Differences Between Photoperiod, Autoflowering, Feminized, and Fast Version Cannabis Strains

So you have decided to grow your own cannabis. Being a part of a rapidly growing community is fun, yet entails a huge responsibility as a cannabis grower. Growing your cannabis is an enjoyable and inexpensive way of producing high-quality seeds.

Marijuana is a versatile plant that can grow in a wide variety of climates. It takes weeks for these plants to produce flowers, and be ready for harvest. With the help of technology and based on their experiences in growing cannabis, expert cannabis breeders and cultivators have developed several types of seeds or strains that are better versions of the regular seeds or strains – these are photoperiod, Autoflowering, feminized, and fast versions of cannabis strains. These strains were developed to be “better” than the regular versions of their strains. They can be harvested in a shorter period of time and still produce a top-quality harvest.

If you have been growing your cannabis for quite some time using regular seeds and you have decided to grow specialized seeds, it is highly suggested to do some in-depth research and seek advice from master cultivators, because the growing cycles are different as well as the growing process. You may need to decide on which seeds you want to cultivate. In this article, we will give you the differences between photoperiod, autoflowering, feminized, and fast Version cannabis strains.

What are the Photoperiod Strains?

The term “photoperiod” came from the word “photoperiodism,” which is the measurement of light the plant is exposed to. This is mainly about the exposure of the plant to light and dark cycles. If you happen to see 12/12, for example, it means that the plant is getting 12 hours of light and 12 hours of the dark cycle. Most photoperiod strains flower when they receive 12 hours of darkness.

For cannabis growers who have chosen to cultivate photoperiod strains, they let the plants grow for a certain period in the vegetative stage. Normally, the plant would have 18/6 or 18 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness. The plants will refuse to grow until the light cycle changes. It takes at least 4 months to harvest photoperiod plants.

To sum it up, photoperiod plants depend on the seasonal changes to begin the flowering period.

What are Autoflowering Plants?

Autoflowering plants do not depend on seasonal or environmental change to start flowering. As soon as the plant develops small branches, it will flower no matter which season or condition you have. These plants flower “automatically,” hence, how they got their name. Autoflowering plants will flower regardless of their exposure to sunlight. Though autoflowering plants will grow with less light, they will still need to be exposed to sunlight to be able to produce food. For cannabis experts, autoflowering strains grown in the 18/6 cycle produce more yield than those who are grown under minimal exposure to light.

Autoflowering plants are also fast. They would only take 2 months from seed to harvest. Autoflowers begin to flower as soon as they are 4-5 weeks old. They are fast growers compared to other plants.

What are feminized seeds?

These seeds are specially developed to eliminate male chromosomes. To make things simple, with feminized seeds, you are making or developing a female plant. This is what most growers would want, as female plants are known to produce smokable buds, and they contain much THC and CBD contents.

Feminized strains will start to flower as soon as they receive a lesser amount of light. For outdoor growing, this can be towards the end of the summer, but for indoor growing, you can [just] adjust the lighting. If your plants are getting 18 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness, you may gradually adjust it to 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness. Compared to others, feminized strains are 100% free of hermaphrodites. They produce fewer leaves compared to autoflowering plants. Female plants grown with feminized seeds are easy to prune.

What are Fast Version seeds?

It is basic to say that fast version seeds or strains are the fast versions of a regular strain. Fast version seeds are a product of the cross between a photoperiod parent and a top-quality female clone chosen from a bunch of regular seeds and an elite autoflowering female. The autoflowering female is reversed so it can produce pollen that passes the auto gene on the cross. The result of this process is an F1 or quick or fast hybrid. This hybrid is not auto, but they are faster compared to photoperiod strains. What separates this type of strain is that it is fastest than the rest.

With fast version seeds, you can harvest your plants faster and can cultivate weeds earlier. You will also have lesser chances of top rot, lowered the cultivating costs, and have faster harvesting, which means growing more often.

The phenomenon of growing cannabis, homegrown to be specific, is sweeping across the globe. Growing your cannabis garden can be a fun and fulfilling experience, especially if you know what you do. If you are done growing regular cannabis strains and would like to level up your garden by growing specialized seeds, then perhaps it is best to check out which among the four specialized seeds or strains in this article would you like to try.

As the cannabis culture is developing, together with the help of technology, various marijuana varieties are also stepping up, as cannabis breeders continuously develop strains and seeds that can improve the quality of seeds that are being produced and shorten the growing cycle of this amazing plant.