Cannabis Cold Snap Anthocyanin Reaction #shorts #cannabis

Two weeks ago these plants were a deep green. we had a serious cold snap here in Colorado and certain strains suddenly turned entirely purple almost overnight. A cultivar will only do this if it contains pigments called anthocyanins in its genetic code. This response is triggered primarily as a reaction to cold. The theory is that these pigments darken in an attempt to block out the UV rays under colder temperatures, specifically during the night cycle, as a sort of “stasis”. Basically the plant is trying to protect itself. Think of it as an immune response.

Even then, since everything in this particular greenhouse is grown from seed, there are going to be slight variations in the phenotypes. To be more specific, the pictured variety is Space Berry. All Space Berry plants turned purple. Another variety known as Hercules had several plants fully turn purple, a few turned a deep red, but most others stayed green, even under the extreme cold temperatures (below 50F at night).

notice when I move the overlapping purple leaf, the color of the leaf underneath is still green. this is due to the overlapping leaf cushioning the one below it from the more extreme cold temperatures at night and UV rays during the day. As a result, the lower leaves on most color changing varieties usually stay very green because they are shielded.

a near perfect shape of the outline of the leaf above it! stop and smell the flowers. it’s worth it. isn’t learning fun??