Final Cannabis Harvest After Frost: What to Expect & When to Cut Down

How Does Cannabis React to Frost? Can It Actually Survive Freezing Temperatures?

When growing outdoors where it can get cold, one must decide when to harvest. Before or after it frosts, what to expect, and when to cut it down.

Cannabis or at least some strains can survive a frost, even a hard one! As you can see in the video one strain can be damaged by frost, and another takes it in stride. And surprisingly the strain in this grow up at Stony Oasis Farms that was able to withstand the cold weather was a pure Sativa strain I carry called Kona Gold. The strain that showed the most frost damage was a strain bred by my master grower brother called KickAss White OG.

The 2 weeks or so of frosty nights up there in the mountains of central Washington state did not kill any of these plants outright, and they are on a northern slope in the land. So one can expect a cannabis plant to survive some frost, but for most grows if your buds are ripe…I would take them if frost is immanent. If your buds need a little more time…

How to Help Your Cannabis Plants Survive a Frost

So what can you do if frost is coming but you want your plants to grown on and mature a bit more…

• Cover the Plants: You can keep the frost from settling on your plants by covering them at night. You can use plastic, or even a tarp to cover them on those nights that will freeze.
• Plant in a Warm Micro-Climate: Planting in a warmer micro-cilmate can delay frost damage for a while at least. Planting near a body of water, or where the plants will be in the breeze if there is one can be helpful in prolonging their time in the ground.
• Water the Frost Off: One can spray the plants with water…especially just before the sun comes up and hits the frosty plants.
• Make Sure Their Soil is Damp: Damp soil will stay warmer then dry soil, so if frost is on its way…dampen the soil they are growing in. That being said, fully water cannabis can be more susceptible to frost damage because the leaves are full of water…so the best practice would be to water them heavily maybe a week ahead of a hard frost.
• Prune up the Under-Structure: Keep the lower half of the plants pruned up this time of year. Not only will that allow more air flow to help prevent frost damage, it will also help prevent molds and mildews from having their way with your plants.
• Harvest Some…Leave Some: This it a trick I use most of the time. If the buds are close enough to maturity…harvest some…maybe half of the buds, leaving the rest to survive the frost and get even stickier! Those smaller buds you leave can get much bigger as well.
• Leaves Freeze…Buds Not So Much: The leaves of a cannabis plant will be the first to show damage from the cold, but generally the buds themselves can survive much colder weather without damage…and if you love that dark purple cannabis very cold weather can really make those colors ‘pop’.

Conclusion

If you grow cannabis where it can freeze, you are in luck…because a few frosty nights is not necessarily a death warrant for your plants! Cannabis can survive freezing temps, and can grow on even if somewhat damaged.

Do you have some cold weather cannabis growing stories? I would love to hear them in a comment.

And here is a link to the other 20 or so articles documenting this years Hugelkultur bed grow up at Stony Oasis Farms….Stony Oasis Farms 2026 Projects