What Does Bud Rot Look Like?

You may see areas on the colas where everything (buds, pistils and/or leaves) are darkening, becoming discolored and/or drying up, unlike the rest of the plant.

The deadened spots usually stand out and catch people's attention, even if growers don’t know what’s wrong, they often instinctively know that something is wrong since the spots don't look like the rest of the buds on the plant.

In addition to the rot itself, you may see white mold on the outside of the bud at first - this is the first stage and it means plants need to be treated immediately! With advanced bud rot, the bud will easily separate so you can see inside. When the bud in question is inspected, it will be dark on the inside, usually gray or brown, and possibly dusty (this "dust" is fungus spores).

Depending on the life stage, bud rot can look…white and fluffy / dark gray or brown (sometimes even dark purple) the buds can be full of dark speckled dust which easily blows away (fungus spores)

Different Stages of Bud Rot - Catch it Early!

When plants are afflicted by cannabis bud rot, it starts as fluffy white growth in the middle or sides of buds, but the white mold quickly darkens into gray or brown and burrows deep into dense buds as the fungus takes hold. Sometimes you'll see the initial stage on the sides of buds, giving you a possible chance to catch the infection early.

The Botrytis fungus looks white and fluffy in its initial stage, but you'll probably never even see this stage before the mold quickly darkens and starts rotting the buds from the inside out.

Once bud rot has taken hold over parts of a cannabis plant, the buds can sometimes look almost the same on the outside, at first, but they usually start looking like they're dying in patches. Often the area will dry out and easily pull apart. The inside of buds can turn brown, gray or even purple.

Some growers might think these drying spots mean that the plant is almost ready for harvest, but you know something is definitely wrong when just parts of the colas are being affected.