Auto-Flowering Cannabis Plants – There’s no denying that growing and using cannabis plants have been widely talked about in recent times. One facet of the cannabis plants that are gradually taking grounds is the cannabis plant flower. When it comes to the plant’s flower, there’s one specific type of cannabis variety that has been especially gaining popularity—auto-flowering cannabis. This auto-flowering cannabis strain is said to have opened up a wide array of opportunities for cannabis growers and users across the globe.
In the following section, we’ll tackle all that you need to know about the auto-flowering cannabis plants – from its basic features to its many advantages down to its glorious history into what it has become today. Keep on reading to find out more.
The special feature of autoflowering cannabis plants
As the name implies, the auto-flowering cannabis plants are a special type of cannabis variety peculiar for automatically flowering at a specific age. Most cannabis plants grow and flower based on the amount of light they receive. They begin flowering especially when they start to receive less light, which typically happens at the end of the summer and the beginning of the fall.
When indoors, they are usually manipulated into flowering by adjusting the light. Autoflowering cannabis plants, however, flower differently based on a specific age. They aren’t dependent on light as they will just flower at a certain point, usually two to three weeks. Know that all auto-flowering strains contain ruderalis genetics, which is the reason behind their auto-flowering attribute.
Advantages of auto-flowering cannabis plants
Autoflowering cannabis strains have many advantages, as follows:
- Small in height: They are usually smaller, making them ideal for indoor grow ops or “stealth” growing brought by their ruderalis genetics.
- Short lifespan: They have a brief lifespan, growing from seed to harvest in as little as eight or nine weeks.
- No separation needed: There’s no need to separate the indoor auto-flowering cannabis varieties during the vegetative phases, unlike the photoperiod strains.
- Outdoor adjustment: Even when growing auto-flowering cannabis outdoors, it’s possible to harvest multiple crops per year.
History of auto-flowering cannabis plants
The origin of auto-flowering cannabis strain is quite debatable. Nevertheless, let’s take a look at its inception and transition to what it is today.
- Inception: Cannabis ruderalis was first discovered in 1924 by a Russian botanist. The species is said to be native to Central or Eastern Europe and Russia, but it can also be found across North America in Canada and the US.
- Experimentation: Cannabis breeders started experimenting with ruderalis back in the 1970s. One of the breeders is Neville Schoenmaker, who founded ‘The Seed Bank’ — now known as Sensi Seeds.
- Marketing: Lowryder, considered the first large-scale marketed auto-flowering variety in the early 2000s, has become a gamechanger since then. It is a unique hybrid bred by The Joint Doctor whose history is still masked in mystery. But, if there’s one thing, it has given way to the first-ever stable ruderalis cross.
- Today’s industry: Today, the market industry for auto-flowering cannabis varieties has continued to flourish. Expert breeders from the world’s biggest seed banks even use ruderalis genetics to create other auto-flowering varieties of many classic photoperiod strains.
It cannot be denied that there are many opportunities for cannabis plant growers. The growers can now grow high-quality cannabis in limited spaces, short time frames, or in conditions that previously seemed unfeasible.
To this end, we hope that this blog has shed some light on what you need to know all about the auto-flowering cannabis plants if you plan on starting the cannabis growing journey.
If you’re looking for Auto-flowering, feminised or CBD seeds, get in touch with Coffee Shop Seeds to see how we can help.