Autoflowering marijuana seeds, otherwise known as automatic seeds or auto seeds, have become one of the favourites of cannabis growers. They develop very quickly, aren’t at all demanding, and caring for them is very straightforward, so they’re ideal both for novices in home cultivation and more experienced growers who are looking for reliable plants with which they’ll always succeed.

At Kannabia Seed Company, we offer you the best catalogue of autoflowering cannabis seeds – a selection that’s the result of intense hybridisation work by our breeders to make the best non-photoperiod genetics on the market available to everyone. This is because everything must always begin with a good seed when it comes to growing a good cannabis plant, which is why it’s essential to familiarise yourself with the characteristics of this type of variety to determine which one’s best for you. So, here’s everything you need to know to help you make the right choice.

Autoflowering seeds at the best price

Despite having been with us for more than two decades and having received great public and critical acclaim in recent years, some growers are still reluctant to use autoflowering cannabis seeds. The poor performance of autoflowering strains when they first came onto the market back in the early part of this century continues to weigh heavily on the collective imagination of some cannabis purists. But nothing could be further from the truth thanks to the evolution of new varieties: these provide growers with a whole new world of possibilities when planning their cultivation because they can compete perfectly well with their feminised or regular sisters in terms of quality.

In some ways, autoflowering cannabis seeds have changed the rules of the self-cultivation game, enabling many more growers (especially those living in urban environments or places with a harsher climate) to achieve fantastic yields of buds that are loaded with resin. And because we at Kannabia Seed Company know there’s an autoflowering marijuana seed for every type of user, our catalogue ranges from classic genetics that have emerged over the years to new hybrids still waiting to be discovered. And always at affordable prices because you know you’re dealing with autoflowering genetics from Kannabia when the quality / price ratio is unbeatable.

What are autoflowering cannabis seeds?

Autoflowering cannabis plants are those in which flowering begins automatically and isn’t dependent on photoperiod changes. When anyone wanted to grow marijuana in the past, they relied heavily on daylight for the plants to grow and flower. The amount of light fluctuates with the seasons, and just like most things in nature, cannabis plants depend on these varying amounts of sunlight. The intensity, duration, and quality of daylight changes as the days get longer, making the cannabis plant think, ‘Summer’s on its way… time to start flowering to produce seeds and perpetuate my species!’

Nevertheless, this can be a problem if you want more control over when your plants should start flowering. Indoor growers do this by setting their lamps’ lighting times, yet this isn’t the case for outdoor growers. Fortunately, things have changed since the emergence of autoflowering seeds in that although the plants still need light to grow, they flower according to their age as opposed to the hours of light and darkness they receive.

Thus, autoflowering cannabis plants have a significantly shorter lifespan than photoperiod strains; this makes them especially useful for outdoor crops as you can harvest them much earlier, thereby avoiding problems with mould when the first autumn rains arrive.

What are Ruderalis genetics?

Autoflowering seeds are the creation of a combination of Ruderalis genetics with modern indica and sativa hybrids. Cannabis Ruderalis is a species of cannabis that comes from areas with extreme climates such as southern Siberia, northern Kazakhstan and Russia. It’s a plant that’s adapted to the cold and to different lengths of day and night with very few resources. Thus, its origins in harsh environments have produced a strong, resilient breed, making it flower at lightning speed for fear of dying. It’s a true survivor whose flowering isn’t dependent on the photoperiod (ie. the seasonal day / night light changes) but occurs naturally regardless of its setting.

How long do autoflowering seeds take to flower?

Flowering usually coincides with the development of the seventh node; this is usually after a period of vegetative growth of between 3 and 5 weeks although autoflowering varieties will continue to stretch a little more during the first two weeks of flowering (up to around day 45) until they reach a complete life cycle (between 60 and 90 days from germination to harvest).

This means you don’t have to wait as long to enjoy those precious buds that would otherwise have taken ages to produce. Therefore, as they’re “programmed” to flower and have such a short life cycle, the key to cultivation success lies in controlling resources from the beginning and avoiding any shortages or excesses: since they don’t have time to recover, any problem with an automatic can result in a lower yield.

How tall can an autoflowering plant grow?

Due to a short life cycle, these plants grow to a compact size (between 30 and 80 cm), enabling them to be grown in restricted spaces both outdoors and indoors. Furthermore, they can be grown very discreetly without attracting attention. They’re also a great solution for people who are just starting to grow marijuana because their short development time averts problems with humidity, fungi, pests and diseases. Less time means fewer chances of anything going wrong.

What lighting cycle do autoflowering plants need indoors?

