Popcorn buds are small, round buds about the size of a popcorn kernel to a thumbnail, usually from lower branches or side shoots. Retail calls them "smalls".
In practice
Because they are small, popcorn buds sell for less than large colas from the same plant. Chemically they can be close to the tops if they had decent light, though buds deep in the shade usually test somewhat lower. They dry faster than big colas, so a mixed batch needs attention to avoid over-drying the small ones. Many growers reduce popcorn by removing the weakest lower sites early, or by training so more sites reach the top of the canopy, where light is strongest. Others keep them on purpose as a personal stash of good flower at no extra cost.
Don't confuse with
- Larf: airy and underdeveloped; popcorn can be dense.
- Shake: broken fragments, not whole small buds.
The dense, elongated cluster of flowers that forms at the end of a stem or branch; the main cola tops the leader.Top shelf is the highest price tier of flower in a shop, used as slang for any premium-looking cannabis; it reflects pricing and appearance, not verified quality.Drying cannabis below the target water activity (under about 0.55), leaving buds brittle and harsh, with lost terpenes; rehydrating does not restore them.Larf is small, airy, underdeveloped buds from the lower, shaded parts of a plant, usually low in density and weight.Nugs is slang for whole, trimmed buds of dried cannabis flower, as opposed to shake or trim.Shake is the loose fragments of flower and sugar leaf that break off buds in handling and collect at the bottom of a bag or jar.The canopy is the top layer of foliage and buds across a grow, the surface that intercepts most of the light and where yield is mostly made.
