Like every other plant autoflowers can make seeds, but you need male and female plants plant for this to happen. Learn how breeders create autoflowering seeds, what stress factors lead to seeds forming, and the roots of autoflower genetics. Learn about feminised seeds, why propagating autoflowers is ineffective, and whether male autoflowers exist.
Yes, in short autoflowers can produce seeds. Breeders create autoflowering seeds by pollinating female autoflower plants with male pollen. This process involves having both a mother plant and a male plant. When the buds on the female plant have been pollinated by the male pollen, seeds will begin to grow within the flowers. The seeds will also inherit the autoflowering trait.
If both parents are autoflowering plants, then yes. However, the seeds produced by any cannabis plant, such as autoflowers, inherit characteristics from both of their parents. Autoflower seeds are carefully bred by crossing a regular cannabis strain with a ruderalis variety, which passes on the autoflowering trait. If an auto plant is pollinated by a photoperiod strain, the resulting seeds would not necessarily be autoflowers. The more crossing between autoflowers and photoperiods the more the ruderalis genetics 'autoflowering' trait would be removed from the plant.
Stress in all cannabis plants can cause them make seeds and is really a survival mechanism. When an autoflower goes through stress, which could be caused by anything such as feeding issues, physical damage or disease, it can cause the plant go into survival mode. In this state, nativesusa.com - the plant's main objective is to survive and keep its genetics alive after it dies. While stressed a female plant can produce male flowers or become hermie, allowing it to pollinate itself. This self-pollination results in the creation of seeds, which the plant produces as a natural response to ensure its genetics continues despite the stress.
Image reference: cannabis plant that has turned hermie
It's not a good idea to stress a plant into auto-pollination as this could potentially harm the plant. Breeders use various pollination methods. One common method is manual pollination, where breeders gather pollen from a male plant and gently brush it onto the buds of a female plant. The benefit of this approach is that as a breeder you can select the best female plant and the best male plant and only breed those, creating even stronger offspring.
Another method is open pollination, where male and female plants are grown together in the same space, allowing natural pollination to occur. A more precise method is targeted pollination, where breeders separate specific branches of a female plant and apply pollen to those areas only.
No, not all autoflower seeds are feminised. However, to make your growing easier, all the seeds we stock at Auto Seeds are feminised.
Standard autoflower seeds are sold and will give you both male and female autoflower plants. However, they are not very popular and unless you are a breeder growing regular autoflowers is unnecessary.
Autoflower genetics trace back to a wild cannabis variety called Cannabis ruderalis, which is indigenous to Siberia. The extreme weather conditions and brief summers where it grows have pushed the plants to adapt by developing the ability to flower on their own, regardless of light cycles. This special trait allows autoflowers to complete their life cycle quickly, making them well-suited for regions with shorter summers. Breeders such as Auto Seeds have since hybridized ruderalis with other cannabis strains to create modern autoflowers that combine automatic flowering with useful traits like higher yields and potency.
Image reference: wild ruderalis cannabis plant
A single autoflower plant can make over 1,000 cannabis seeds based on the strain and how large the plant is.
While technically possible, cloning autoflower plants is just not very practical. Autoflowers only spend 2-4 weeks in the veg stage and if you clone an autoflower, it requires time to root and start growing. However, before the clone can establish itself, the plant's biological clock will trigger it to start flowering. The outcome is a small, underdeveloped plant with almost no bud production.
So yes, you can clone autoflowers, but you would only grow enough weed for a couple of joints.
Yes, you can get male autoflowers. Standard autoflower seeds give you both male and female plants. However, you just don't see regular seeds very often unless you are developing your own strains.