Why don’t my plants fade?

[Cannaficionado]

Hello all, this will be my 3rd harvest and I’ve never had a plant show signs of fading by the time it’s a good 20% amber. I grow in coco and fertigate daily according to schedule right up to chop so I’m curious if it’s because I don’t flush or go dry, or if it’s just genetics. So many growers here experience a beautiful looking fade that I must ask.
As usual I’m looking at these Sour Crack kids at day 67 who have about 5-10% amber (which I prefer) but are a lush green and appear as if they could still mature for the better. I prefer not to have too much amber though as I like to enjoy the effect the plant intended me to have. So…does fade matter?
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Man o green said it perfectly

 

[PeaceLove&Buds]

@PeaceLove&Buds only a properly fertilized plant will make it to the end without leaf deterioration. The plant uses missing nutrients stored in the leaves and this causes what you are calling fade. You are to be congratulated on your skills as a grower. Well done!



That said the other side of this is genetics and environment. Some strains just don't color up - green is all they know. If you are growing a strain that should have color then try a shorter lights on period and colder night. I have taken some down as cool as 62°F at night with the day at 72°F Be forewarned that this will slow ripening maybe by as much as two weeks. Then there are strains that will go crazy with colors no matter how you grow them.

Thank you MoG I really appreciate your words and the rep! You also taught me something in the last paragraph because my tent temps have been about 63 night -73 day and I did not know that could slow ripening. I guess I’ll lower/remove the fan hitting the driver to get a few more degrees in there. I have it on just because I’m paranoid about having electrical devices get real hot but maybe I’m not giving the drivers durability enough credit. Thanks again.

 

[MrAutoGrower]

Dropping nitrogen levels helps with a fade. I don’t always get a fade either, they often remain green throughout flower. Having colder temps in late flower seems to help bring those colours out. My banana purple punch came out real purple with colder temp

 

[BII]

Unless actually desiring fading, go by trichome examination in terms of when to harvest.

All the descriptions of fading and ways of achieving it (cutting N or nutrients in general, stopping or cutting back on watering, exposing plants to lower than optimal temperatures, etc.) in my view involve slowing and/or weakening growth/maturation (which is presumably not needed and best avoided with autos). Is such pre-harvest induced weakening of autos actually associated with better potency or quality (or is desired fading linked to most consumers seemingly preferring coloration, essentially wanting any color other than green)?

I similarly feed well to the very end/harvesting. I only see fading with about half my plants (not counting genetics-expected coloration). I don't consider this a problem.

 

[JaxsoNL5]

Unless actually desiring fading, go by trichome examination in terms of when to harvest.

That is the desire IMO, not much the fade but the coloration...which is further pronounced when the plant fades it’s natural green. Once potency was achieved through selective breeding with photo to auto conversions, the next step is about combining that with bag appeal (your consumerism point). The colors are also associated with different anthocyanins and secondary metabolites that have unique health benefits as well…so localizing those to the leaves and buds during maturation while catabolizing chlorophyll may in fact be biologically relevant to the natural medicinal properties of the plant.

 

[Rasterman]

Hello all, this will be my 3rd harvest and I’ve never had a plant show signs of fading by the time it’s a good 20% amber. I grow in coco and fertigate daily according to schedule right up to chop so I’m curious if it’s because I don’t flush or go dry, or if it’s just genetics. So many growers here experience a beautiful looking fade that I must ask.
As usual I’m looking at these Sour Crack kids at day 67 who have about 5-10% amber (which I prefer) but are a lush green and appear as if they could still mature for the better. I prefer not to have too much amber though as I like to enjoy the effect the plant intended me to have. So…does fade matter?
View attachment 1556417

I've grown plenty of autos that didn't fade. (Usually in living soil though.)

My son was recently telling me (don't know how true it is but he knows a lot about cannabis) that a lot of the sativa-dom autos don't necessarily fade either.

 

[BII]

That is the desire IMO, not much the fade but the coloration...which is further pronounced when the plant fades it’s natural green. Once potency was achieved through selective breeding with photo to auto conversions, the next step is about combining that with bag appeal (your consumerism point). The colors are also associated with different anthocyanins and secondary metabolites that have unique health benefits as well…so localizing those to the leaves and buds during maturation while catabolizing chlorophyll may in fact be biologically relevant to the natural medicinal properties of the plant.

I don't think anthocyanins, like chlorophyll, and their secondary metabolites (breakdown products) add anything in terms of potency, cleanliness or 'quality' of buds when vaporized/smoked; just add color. Maybe they have some "medicinal properties," such as anti-oxidant, if ingested/eaten in sufficient quantity?

Otherwise, is the cutting of nutrients, water, exposure to cold, etc. associated with 'fading' bringing out colors during late maturation really resulting in decreasing chlorophyll levels (like tree leaves in fall), further increasing anthocyanin levels, or both?

 

[Rick Dirte']

I've grown plenty of autos that didn't fade. (Usually in living soil though.)

My son was recently telling me (don't know how true it is but he knows a lot about cannabis) that a lot of the sativa-dom autos don't necessarily fade either.

Last winter I grew 4 Night Owl Sativa dom strains under the same light. Mango Isle and Galaxy Brain both faded yellow/red.
Bubblegum Queen and Cosmic Apprentice had little to no fade.

 

[JaxsoNL5]

I don't think anthocyanins, like chlorophyll, and their secondary metabolites (breakdown products) add anything in terms of potency, cleanliness or 'quality' of buds when vaporized/smoked; just add color. Maybe they have some "medicinal properties," such as anti-oxidant, if ingested/eaten in sufficient quantity?

Otherwise, is the cutting of nutrients, water, exposure to cold, etc. associated with 'fading' bringing out colors during late maturation really resulting in decreasing chlorophyll levels (like tree leaves in fall), further increasing anthocyanin levels, or both?

Never said they did anything to increase potency, cleanliness, or quality (except potential health benefits), nor do I think those metabolites do anything for those qualities. And I was going to state earlier it would be interesting to see if they change structurally when vaporized and inhaled, as compared to ingested from food sources. Anthocyanins as a class have anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, anti-carcinogenic, anti-tumorigenic, and a lot more beneficial “anti-“ properties so it’s something that should be examined under controlled conditions IMO to further our knowledge and usage/consumption of the plant.

And lack or net deficit of nutes (particularly N in later flower) are known to induce the catabolism of chlorophyll A to release the available nitrogen from the porphyrin ring for use…so yes, that’s proven that lack nutes whether in nature or artificial environments leads to reduction in chlorophyll levels. That is likely independent of anthocyanin biosynthesis and degradation, but more likely a biological coincidence that both occur at similar times due to the stresses a plant experiences late season.

 

[GreenBean]

With coco and synthetics, I prefer feeding them to the very end since I've seen some autoflower cultivars fade even with full nutes. That way you know your getting everything you can out of them. If you want to artificially get the colors showing, cut nutes the last week or two.

Do you follow the Floraflex schedule to a "t"? Just curious. I alway futz with it, but in my time trying their scheduled last week of water "flush" only vs me experimenting with feeding them to chop, I never see a difference in the final result. So I stop feeding during the last week, I don't believe in flushing, I just save my nutes.

But any fading starts well before that final week or so. I use the fade as a gauge on ripeness when it happens. And like you say, some plants don't fade at all.