The auto-flowering cannabis strains result from the introduction of cannabis ruderalis genetics to a regular strain. There are certain advantages as well as disadvantages to this process.

What is auto-flowering cannabis?

The cannabis plant is primarily a genetically flexible plant with species that have completely different traits as they have evolved in different parts of the globe. The cannabis ruderalis strain is found in northern parts where summers are basically short and they grow in less light. Growing in such conditions, cannabis ruderalis is able to bloom with age instead of an alteration in photoperiod. This is greatly different from the other species of cannabis that need changing of light hours to flower.

Due to this quality, breeders prefer to merge ruderalis with the indica and sativa types of cannabis to produce hybrid cannabis that contains elements of indica and sativa but they flower depending on age. Ruderalis cannabis is grown rarely in its purest form as its yields are mostly low. Moreover, its cannabinoid content is far outweighed by the sativa and indica counterparts.

Advantages of growing auto-flowering cannabis strains

• Harvest rapidly due to speedy flowering times: This is a big advantage when breeders want their yields to produce results as early as possible. This is perfect for the ones who want to get the yields harvested stealthily and speedily. These stains grow faster than the sativa and indica strains. Some of the auto-flowering strains tend to go from the seed stage to harvest stage in a minimum of 2 months. Royal Dwarf is one of the examples of faster growing auto-flowering cannabis strains.

• Small and compact: Thanks to the ruderalis cannabis genetics, these strains grow small. Compared to sativa and indica strains, the ruderalis strains look almost like weeds. However, despite being small they are adaptive and sturdy. As a result of their limited size, these strains don’t take much of your space. You can easily grow them indoors.

• No changes in photoperiod needed: They don’t need any changes in the light cycle to flower. They flower with age. You can keep them in light for 16 hours and in darkness for 8 hours but this doesn’t make much difference and you can grow multiple harvests each season.

Disadvantages of auto-flowering cannabis strains

• Small size: This is a big disadvantage for the growers with huge space for growing cannabis.

• Lighting: If you want the lights during flowering to maximize photosynthesis then the cost of electricity might just increase.

• Lower cannabinoid content: The cannabinoid content in ruderalis strains is lower as the buds produce lesser THC.

Without a doubt, Autoflowering strains have revolutionized the cannabis cultivation. With just minimal effort, they finish ultra-fast and don’t need any special lighting schedules and yet produce high-quality with great yields.