Purple or dark buds in late flower
Late flower, often after cooler nights; only in cultivars that carry the trait..
- Also called
- purple buds
- dark buds
- black buds
- buds turning purple
Likely causes, most likely first
Ranked for this sign on its own. Your stage, medium and readings change the order, so run the checker for your plant.
LikelyGenetic purple colour (anthocyanin)
Fix: Nothing to fix: purple stems, petioles and bracts are mostly genetic and harmless, brought out by cool nights 5-10 °C (9-18 °F) below day. Purple is bag appeal, not potency.
Recovery: Leaves stay healthy and green apart from the colour; no spotting.
How to confirm it
- Compare with siblings or the same cut. Put the affected plant beside siblings or clones of the same cut in the same conditions. A trait shared by all of a cultivar (purple stems, foxtailing, pale colour) is genetic; a problem on one plant points to its roots, a virus or its genetics; a problem on every cultivar points to the environment or feed.
Look for
Purple bracts and sugar leaves on healthy, frosty buds..
The full guide: Purple or red stems and leaves on cannabis: a differential
Guidance, not a guarantee. The checker weighs common causes against what you tell it; confirm with the tests before you treat, change one thing at a time and watch the new growth.
