Why Cannabis has so many colours – a big part of the appeal to cannabis is the variety you can get from each cannabis plant. From being short and bushy to tall and lanky and colours ranging from green to purple there is something for everyone when it comes to the cannabis plant. 

Colourful Cannabis

While most strains of cannabis plants tend to grow with a clear green colour to them as they progress along the life cycle many other colours can be seen – this could be anything from different shades of green from light to dark all the way to a cannabis plant showing purple and red colours which will mainly show in the buds and the leaves. 

It is not only the genetics of the cannabis plants that determine the colour the buds and leaves will turn out as the temperature, nutrient levels, alkalinity or acidity levels and even the soil and quality of light can play a major part in how the colours turn out in each cannabis plant.

Different cannabis colours

Green

The most predominant colour in most cannabis plants is green. This is thanks to the presence of chlorophyll (the pigment that absorbs sunlight) to encourage the process of photosynthesis. Through this the cannabis plants combine water & Co2 to create sugars to help with biological functions. Sometimes plants will have so much chlorophyll that the green colour will mask over any other colours trying to present themselves.

This is until temperature or season changes that will force more colours to appear. This can also be seen in regular trees during a change in season when leaves change colour as they fall.

Purple, Red ,Pink, Blue & Black

When a cannabis plant has strong hints of purple or blue this generally means the plant has a high amount of the chemical anthocyanins.

There are more than 500 anthocyanins that have been discovered and range from red to purple to blue.

A lot of this is dependant on the PH levels in the cannabis plant.

You will see this more in adult cannabis plants. Anthocyanins don’t show in the plant until later in its life cycle.

Purple

Cannabis plants which show more of a purple colour are very popular all over the world.

Grand Daddy Purple & Purple Haze are two examples of this. With purple, it is a mix of the anthocyanins and the temperature in which it is grown in.

Blue & Black

With purple, cannabis plants with even higher levels of anthocyanins will be blue or at times seem to be black.

Pink & Red

Red and pink are the least likely colours you will see.

Although some cannabis plants have been specially developed to make these colours more prominent.

White

When a cannabis plant is harvested to its full potential it can be so trichomey it appears to be white. More commonly referred to as “frosty”.

When cannabis plants have more trichomes they will be stronger and more potent making them more desirable for cannabis users.

Examples of these strains are White Widow & White Rhino – Being nice and “frosty” by the time it comes to harvesting.

Colours and potency

The colour of each cannabis plant cant really tell you much about the potency of the plant. If however you are making tinctures or edibles – it can help you find which plant is going to give you the nutritional benefits you may be after.