain or before going to sleep, but I smoke a lot and hitting that all day was rather unproductive. Some people really like that kind of high though so I get the appeal, but it'd be nice to get those flavors and highs I remember from my youth back.

 

[mexcurandero420]

i know not all purple plants are like this

but i've noticed when studying marijuana that some purple plants put more energy into being purple than being frosty

thc = defense mechanism for bugs in a situation where people dont breed it for specific effects

purple = ???

whats your best guess as to why plants turn purple from an evolutionary standpoint or why its such common expression even when given limited variety

Like what beanz wrote earlier, it acts like antifreeze.Plants are better protected in cold humid climates like in the mountains or up north.Flavonoids have antioxidant properties too, when drinking a tea it can benefit you.

 

[MAHA KALA]

I'm not an indi boy, a few spliffs are okay every now and then, but 90% of my grows are "sativa"
It doesn't always describe an effect, but I'll try:
-purple haze x thai don't make me want to do something, work, rather they make me lose in the meanders of the mind and soul, in the grip of paranoia, it's not Afghani, you're NOT relaxed, on the contrary ...
-Honduras purple is like being at a Central American party, you are cheerful, sunny, but the brain says one thing, the body another one LOL
- green haze x thai is like a sunny day in the heart ...

Obviously each of us is different, even in trying and describing the effects ...
Rainbow weed? Interesting, we're working on it .....

well difference is, I thought different thai haze and drunken effect for me is like Rev describes, lost of motor control and balance, problem with pronunciation, and typical drunken euphoria which is coupled with IQ decrease. never got this from sativa. only from affies and chems. glue x sour diesel reminds me effect of absinth, which is psychoactive drink

I smoked hempy ganja as well as wild ruderalis, and it caused me only headache..