What are autoflowering? (2023)

Child of little-known speciesruderal hempand crossed with your favorite Indica, Sativa, and/or hybrids of both, today's "autoflowering" hybrids (also known as "autos") offer an easy breeding process with some excellent genetics available from the best seed breeders in the world. we days of today

When it comes to normal cannabis seeds, the plants go through a vegetative state until they induce flowering by shortening the "daylight" period (usually after 3 months indoors and up to 7 months outdoors, which occurs naturally) . for shorter days). When growing indoors, you should switch to a shorter 12 hour light cycle to start the flowering stage. Autoflowering seeds don't need this light cycle change—They will automatically start flowering after 3-4 weeks of vegetative growth (depending on the variety you are growing) with no change in lighting.

You can easily go through a 20 hour "lights on" and 4 hour dark/sleep cycle and just leave it alone. The extra light alone will produce a larger plant. With autoflowering seeds, this process takes place on its own and can be a great method for growers looking to harvest their plants faster. Also, almost all autoflowering seeds sold are feminized, meaning that each seed must produce a female plant. Great for beginners but viable for any grower as the current varieties (as of 2020) are fantastic. Although there is some disagreement in the scientific community regarding species or subspecies, we do not address it here. Let the scientists find out.

TO USE:Some producers dance at full speed and leave the lights on 24/7. We believe that every living thing needs a little rest, and this can harm the plant's immune system and stress it unnecessarily. This is a topic of much debate, but this is our position on lightweight automotive bikes: do we prefer 18/6 or 20/4.

Autoflowering 101: How to grow autoflowering plants

Growing autoflowering cannabis plants is possibly the easiest way to grow. That said, there are many flaws when people try to follow "typical" procedures for common plants (aka "photo" or "photosensitive"). People will read online about how to defoliate, lollipop, harvest, germinate, transplant and clone cannabis plants and then try it out with an autoflowering hybrid.

Experimentation is ongoing, but with a plant that is literally ready to harvest in less than eight weeks, you can imagine the damage (stunted growth, even plant death) that interrupting this cycle could cause. With the drastic stresses involved in growing, etc., the plant doesn't have enough time to recover and "recover" due to its incredibly slowed growth process. In fact, the autos also don't distinguish "veg" from "flower" as clearly as they do in the pictures: the autos will start to bloom as they continue to grow, with more overlap during the transition.

That said, in general, autoflowering strains take the "guesswork" out of how long and when to leave your plants in their plant state.—or you want to change your light cycle to twelve hours of light to induce the flowering phase. Also, the full bloom cycle is included in the "time from bud to harvest" instead of adding another 8-12 weeks of flower growing time to your schedule. With the right setup and the right growing protocol, autoflowering cannabis plants can produce impressive results in terms of quality and quantity of buds. With the right setup and protocol, achieving 4-5 ounces per plant of high quality buds is very achievable.

As stated, autoflowering feminized seeds have a fast growing cycle and naturally offer faster production times, making the home grower a happy camper with more frequent harvest dates. A faster growth cycle means you'll get a timely harvest, and more harvests mean more buds. I could get 5 or 6 crops a year!

Autoflowering strains are a great way to start growing your own cannabis or something new for an experienced grower to try. Seed banks list top 10 "autos" and typically provide THC%, CBD%, medical use recommendations, yield estimates, and more.

FYI: You can usually get higher yields than advertised using the latest growing equipment, the latest techniques and protocols such as low stress training. For example, simply switching to a fabric pot will increase yields as the roots never "get tangled up". Plant the seeds directly into the potting soil you will be harvesting from for best results. Keep the seeds hydrated (start by drenching the entire pot with soil) and they should sprout in 3-5 days.

Hours of autoflowering and nutrients

Autoflowering plants naturally grow in soil. Unlike traditional photographic methods, it is not recommended to germinate the seeds separately (in a damp paper towel or in a smaller Solo Cup type container) and then transplant them into a larger container once they have sprouted. Again, the cycle is so fast that each stage of development can quickly pass in a matter of days, and we don't want to stop that or we'll get mediocre results.

It is also not good to grow them hydroponically. In fact, a cloth pot with a large saucer to collect water is similar to hydroponically grown cannabis in regards to the roots, meaning that many of the same benefits are achieved in a soil medium. Since autoflowering cannabis is a smaller plant and their growing periods are much shorter, you don't need to feed them as much, if at all. A good organic soil mix should provide all the necessary nutrients for 75 to 90 days. That said, some varieties will consume many nutrients more quickly than others, so pay attention to color changes during growing and act accordingly. A note of caution: Use nuts sparingly, no matter what the bottle says.

