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.
