At Native Roots, excellence in cannabis cultivation is the heart of everything. From nurturing unique strains indoors to balancing cutting-edge technology with traditional techniques, the team’s commitment to quality and innovation sets them apart.
To get a glimpse behind the scenes, we spoke with Senior Manager of Flower Processing Nelson Oldham to learn about the methods that help Native Roots deliver consistent, high-quality cannabis to Colorado customers.
Native Roots’ cultivation process
Every Native Roots strain starts as a clone, which is rooted out for 21 days before being planted in a hydrated coco cube. The plants spend six weeks in the vegetative stage, where air in the grow room is exchanged every 1-2 minutes, enriched with CO2, and treated with UV light for cleanliness. This environment is meticulously controlled to ensure the healthiest growth possible.
Once the plants have completed their vegetative stage, they are moved into the bloom room for an eight-week bloom cycle. Much like the veg stage, the bloom room has multiple air exchange systems to enrich the air with CO2. But unlike the veg stage, the plants receive drip irrigation from day seven onward. This process allows the team to maintain ideal conditions for each strain as it moves through the growth cycle.
“Our control panel lets us manually adjust anything, but we can also access it remotely through our DMS or phone. We even create all our nutrients in-house, giving us complete control over the cycle,” Oldham said.
Old-school meets modern market
When it comes to processing, Native Roots takes a hybrid approach that blends traditional hand-trimming with modern machine-trimming techniques—an honorable marriage between legacy and legal. “At heart, we are purists, and we take our old-school methodology of hand-trimming buds very seriously. We are incredibly proud of our hand-trimmed flower line,” Oldham said.
While hand-trimming is labor-intensive, Native Roots also recognizes the importance of efficiency, which is why they also offer their increasingly popular machine-trimmed line, known as the Green Label. This machine trim is as close to hang-dry hand-trimming as possible, allowing the team to push more product out of the facility without compromising quality.
“We believe we can implement the best practices of both processing methodologies—doing it fast and with high quality through machine trimming, while still being delicate with our hand-trim approach,” Oldham said.
Sterility is also a top priority. “We never reuse trellis for sterility purposes; this eliminates any risk of cross-contamination,” Oldham said.
CO2 enrichment and UV treatment
CO2 is a key factor in maximizing plant growth, especially in an indoor environment. “CO2 is one of the major limiting factors for growth. Indoors, there is a finite amount, and once plants use it up, they can stall. That’s why we supplement with CO2, pumping it into our rooms at about 2000 parts per million—4-5 times greater than the ambient CO2 levels outside,” Oldham said.
Native Roots sources its CO2 from a local beer manufacturer, utilizing a byproduct of their process which is both sustainable and effective.
“The air in our cultivation rooms is also treated with UV light to ensure cleanliness. The UV treatment sterilizes all the air that passes through the matrix in our air handling system, and that ensures that the bloom room is constantly supplied with clean, sterilized, and CO2-enriched air,” Oldham said.
Customizing nutrients for each strain
Each Native Roots strain is unique, and they honor that by tailoring their nutrient feeds accordingly. “Before any strain goes into production, we grow it multiple times, observe its growth, and adjust nutrient levels as needed. That way if a plant looks hungry, we can adjust its potassium, phosphorus, or nitrogen intake,” Oldham said.
This level of customization is made possible by Native Roots’ in-house chemist, who formulates and quality-controls all of their nutrients. “Not only is it a huge cost saver, but we also know exactly what we’re putting into our plants,” Oldham said. “We save hundreds of thousands of dollars every year by creating our nutrients in-house.”
Technology and the future of cannabis processing
While their hearts remain with old-school methods, Native Roots is constantly seeking to improve both efficiency and product quality above all else.
Recently, the team implemented a new monitoring system across all of their processing and storage spaces. The system tracks temperature, humidity, and vapor pressure deficit, ensuring that their product remains consistent and shelf-stable.
Beyond these recent innovations, the team sees a future where automation plays an increasingly important role.
“While I’ll always have nostalgia for the old-school, boutique methodology of hang-drying and hand-trimming, the reality is that it’s incredibly labor-intensive. We’ve been listening to our customers, and they’re demanding high-quality cannabis at the best price—and it just so happens that our machine-trimmed Green Label line is more popular than ever,” Oldham said.
However, Oldham is quick to point out that quality will never be sacrificed for efficiency. “We’re bigger than most dispensaries, but we don’t want to be just another corporate cannabis company. We want to produce some of the best cannabis in Colorado, using technology to our advantage while staying true to the values that built Native Roots,” Oldham said.