The first nutrients consumed are usually nitrogen and the least invasive nutrients are organic. Iguana Juice by Advanced Nutrients is a recognized brand. Your plant will need access to nutrients right away, as the growing time is short and microbes have less time to develop in the soil. Good soil mixes usually have a lot of good microbes, but you can always add more good microbes. Mykos (a specific brand for mycorrhizae) is arguably the most important, as it will help to strengthen the plant's natural immune system and increase the limits of root growth, which in turn will also help to produce larger plants. While most important during the growing season, some strains may also need nitrogen during flowering. That's why caring for your plants is always better than just letting them grow on their own, whether in an automated system, semi-automated system, non-automated system, tent or outdoors. Outdoor autos will always have lower yields than indoor crops due to the longer light cycles indoors (i.e. 18-20 hours).

Other great nutrients (if needed) for your autoflowering strains are phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium, which help promote the growth of autoflowering cannabis plants.

autoflowering light hours

Autoflowering cannabis plants are great when it comes to light.
A) They do not require a change in lighting time to induce flowering.
B) If you "bother" them during their sleep cycle, they don't care.
C) These plants will flower automatically regardless of the light schedule they are in.

This means you don't need any external light deprivation settings or additional interior lighting. If you grow outdoors, your yields will naturally be lower since we don't get 20 hours of sunlight anywhere in the US. Also, they can grow in colder climates than regular cannabis due to the hybridization genetics of the Ruderalis species. Cannabis Ruderalis comes from Siberia!

More light = bigger plant = more buds! They will grow bigger and faster than their outdoor counterparts. These plants thrive in light to grow ultra-fast in their autoflowering cycles, so give them at least eighteen hours of light to maximize crop yields.

Autoflowering and LST (low stress training) growing cycle

As stated, during the first part of the autoflowering growth cycle, you can expect a 2-3 week vegetative stage. This is before flowering and is where you want to do any stress training. Avoid putting too much stress on the plant and make sure it reallylow stress, or the plant may go into shock. This can cause growth retardation and affect peak performance. That said, until flowering, the plant (and all the stems) will be very flexible. This allows it to bend in all directions to open the plant, which in turn receives more light deep in the canopy.

You'll want 1/4" diameter bamboo poles (or similar) and 10- to 12-inch loops or twist ties to train the plants. Once flowering starts in earnest, it's best not to be too aggressive with LST : the plant will become less and less flexible as it progresses to flowering and can easily break a stem during bending at this stage - if this happens at any point, tape it down - masking tape, masking tape, etc. works well (as long as some hemp threads still connect the broken branch, it will probably save it).

In either case, you want 95% of your training done before the first 3-5 days of flowering. Stress training is part art and science. The idea is to intervene in the natural growth pattern (like a Christmas tree) and make it more like a shrub or hedge, creating more crowns and more yield by training the plant to grow as a multi-crowned shrub or hedge with similar heights per branch. . .

Stress like this will cause the plant to produce more growth hormones, which equates to higher yields. LST is not the only factor when it comes to increased performance, but it is an important part of achieving the best possible performance. There are many specific articles about it on the web and in this blog article we just want to discuss what it is and what it accomplishes, but this is not an article focused on LST.

Flowering is a very exciting time for growers. They get to see their plants begin to bear "fruit", so to speak. This fast process allows for a production time of between 8 and 10 weeks on most crops. Fantastic!

NOTE: There are 12-14 week strains available, but for your first grow try an 8-10 week strain. You'll be glad you did. It's a good experience and, in any case, it may be just what the tension calls for.

How to know when it's blooming

The best way to tell when a cannabis plant is flowering is to look at the nodes and tips on each stem, including the main stem. If you're seeing what appear to be white or dull hairs coming out of the tops of the stems, then it's in bloom. You may even start to smell the notes of your autoflowering strains (the terpenes/aroma) as the plant starts to develop its buds. Skunk Indicia is called Skunk for a reason... Even the Banana smells like fruit.

You can also start looking for the cannabinoid crystals (trichomes) themselves. This is a great indicator that your plant has started to flower. For autoflowering plants, timing can be a good rule of thumb, as they usually start flowering after a month. Ninety day strains can be a little longer.

The coolest feature of Autos may be that the flowering process is automatic. This takes a lot of the "guesswork" and/or "when to bloom" out of the equation as to when or "if" your plants entered the flowering phase. A good magnifying glass is useful at this point. You can get tiny 10X to 100X magnifiers, with one light! on Amazon for $10 to $15 (and we think it's a great investment).

when to harvest

Autoflowering plants are highly prized in terms of quick harvest times. Typically, it takes eight to ten weeks from budding or an autoflowering cannabis plant to reaching maturity and ready to harvest. You will be able to see the beautiful tails standing erect in the foliage. Some strains develop long colas (a collection of buds along each stem) and others will have a large bud at the end of each stem, or secondary stems; Variations on these themes will also be noted. The smell will also be much more concentrated and should reflect the genetics of the seed as advertised, and less of the freshly cut grass as the plants mature and are ready to harvest, the terpenes (whether citrus, berry, pine or many other scents) cut lose. It smells all over the house if you don't have a suitable grow room or enclosure and a charcoal scrubber to remove the orders before they reach the extractor.