Since autoflowers aren’t dependent on photoperiods, you can give them as much light as you like. Thus, the more hours of light they receive, the more efficient their performance will be. Depending on how much you want to spend on electricity, you can maintain a stable 18/6 or 22/2 cycle throughout your plants’ life. Also, although some growers give them 24 hours of light from the outset to harvest, it’s advisable to give them a little time to rest and recover; therefore, the ideal is to establish a light cycle of 20 hours of light x 4 hours of darkness throughout their life cycle.

What is the best time to plant autoflowers outdoors?

These genetics love intense light, which is why, autoflowering varieties (like bicycles) are great for summer . They perform best outdoors in the summer because the sun’s more powerful at this time of year, meaning that the radiation received by the leaves is greater. When we also add the factor of more hours of daylight, the result is that the productive capacity escalates to reach maximum yields.

The number of harvests that can be achieved with autoflowering seeds

Although summer’s a good time to grow autoflowers, it all depends on where you live. In an Atlantic or continental climate, there’s less sun and the summers are shorter so only generally one crop can be grown. Thus, the ideal is to plant the seeds at the beginning of June to be able to harvest the crop at the end of August before the autumn rains arrive.

However, in a Mediterranean climate you can plant the first crop between mid-April and early May (when the cold has passed and the days are longer) to harvest your crop at the end of July; then you can re-cultivate at the beginning of August to harvest again in October.

If you live in a more northerly climate or in an area where the weather can change quite quickly, autoflowers are more tolerant of ideal growing conditions; this is due to their evolutionary adaptation to adversity, which makes them stronger, more resilient plants.

Which pot to use to plant autoflowering seeds

Just as autoflowers love summer, they don’t like to be stressed as they need to put all their energy into growing and flowering as quickly as possible. This is why it’s advisable to spare them any issues that could slow them down, and one of the maxims is to leave them in the pot they’ll end up in from the beginning rather than transplanting them: to achieve this, give them space using pots of between 5 – 20 litres so that their roots can expand (although we recommend working with 7-litre pots at least).

What the best substrate for automatics is

Autoflowering plants require a loose, airy substrate that allows them to develop their roots well to speed up their metabolic processes. We recommend using a substrate that consists of 1/3 coconut fibre and 2/3 peat or ready-made soil (the kind you can find in any grow shop). It’s not necessary to add fertilisers unless the soil you’re using has a very light nutritional composition.

What type of nutrition does autoflowering cannabis require?

Besides their rapid development, autoflowers have a resilient nature, so they’re not too choosy about the quality of the medium they are grown in and develop well with minimal nutrients. The best advice is to avoid complicating their nutrition too much as being faced with any nutritional stress can slow them down tremendously (and it’s always easier to fix a deficiency in nutrients than attempt to lift an excess in them).

Also, it’s better to irrigate autos using less water but more frequently to promote oxygenation. These are plants that can’t handle a waterlogged substrate as it could cause root problems that would stop their development.

Can autoflowers be pruned?

Well, it is possible, but we find ourselves in the same situation: it isn’t recommended because the stress of pruning isn’t beneficial in autoflowering plants’ race against the clock. The height of the autos is not a problem, nor is trying to optimise them with cultivation techniques such as SCROG in which the plant is forced to develop more laterally. At best, you can opt for low stress training (LST), which can achieve good results thanks to Ruderalis’ robust genetics.

However, the SOG (Sea of Green) method can be very suitable for maximising the yields of an auto crop as it normally uses cuttings left to vegetate for a brief time before leading to flowering; this can also be achieved by substituting cuttings for automatic varieties.

Are autoflowering plants suitable for urban cultivation?

It’s not that they’re suitable as such but they are highly recommended as their small stature allows a degree of discretion, making them ideal to plant on a balcony or terrace. In addition, their short life cycle means that there’s less time for any neighbour or inquisitive onlooker to discover them. And since they’re non-photoperiodic plants, they can be planted near a streetlamp or another light source that shines all night (something that will undoubtedly delight urban growers).

Why you should buy autoflowering seeds at Kannabia

Without a shadow of a doubt, our collection of autoflowering seeds comes from selected top-quality genetics, created by our breeders for several generations to provide them with all the stable attributes that any grower could wish for. You can choose among different types of autoflowering seeds in the Kannabia Seed Company’s online store, each with its own flavour and characteristics so you’ll find one that’s for you. Take a look at our catalogue and try to grow your own marijuana in the fastest and most effective way! It’s easier than you think, especially if you use the autoflowering cannabis seeds we have to offer.