Have you ever trimmed your cannabis buds with scissors and wondered more about the sparkling, sticky leaf (‘sugar leaf’) tips protruding through the main blooms? Why are they there and what can be done with them are frequent questions. We answer all your questions and discuss ways to make high-THC cannabis concentrates from your sugar leaves.

What are cannabis sugar leaves

Cannabis sugar leaves are the small leaves found in and around the cannabis buds. The name ‘sugar leaves’ refers to the white, frosty appearance caused by an abundance of cannabis trichomes. The cannabis sugar leaves often look like they have been lightly dusted with fine white sugar.

Often fully coated (front and back) with resin, many growers use the trimmed sugar leaves to make cannabis oil, shatter, canna-butter or other types of cannabis concentrate.

Cannabis sugar leaves are present as part of the plants photosynthesis system. Because they are located within the structure of the bloom, sugar leaves are in the heart of the plants trichome/THC production zone and tend to be coated in a thick velvety resin coating.

Cannabis fan leaves vs sugar leaves

Whether you grow from feminised cannabis seeds or autoflower seeds your plants will produce fan leaves as well as cannabis sugar leaves. The fan leaves are the large leaves produced at regular intervals on the main stem and branches.

These may have a light/medium trichome density on their surface and especially the fan-leaf edges – where trichome crusting can occur. But fan leaves rarely display quite the same trichome density as the smaller cannabis sugar leaves. Unlike sugar leaves, fan leaves are often easy to fully remove.

Within the buds/blooms you will notice smaller leaves, ‘sugar leaves’ which tend to form during the latter half of bloom. Sometimes all that is visible may be the tip of the sugar leaf. These sugar leaves are connected to the main stem often with the bulk of their foliage hidden inside the bloom structure.

Cannabis sugar leaves are usually green but can fade as bloom approaches. When growing blue/purple coloured cannabis seed varieties the sugar leaves can add exotic autumnal hues to your buds.

How to make good use of sugar leaves

For many growers, cannabis sugar leaves are too valuable to waste. Their overall potency may not be quite as high as the buds, and the taste may be a little harsher. But the resinous trichome coating means that surprisingly high yields of hash and other cannabis concentrates are available to growers prepared to harvest & use them. Here are a few possibilities.

How to make cannabis oil from sugar leaves:

Dry the sugar leaves, along with any other plant trimmings (including frosty-edged fan leaves). Then soak the sugar leaves in a solvent. This could be ethanol, IPA, coconut oil, hemp oil etc. Filter the mixture to remove solids. If using a volatile solvent like ethanol, evaporate it safely outdoors away from flames. The oil may need to be ‘activated’ by heating, to convert non-psychoactive THCA into psychoactive THC. A process known as cannabis decarboxylation, this is an important stage to consider for anyone making cannabis extracts of any type. Unless the necessary amount of heat is used, the extract will not achieve maximum potency.

Make shatter using hair straighteners:

Take your high-quality sugar leaf trim and put it in a wrap of greaseproof paper. Put the paper packet in hot hair straighteners and apply pressure. The oils within the sugar leaves melt and are deposited as a sticky coating on the greaseproof paper.

This oil can be scraped up with a small metal tool and used for dabs. This technique is very easy and suitable for those that don’t want a complicated solution to recycle their sugar leaf trim. Note that many cannabis companies also offer specialist high-temperature presses designed specifically for this job.

Make ice/water hash from cannabis sugar leaves:

Collect and freeze your harvest trimmings. Some growers dry their trim first. The trim is then mixed with icy water, often with a simple mixer to ensure a thorough action that mechanically separates the trichomes from the leaf material.

The water/trim mix is then poured through specially designed ‘hash bags’ each with a different diameter mesh. The small trichome-rich solids collect in the hash bags, where it is scraped out and dried. This process does take some time. But for the connoisseur, the rich unmistakable hash flavours simply can’t be beaten!