Autoflowering Cannabis Seeds

What are autoflowering cannabis seeds?

Autoflowering seeds are cannabis seeds that begin flowering after a genetically predetermined amount of time, rather than in reaction to a change in the photoperiod (hours of daylight).

Compared to their photoperiod-dependent counterparts, auto seeds tend to produce fast-growing, resilient, and compact specimens. Due to their characteristics, they are well-suited to indoor growing and low-stress training techniques such as ScrOG or SOG. They can nevertheless be grown successfully outdoors too. In fact, due to the fact that they don’t rely on the sun to flower, they can be grown all year round (weather permitting), allowing cultivators to fit multiple harvests into a single season.

How are autoflowering seeds created?

Autoflowering cannabis seeds are hybrid strains containing indica and/or sativa genetics alongside ruderalis genetics—the latter of which is responsible for gifting plants with the ability to flower automatically. Ruderalis cannabis is native to Siberia and surrounding regions. Due to the short summer season there, ruderalis plants evolved to flower according to an internal clock, rather than in response to the sun.

By breeding sativa and indica strains with ruderalis, breeders are able to pass the autoflowering trait onto those plants. However, without careful breeding, this trait will be lost in the next generation of plants, as it is a recessive gene.

It has taken some years to get auto seeds up to a similar quality as photoperiod seeds, as natural ruderalis produces very low yields and low cannabinoid concentrations. However, these days, careful breeding has closed the gap.

Are all autoflowering seeds female?

Pretty much, but not always. While the vast majority of autoflowering seeds are fully feminized, there are some regular ones on the market. They tend to be female because autoflowering seeds are often chosen by beginner growers or those who desire exclusively female plants (as these are the ones that bear viable—i.e. smokeable—flowers). Therefore, contending with 50% male plants, which could pollinate the female plants, is somewhat counterproductive.

That said, there are some regular autoflowering cannabis seeds available. At Zamnesia, we offer a large range from Top Tao Seeds, a company that specialises in regular autoflower seeds.

Why should you buy autoflower seeds?

There are many reasons you may choose to buy autoflowering seeds. These include:

• Fast growth — Some have life cycles as short as 49 days total

• Resilient — Ruderalis makes these strains tough and easy to grow

• Smaller plants — Many strains stay well under a metre in height, allowing them to fit nicely into many grow spaces

• Stealth — Given their small size, these plants are well-suited to clandestine grows

• Autoflowering trait — As they are not photoperiod-dependent, you are not beholden to a specific light cycle

• Ease — All of the above traits make these plants generally easy and enjoyable to grow

As you can see, the main reason to buy autoflowering seeds is that they are easier. Fast, robust, and simple, they are the perfect choice for the novice grower, or simply those who want to be as hands-off as possible.

Despite recent advances, autoflowers tend not to be quite as good as photoperiod strains in the yield department. Moreover, they may be slightly less potent to boot. What’s worth noting, though, is that this is only if you look at their maximum potential. Given how forgiving they are to grow, novices may actually produce better-quality buds and higher yields from autoflowering strains, as they are more forgiving of certain mistakes.

How to grow autoflower seeds

Growing autoflowering cannabis seeds is significantly easier than photoperiods—especially indoors. To germinate them, you can either use the final pot or seedling trays. The seedling stage is the one where autoflowering plants are more vulnerable than photoperiods, and this is because they have a very short vegetative stage. Given this, any damage to their roots will not have time to properly heal, and so they can become quite stunted. This is why it might be worth germinating them in their final pot.

Either way, you can immediately put them under an 18/6 light cycle, and leave them like that until harvest. Some growers leave them under light all day, every day, while others try different methods. Though evidence is scant, we suggest an 18/6 or 20/4 light cycle throughout the entire grow.

Compared to photoperiod plants, autos require less in the way of water and nutrients, so start low and build up. The ruderalis makes them very efficient, and you can damage them easily with overfeeding.

Other than that, just treat them well.

How to choose the best autoflowering seeds

It mostly comes down to taste. These days, pretty much all strains are also available as autoflowering seeds, and so you can grow whatever you want. Some prioritise speed, others size, others strength. These traits are not mutually exclusive either, so you can find rapid, high-yielding, and high-potency strains.

Take a look around the extensive Zamnesia autoflowering cannabis seed catalogue and whet your appetite—there’s plenty to choose from!

Autoflowering Cannabis Seeds: Questions & Answers

🌱 What are autoflowering cannabis seeds?

Autoflowering cannabis seeds produce female plants which flower automatically after a certain amount of days. Generally those seeds are the easiest to grow.

🕘 How long does it take to grow autoflowering plants?

The average growing period of autoflowering plants is somewhere between 8-10 weeks. The end product fully depends on the strain and the growing circumstances.

✔️ What are the benefits of autoflowering cannabis seeds?

Autoflowering seeds flower after a certain amount of days and are not dependent on light cycles. This is a huge advantage and outdoors it can lead to multiple harvests in a season. In addition autoflower genetics are very sturdy and can handle harsher conditions in general.

💪 Is autoflowering cannabis less potent?

This is probably the most heard rumor about autoflowering cannabis. In the early days of autoflowering cannabis the potency was less than that of feminized cannabis though. After a lot of crossbreeding this is not the case anymore and autoflowering cannabis can reach high THC and CBD percentages.

💡 Can you grow autoflowering cannabis seeds indoors?

It's perfectly possible to grow autoflowering cannabis seeds indoors. 20 hours of lighting and 4 hours of darkness is considered to be the optimal light cycle for autoflowering cannabis. This light schedule is also referred to as 20/4.