When harvesting your autoflowering plants, we recommend a "wet clipping" (cut all the leaves without "sugar crystals" while the plant is still in the soil/pot), a few more days of growing under lights (4-5), and when ready, cut the entire plant at its base. You can hang the entire plant to dry or cut individual branches. Some growers choose to leave the buds on the lower levels of the plant to allow them to mature a little longer while you trim and cure the buds that come from the larger glue. The idea here is that if you first remove the tops of plants that received the most light, the lower layers of the plant can receive more direct light and mature much more abundantly. This is a better technique if growing "regular" strains (not Autos). This can be done with Autos, but it really shouldn't be necessary if you've trained the plant correctly and literally "poked" its large fan-shaped leaves on the way so other tops can get more light, the whole plant should be ready to harvest all at once.

More information on Covering/pruning/cutting and cloning autos

Top dressing can be a critical part of the process with "normal" (i.e. non-autoflowering) cannabis plants, but the process is different for an autoflowering plant. Although experienced growers experiment with cultivation, we do not recommend growing or pruning an autoflowering cannabis strain, and as stated, never transplanting an "Auto". Their lives are so short that any radical interruption in the growth cycle can harm or completely stop the maturation of the plant. Cloning is another no-no for these strains for obvious reasons. If you decide to cut/trim/prune/defoliate/clone Autos, it will most likely erase all your care and progress, and may even kill the plant. As stated, since the growing periods of autoflowering cannabis strains are so short, it is important to avoid damaging/shocking the plant and stunting (or worse).

LST Autoflower (Low Stress Training) "Explained"

Low stress training is one of four or five "tips and tricks" that together greatly increase performance. The method known as LST involves gently leaning over the cannabis stems while the plant is in veg mode. This is done to create more surface area to create a more vertical growth scenario. The main top must also be trained or its light will be too far away from the secondary branches. The idea is to make all rods approximately the same height via LST. This allows the light to be as close as possible to all caps created using this technique. Avoid leaving the light too close so as not to burn the plant. On the other hand, if the light is too far away from the canopies, they will stretch towards the light and you will have thin, underperforming plants. The very act of stress training will cause the plant to release growth hormones, producing more stems, tips and leaves, which equates to more premium flowers at harvest.

Can autoflowering plants be cloned?

That's debatable. We do not recommend cloning cars. However, as stated, some producers believe it is possible. Think about it logically. If your plant is 3 weeks old and you clone it (just before flowering), the clone results will be minuscule. They will be about 3 inches tall and a week later they will start to bloom. You'll end up with a bunch of 4-inch plants, minimizing your harvest compared to if you'd followed our protocol. Also, he might kill his mother in the process, from the shock, and he won't have many tops left, so why bother?

Autoflowering vs Photoperiod

While confusing at first, the differences are actually quite simple. Photoperiod plants rely on changes in light cycles (indoor or outdoor) to "know" when to bloom. "Photos" (regular strains like C. Sativa/C. Indica and crosses of the two) will remain in the vegetative stage of growth indefinitely, or until the light changes enough to induce flowering. This is usually twelve hours of light on and twelve hours of light off, with no interruptions.

C. sativa can grow up to 6 meters tall. C. Indicates 5-6 feet. Intermediate crosses depend on genetic dominance, but 10 feet are not uncommon in the outdoors. Autoflowering strains are hybridized in such a way that the plant will automatically start flowering after growing for a certain amount of time, hence the term "Auto".

All automobiles include C. ruderalis genes and rarely exceed 3-3 ½ feet in height. The yield of automobiles is usually lower because they are smaller plants. That said, there are many tips, tricks and methods for producing larger yields from smaller plants as described elsewhere in this article.

The decision to choose autoflowering or photoperiod strains will depend on personal preference and experience. Automobiles are often considered a good starting point for budding growers due to their fast and consistent growth cycles. Techniques like culture-free stress training and, in many cases, equivalent THC content make it a no-brainer for beginners. Many novice growers choose this option. That said, there are many autoflowering strains that are rewarding for even the most experienced grower.

Vincent Bitetti is o president and COO of Green Goddess Supply, and o original inventor dothe closet-- signature is uniquepersonal home growing systemthat adjusts for best results with autoflowering strains.