Those who grow marijuana may be surprised to see the stems of their plants looking purplish in color instead of woody. Sometimes, the plant’s youngest stems and petioles will look purple from the start. In other cases, older stems lower on an established plant will develop a purplish tint.

n general, you don’t have to worry about purple stems and leafstalks. But, sometimes, they may signify underlying issues. Even a healthy plant’s stems can acquire a purple hue while others of the same strain and crop don’t. If the purple stems are not due to genetic problems, they may due to nutritional or other issues with cannabis plants. It is important to be familiar with the causes of purple stems and how to respond to them. Noticing the problem early on will make it easier to save the troubled plant.

What May Make the Buds and Flowers of Marijuana Becoming Purplish?

The cannabis plants naturally have green buds and flowers because of the huge amounts of chlorophyll they have. However, they can also display colors such as purple. Indeed, a lot of the famous strains today are bred to produce purple buds.

If the big buds tend to have more significant purple notes than green ones, it often has to do with the flavonoids called anthocyanins. These flavonoids are the reasons fruits such as blueberries and blackcurrants are purple in color and prized for their antioxidant content. Cannabis plants that have purple buds are bred to favor the production of these flavonoids over others.

How to Best Respond to Purple Stems?

Although you may be shocked to notice a healthy plant is developing purple stems, there is usually nothing to worry about. If the purple stems of the plant are due to genetic factors, you have nothing to do about them. You just have to wait a while to see if other strange symptoms will surface. If your marijuana plant continuously develops normally and on schedule, the purple stems may be due to some genetic issues.

While you wait to see if the plant displays other signs of problems, check temperature, lighting, and pH. If the purple stems result from something other than a genetic disposition, it may have to do with a nutritional deficiency. The nutritional issue may be phosphorus deficiency. If a lack of phosphorus caused the purple stems, a plant’s growth must be noticeably slowed, which becomes visible before stems or leaves show signs of the issue.