Frosty (or "frost") describes buds so densely coated in glandular trichomes that they look white, sugared or dusted with snow. The visible "frost" is mostly capitate-stalked trichome heads, where cannabinoids and terpenes are made and stored.
In practice
Frost is genetic first, then growing conditions, then handling. Good light, healthy late-flower feeding and gentle handling at harvest keep it on the bud; rough trimming, compression and warm storage knock it off or degrade it. Growers inspect trichomes with a 60x loupe to judge ripeness by head colour (clear, cloudy, amber), not by how frosty the bud looks from a distance.
Sugar leaves can be frostier than the buds look, which is why they are often kept for hash rather than discarded.
Don't confuse with
- Potency: frosty flower is not always strong; trichome density, head size and resin chemistry all vary.
- Mould: white fuzzy or powdery patches (powdery mildew, botrytis) are not frost. Look with a loupe: trichomes are glassy stalks with round heads.
A hair-like outgrowth of the plant's skin; in cannabis the glandular types make and store the resin holding cannabinoids and terpenes.The large mushroom-shaped glandular trichome on cannabis bracts, with a multicellular stalk and a resin-filled head; it holds most of the flower's cannabinoids and terpenes.A cannabinoid is any compound that binds the body's cannabinoid receptors or shares the typical cannabis terpenophenolic structure; the plant-made ones are phytocannabinoids such as THCA and CBDA.Terpenes are volatile hydrocarbon compounds built from five-carbon isoprene units; in cannabis they are made in the trichome heads and are a major part of aroma and flavour.Bag appeal is how good flower looks in the bag or jar, frost, colour, density and trim, which sells cannabis but does not measure its quality.A small leaf growing from within the flower cluster, often coated in trichomes, which is trimmed off and commonly kept for processing.A fungal disease, on cannabis caused mainly by Golovinomyces ambrosiae, that grows as white powdery patches on leaves and buds and thrives in moderate humidity.Botrytis cinerea, the fungus behind bud rot or grey mould, which rots dense colas from the inside in cool, humid conditions late in flower.Sticky describes resin-rich flower that clings to fingers and scissors, a sign of heavy trichome cover and well-preserved resin.
