There are many strains of the cannabis plant, and the auto-flowering strain is one of the available ones. Many people are always on the quest for an appropriate cannabis seed to cultivate. While many growers are still indecisive about the efficacy of auto-flowering strain, this article will shed light on many important things to know about it.
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What are Autoflowering Plants?
There are two popular species of the cannabis plant – cannabis Sativa and cannabis Indica. However, many people know pretty little about the third species – cannabis Ruderalis or auto-flowering plant.
The meaning of the plant is in the name. In other words, this species of the cannabis plant will flower automatically under any light condition. As a result, they do not require a 12/12 light cycle before they produce a flower. As a result, you can cultivate them under 24-hour light from the time of planting to harvest.
It is safe to consider the auto-flowering strain as a hybrid of the two cannabis species. It has adapted to flower automatically and gets to maturity in 11 weeks maximum no matter the growing condition or unfavorable climate.
The first auto-flowering strain was discovered in the former Soviet Union, where some hemp plants were left, and they adapted to the unfavorable atmospheric condition. Today, this is a pretty common strain that can survive in almost all situations with solid resistance to insects and disease and produce flowers as soon as possible, faster than the Indica and Sativa strain.
Things to Know about the Autoflowering Strain
After laying some foundation on the auto-flowering seed, here are five things to know about the strain.
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Autos can be cultivated all year round.
For people living in a mild or warm climate suitable for outdoor cultivation, you have a rare opportunity to grow the auto-flowering strain. Since this strain takes an average of 9 weeks from planting to maturity, it is possible to achieve five or more harvests every year, provided the conditions are right.
Autoflowers stand out in their rugged nature, which aids their survival as long as the conditions are above freezing points. Even though auto-flowering strains are resistant to frost, a persistent frozen condition might affect their survival.
It is essential to point out that one needs to buy the seed from a reputable source like the Daily Marijuana stores in Canada.Some autoflowering seeds might take longer to mature, up to 18 weeks from seed time to harvest time. However, this is still favorable compared to other strains that rely on light for maturation.
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They do not Need Light to Flower.
The entire life cycle of the auto-flowering plant is pretty short compared to other cannabis strains. As a result, light is not compulsory in their life cycle. Cultivating an auto-flowering strain does not need a definite period of darkness and light. As a result, autoflowering plants can be grown indoors without too much investment in electricity.
One, however, needs to understand how the plant responds to light and darkness. Some species could end in low yields if restricted to a 12/12 light condition, and others might need a 24-hour regime.
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They are small in size.
One of the things that makes the auto-flowering plant stand out is its small size and stealth nature. As a result, they are harder to detect by other growers, pests, law enforcement agents, and unwanted people. This makes it easier to grow without alarming your nosy neighbor.
This is a significant advantage to people with limited indoor space for growing or preferring privacy while cultivating the plant. Their small size makes them fit for cultivation in almost any space, be it the closet or basement. Their small size makes them the ideal strain for micro growing as some people cultivate them in their PC boxes and other small containers.
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It is difficult to Transplant Auto-flowering plants.
Compared to other cannabis strains, an auto-flowering seed is difficult to transplant as it requires some pretty intricate details, which are absent with different strains. As a result, these plants are best cultivated in containers or pots where they will be until the harvesting period. This way, you can avoid any issues during the growth cycle.
This is not to say that transplanting an auto-flowering plant is impossible but complicated. This is because it requires gentility and extreme caution for success. If you can avoid shocking the roots during the transplanting process, there will not be any problem. When you give a shock to the root, it can slow its growth for up to a week.
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Cloning Autoflowering Seed is not Easy.
Growers, over the years, have tried to clone auto-flowering plants without much success. This can be traced to the complication involved in the process, which made growers agree that it is difficult. In taking a cutting from an autoflower to another cannabis plant, the cutting still takes to the root plant’s genetic timeline. As a result, it will flower when the mother plants flowers, which will make the yield negligible.
There has been a significant amount of success in cloning the plants, thanks to some resilient growers. This comes down to supporting the growth in the vegetative mode till it grows to a decent size like the root plant. With this, flowering starts at maximum capacity.
Conclusion
Autoflowering strain is a worthy strain to consider as it is easy to cultivate without any special care. The plant is resilient to drought and excessive water, suitable for indoor and outdoor cultivation.