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Although autoflower cannabis seeds have received much attention and better reviews in recent years, some growers still refrain from using this type of seed as they have in mind the mediocre yielding capacity of the first generation that went on the market at the beginning of the 21st century. In reality, though, these genetics have come a long way since then, and now offer a real choice to consider when planning your grow.
Autoflowering, autoflower, automatic, or auto cannabis plants are those whose flowering starts automatically and doesn’t depend on a change in the photoperiod. This means that they bloom depending on their age and not on the hours of light and darkness that they’re exposed to. This sets them apart from the photoperiod cannabis varieties, which require a change in the photoperiod, i.e. being moved to a 12/12 cycle (12 hrs of light and 12 hrs of darkness) so that they start producing flowers.
It is the opposite of photoperiodic flowering, which is when the plant, in its natural setting, starts producing flowers after the summer solstice, when the days become shorter. This autoflowering feature is incredibly useful for indoor growers, as they can keep their autos in a constant light cycle until harvest day. Moreover, this is also especially helpful in outdoor crops, since you can harvest much earlier than with photoperiod plants, thereby avoiding any mould problems which may arise with the first autumn rains.
Autoflower cannabis plants have a significantly shorter life span than their photoperiod sisters. Depending on the variety, photoperiod cannabis can take between 4 and 6 months (or more) to reach maturity. In contrast, autoflowering strains are usually ready for harvest between 8 and 10 weeks after seed germination.
This means that you don’t have to wait as long to enjoy those precious buds. Besides, this really is an advantage if you consider that sativas can sometimes take 6 months or more to grow fully. Outdoors, the shorter life cycle of the autoflowering strains makes an even bigger difference, because you can grow several crops per season instead of just one. And if you grow in a region with shorter and cooler summers, this quality is definitely of special interest to you.
Autoflower seeds have been made possible thanks to a particular species of cannabis which is often regarded as a subspecies: Cannabis ruderalis. Unlike the psychoactive cannabis strains, ruderalis plants produce very few cannabinoids, so they are often crossed with Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica varieties to create autoflowering versions of some of the most popular strains.
Cannabis ruderalis is native to Russia and has therefore adapted to exceedingly difficult environments. In fact, the ruderalis plant is often known as ‘ditch weed' (i.e. weed that grows wild on the side of the road), and originates from regions of Siberia where it developed with minimum resources, adapting to wintry weather and the different durations of day and night.
As a result, this ‘weed’ is incredibly hardy and doesn’t depend on the photoperiod, meaning that it flowers after 4 to 5 weeks of vegetative growth, regardless of the amount of light it receives. Therefore, by crossing ruderalis strains with modern, award-winning cannabis genetics, we end up with more potent and reliable varieties that are easier to grow and don’t depend on the photoperiod.
Although growers began experimenting with the ruderalis genetics in the early 1970s in an attempt to create photoperiod strains that mustered all of these traits, the first commercial seeds of this kind only became popular in the 2000s. Generally speaking, though, they weren’t up to the standards of their photoperiod sisters in terms of aroma, potency, and yielding capacity. Nonetheless, they have experienced many improvements since then, and nowadays autoflowering strains can perfectly compete in quality with their feminised or regular counterparts.
In addition to their speed, which allows for the cultivation of several crops in the same season, autoflower cannabis plants exhibit other equally surprising traits. For instance:
Their size is more manageable and, therefore, they’re more discreet:
Due to their short life cycle, autoflowering cannabis strains don’t grow as tall, which makes them easier to handle in all types of environments. If you grow indoors with limited space or restricted height, an autoflowering plant might be just what you need. If you grow outdoors and want a discreet and well-hidden crop, their reduced size makes them suitable for balconies or garden beds, where they can be disguised amongst other plants. These features also make them highly appealing for guerrilla growers. Don’t be fooled by their size, though: autoflowerings develop great colas and side branches full of buds that ensure a good harvest even in small spaces.
