What are autoflowering seeds?
Autoflowering seeds (or "autos") give plants that start flowering on their own when they reach a certain age, regardless of how many hours of light they get. They are fast, small to medium-sized and very easy to handle.
Most cannabis plants need a signal to flower: the days getting shorter. Outdoors, that happens when autumn arrives. Indoors, the grower triggers it by leaving the light on for fewer hours. These plants are called photoperiod plants.
Autoflowers don't wait for that signal. They flower by themselves after a few weeks of life, however much light there's.
This ability comes from a wild type of cannabis called ruderalis, native to cold regions with very short summers. Seed banks cross it with other strains to get plants that flower on their own and also have good flavor and good potency.
Advantages
- Speed: many go from seed to harvest in about 8 to 12 weeks, depending on the strain. On each product page you'll see the time given by the seed bank.
- Simplicity: you don't have to control the hours of light to make them flower.
- Compact size: they tend to be discreet plants, good for small spaces, balconies or terraces.
- Several harvests a year: outdoors, with good weather, you can grow more than one batch per season.
Disadvantages
- Less room for error: because their life is short, they recover less well from transplanting, heavy pruning or any setback.
- Lower yield per plant: because they are smaller, each plant usually yields less than a large photoperiod plant.
Are they feminized too?
Almost always, yes. Most autoflowering seeds on sale are also feminized, meaning they will give female plants, which are the ones that produce buds. We state it on each product page.
Who are they a good option for?
If it's your first grow, if you're short on space or if you want to harvest quickly, an autoflower is a very easy choice.
Related terms
Before you grow, check the laws in your country: growing cannabis is not allowed everywhere.
