Autoflower. What does it mean?

What does autoflower mean?

We discussed autoflowers in our ruderalis blog but in this article we’re going to go a little more in-depth.

What is an autoflower Cannabis plant?

Nearly all the Cannabis strains you’re familiar with are what’s called photoperiod. This means they rely on a changing light cycle, whether through shorter days and longer nights outdoors, or switching your lights to a 12-12 cycle.

The clue to autoflowers is in the name. These plants will flower automatically. This is due to a 3rd strain of cannabis called ruderalis . The ruderalis allows it to go into flower by themselves.

These plants completely skip the vegging phase of the growing process. This cuts down the length of time needed drastically.

This is a boon for new growers or growers looking for something fast. This speed and ease of growing comes with a few drawbacks.

The disadvantages of autoflowers

1. Smaller yield. Since they skip the vegging phase they don’t have much time to beef up.
2. Cannot clone. Autoflowers cant be cloned due to the ruderalis. A cutting by itself will not develop into a plant but will try to flower.
3. They don’t take training well. The lack of veg time means you don’t have the time necessary to train your plants.

Put against the advantages

1. Easy to grow. Someone completely new to growing should have no problems with growing an autoflower.
2. Speed. Since they’re so fast (typically 12 weeks from seed to harvest) you don’t have to devote a lot of time and effort to them. If growing with a main crop, they can hold you over until your full harvest.
3. Space. They typically get to around 3 feet in height and aren’t very wide. Perfect for a closet or balcony grow.

That’s the basics on autoflowers. A lovely plant with some disadvantages and some advantages. Trading speed for quantity.
Check out our autoflowering strains here