They’re much more resistant and easier to grow:
Autoflower seeds include the genetics of the robust ruderalis strains, which are accustomed to growing in harsh environments. This feature is passed on to the autoflowering hybrids, making them much easier to grow. Therefore, plants are naturally more resistant and tolerate colder climates more efficiently, plus you don’t have to worry about keeping an eye on the photoperiod. And thanks to their short life cycle, these genetics are less vulnerable to pests, fungi, and diseases. All in all, these strains present fewer problems during cultivation and are rather tolerant when it comes to the typical mistakes that rookie growers tend to make.
They are more forgiving when grown in urban environments:
There’s something else you don’t have to worry about with autoflowering strains, and that’s whether light seeps in during the cycle of darkness, which can be stressful for photoperiod plants grown indoors as well as for those in outdoor urban settings, where the street lamps can confuse the plants at night. Autos can tolerate all forms of light leakage, whether in the grow room or out in the city.
The life cycle of autoflowering plants is so short that the key to success in their cultivation is to control all resources from the very beginning and to avoid any kind of deficiency or excess. While photoperiod varieties may have time to recover from pests or nutrient deficiencies, any problem with an automatic can prove fatal, as they don’t usually have the time to overcome it.
To prevent this, you must plan your grow well from the beginning, allowing your plant to use all the available resources in the most efficient way. From the day you put the seeds to germinate the clock starts ticking, and every mistake you make will result in a lower yield. So be careful and plan before you plant!
Everything rests on the climate of the region where you want to plant your autoflowering grow. Automatic strains are especially successful in warm areas with mild winters, where they can be grown for months beyond the summer, producing up to three harvests per year.
- Mediterranean climate:You can sow your first crop between mid-April and early May, when the frost season is over and the days are longer. This way, you’ll be harvesting in late July, and you can sow again in early August (so you would be harvesting again in October).
- Atlantic or continental climate:This climate involves lots of rain, less sun, and shorter summers. Therefore, you can usually only grow one crop per year. Ideally, you want to sow at the beginning of June so that you’re ready to harvest in late August.
The summer season is when autos work best outdoors because a number of factors come together at that time, allowing them to develop to their full potential. During this period of the year, the sun shines brighter, so the solar radiation received by the leaves is greater. The same thing happens with light intensity. If we add the fact that it’s brighter for longer throughout the day, what is the result? That the plants’ yielding capacity soars to higher heights.
Autoflowering plants flower automatically in any light/darkness cycle, which means that, when you’re growing indoors, you don’t need to change the photoperiod for them to start the flowering process. The more hours of light they receive (as long as it’s above 12 hours per day), the more efficient their performance will be.
You can maintain a stable cycle of 18/6, 20/4, or 22/2 throughout their full life cycle, depending on how much you’re happy to spend on electricity. Some growers expose them to 24 hours of light from the very beginning until harvest time, but this is not usually recommended because the plants also need some rest and time to recover.
Nonetheless, many growers who have experimented with 24/0 and 18/6 light cycles claim that they didn’t notice any major differences in the final yield, so the decision depends on the specific strain that you’re growing and on your particular growing circumstances.
Autoflowers don’t like to be transplanted because this process stresses them out and hinders their growth. This is why you should grow the plants in the same pot from the beginning. It is best to give them plenty of space, so use pots of between 5 and 20 litres so that their roots can expand. We recommend that you work with pots of at least 7 litres, or 15 litres if you want them to get as large as possible. The vegetative phase usually lasts about 25 days, and, from that point, the plants will start to flower but will still carry on growing. In fact, they will normally continue to increase in size until about day 45.
Autos require an aerated substrate to help them make the most of the available resources and develop their roots well to accelerate all their metabolic processes. We advise you to work with a substrate that contains 1/3 coco coir and 2/3 peat; or, alternatively, a ready substrate, which you can find in most grow shops. If you’re opting for an organic grow, you can prepare a 'super soil' that contains all the necessary nutrients and microbial life for the entire life cycle of your plants. This will most definitely help you get the best out of them.
