Auto flowering seeds are the relative newcomers to the marijuana family. They will pass straight from seed a short vegetation period to flowering stage irrespective of light cycle (photoperiod). Thanks to the addition of ruderalis genetics, auto flower strains will begin to flower automatically.

Auto flowering strains will bring many benefits to beginners and experts alike. The main pro is the time taken from seed to harvest being dramatically reduced. Some autoflower varieties can be ready in as little as 55 days from seed.

TYPES OF AUTOFLOWERING SEED

The reason autoflowering strains exist at all is down to the genetics inside them. The Auto gene comes from the “Ruderalis” variety, a naturally occurring sub species of cannabis that grows wild in norther latitudes when summers are very short and sunlight is limited. By crossing the ruderalis gene with traditional types of marijuana you get the best of both worlds, size, strength and speed. Because all autoflowering strains have been crossed with a normal marijuana variety the traits associated with them breed true. This means that Indica, sativa and hybrid characteristics are all achievable when growing autos.

CAN AUTOFLOWERS BE GROWN OUTDOORS?

Absolutely! Many autoflwering strains are particularly well suited to outdoor growing as they are crossed with stable photoperiod lines, such as Haze and Cheese. The rapid growth and automatic flowering nature mean several outdoor harvests in one season possible. Given extra room to grow and ample sunlight, the yield of some autos can rival that of “classic’ or photoperiod varieties. A common misconception is that autos do not yield anything like the quantity of normal plants. Although with some of the very fast small varieties, such as the original Lowryder do have a reduced yield; more modern crosses such as Gorilla Glue Auto and Amnesia auto are capable of producing over 200g of outstanding buds from a single plant.