While photoperiod strains require a complex nutritional strategy that changes throughout their life cycle, the autoflowering varieties can cope with a reduced diet thanks to their resistant genetics. Fertilise them in moderation! This means that you shouldn’t follow the manufacturer’s dosage guidelines by the book. As their roots are smaller, you only need to use 50% (or even 25%) of the recommended dose.
Given that the automatic varieties mature according to their age, any nutritional stress that they have to face (such as over-fertilisation) can greatly slow them down if not managed properly. And remember: it’s always easier to fix a nutrient deficit than to try to rectify a nutrient excess.
Nonetheless, some autoflowering varieties, such as our Gorilla Glue Auto and Bruce Banner Auto, are voracious beasts that require a stronger dose. But make sure you try small amounts first before moving on to larger doses.
Try to avoid making your watering regime complicated. It’s always good advice to keep things as simple as possible, especially at the beginning of your plants’ life. In the case of autos, it is better to irrigate them with less water but more often to promote oxygenation. If there is something that can be problematic for them is a waterlogged substrate, which could lead to a stop in growth.
As a guideline, try to ensure that the plants don’t lack moisture, but that the pots aren’t too heavy. And avoid stressing the plants by making sure the nutrient solution is at a temperature of 22-23°C before watering, because the pH is also affected when the temperature fluctuates outside this optimal range.
The optimal pH for autoflowers is the same as for their photoperiod sisters. For autos growing in soil, use pH levels between 6.0 and 7.0, whereas hydroponic systems work well with levels between 5.5 and 6.5. You can of course also get good crops even with slightly lower or slightly higher pH measurements, depending on the stage of growth and the type of cannabis that you’re growing.
As always, time is of the essence, so avoid stressing your autoflowering plants so they don’t slow down. Therefore, don’t trim or train them, and leave them alone as much as possible. If you really need to train them, use only mild low-impact methods, such as LST (Low Stress Training); and only with varieties that tend to grow in excess, such as the sativa-leaning autos.
If you want an autoflower that grows considerably so that you can try some of these training techniques, our classic Jack Herer Auto could be the right choice for you. This large plant grows vigorously both sideways and upwards. This is because the most branchy specimens have been given preference in its stabilisation, resulting in an ideal auto for the implementation of optimised cultivation techniques, providing you have a little bit of skill.
Following this ‘not pruning’ principle, growing techniques such as SCROG are not recommended for automatics. However, the SOG (Sea of Green) method may be suitable and can help maximise the yielding potential of these strains.
With this method, cuttings are left to vegetate for a very short period of time before prompting them to flower, something that can be perfectly achieved by replacing the cuttings with autoflowering strains. In addition to having a short vegetative period (often as short as two weeks), intermediate nodes that would normally produce lateral branching are also removed from the plants in order to promote the development of only one central cola. With this, what you achieve is that the plants don’t take up as much space.
Growing cannabis is a rewarding process that can also turn out to be complicated at times. And one of the most important decisions for getting off to a good start is choosing the right seed from the hundreds of varieties that exist on the market, which can be an overwhelming experience in itself.
Therefore, when starting an autoflowering grow, the secret of success lies in choosing a seed bank like Seedstockers that has managed to capture the great genetic diversity of this type of cannabis, always giving priority to the quality and stability of the plants over other secondary parameters. And, to make things easier when you choose your strain, it is important that you know how to differentiate between the several types of autoflower seeds available in our catalogue.
On a first level, all of our autoflowering varieties are feminised. As the name suggests, there’s no need to sex the plants to identify and get rid of the male plants (which can pollinate the female plants and produce seeds). But this is only the beginning.
North American genetics, and in particular the Californian varieties, have taken grows by storm all around the world. They have turned into a real object of desire thanks to their amazing combination of potency, flavour, and yielding capacity. And now Seedstockers is making it easier than ever for you to try these autoflowers from the other side of the Atlantic, thanks to our selection of 'Made in USA' autos that you can now buy on our website: a range of USA seeds that have been carefully chosen for their quality and various medicinal and recreational properties. We’ve also considered other factors such as genetic diversity, climate tolerance, and flowering times, among other traits. So be warned: whenever you’re ready to buy some USA seeds, keep in mind that our selection and quality can hardly be surpassed.
For instance, make sure you try our Cookies strains, such as Girl Scout Cookies Auto, an automatic classic that you will want to grow again and again. Or crosses such as Cookies & Cream Auto, a strain that achieves its autoflowering character thanks to its hybridisation with the famous Northern Lights Auto, and whose purpose is to produce as much THC as possible. Even our Gorilla Cookies Auto will surprise you with its yielding capacity and long-lasting effects.
But if you’re looking for a specific effect, such as relaxation, we recommend our Gelato #41 Auto, a very powerful plant that delivers a strong physical sensation and can offer temporary relief for the symptoms associated with anxiety, depression, or stress. Candy Dawg Auto is another North American variety worth mentioning that is already one of the cult seeds of recent times in its own right. This beauty stands out for its complex terpene mix and its extremely comforting effect.
Likewise, our catalogue includes high-THC automatic strains that meet the needs of those growers looking for the most intense psychoactive effects. One of these is Green Crack Auto, another hybrid responsible for the great evolution of cannabis in recent years, with the ability to produce a THC count of around 22% capable of knocking down even the most seasoned smokers. Or Sherbet Auto, the auto version of the famous award-winning Sunset Sherbet, so you can expect high THC levels that combine perfectly with refreshing, fruity flavours of mango and melon.
At Seedstockers we also have other pedigree North American hybrids that you should get to know. For example, Gorilla Glue Auto, one of the most beloved American varieties, famous for its high trichome production, which gives it a very sticky look that lives up to its name. Or Purple Punch Auto, another amazing strain with a robust taste that produces flowers that can turn purple or reddish if the temperature drops slightly.
The Seedstockers’ catalogue also includes a selection of classic genetics in their autoflowering version: the best known and most cultivated strains in the world; cannabis icons that have already reached legendary status and have received the most awards thanks to their exquisite taste and powerful effect. Without a doubt, this is the perfect result after mixing the best old school marijuana hybrids.
A great example of these is Super Skunk Auto, a strain adored by recreational users which delivers a really astounding bodily effect and an invigorating mental experience. This is the perfect variety for special moments when you’re in need of a touch of happiness. Or Sour Diesel Auto, another cannabis legend that has gained many followers for its delicious flavour and powerful effect, becoming for years the favourite of many for embodying all the features of the best Californian weed.
Other sure bets are our White Widow Auto and Moby Dick Auto. Just like the strains previously mentioned, and despite being considered more contemporary, these two cannabis jewels have earned a place amongst the cannabis gods and are definitely here to stay.
Last but not least, we couldn’t be prouder to present our Seedstockers superior genetic line: a selection of varieties created by our team of breeders.
After sharing both genetic information and selection and stabilisation knowledge, and based on many different crosses, we have selected the following 5 hybrids: Panty Punch Auto, Blue Moby Auto, Mack and Crack Auto, Thunder Banana Auto, and Apollo Black Cherry Auto. These represent everything that can be expected from a collaboration between breeders in possession of the best possible genetics, and our own breeders, who are among the best seed producers in the world. With amazing flavours, exceptional yielding potential, and a very competitive price, they are genetics with remarkable terpene and cannabinoid profiles which bring something really new to the cannabis community.
As you can see, Seedstockers offers a wide selection of autoflower strains for every taste, with an extensive range of flavours and properties that stand out for their balance and complexity, and which are ideal for novice and expert growers alike.
So don’t hesitate: if you really want to succeed in the wonderful world of autoflowerings and benefit from the best price on the market, you’ve certainly come to the right place!
