I mentioned that the Joint Doctor was the first person to create an autoflowering cannabis strain, but how did he do it? Well, we don’t know all of the specifics for sure, but we do know that that auto-flowering trait itself came from a strain of Cannabis ruderalis. C. ruderalis is a strain of cannabis that is native to Central and Eastern Europe. Due to living in colder, less hospitable climates than C. indica and C. sativa, ruderalis evolved to be auto-flowering so that the plant would have the opportunity to reproduce before adverse weather conditions killed it. Ruderalis grows plentifully in ditches and elsewhere in its native environment – it is a weed, after all – but unfortunately, it doesn’t contain nearly as much THC as other varieties of cannabis.

TYPES OF AUTOFLOWERING SEED

The reason autoflowering strains exist at all is down to the genetics inside them. The Auto gene comes from the “Ruderalis” variety, a naturally occurring sub species of cannabis that grows wild in norther latitudes when summers are very short and sunlight is limited. By crossing the ruderalis gene with traditional types of marijuana you get the best of both worlds, size, strength and speed. Because all autoflowering strains have been crossed with a normal marijuana variety the traits associated with them breed true. This means that Indica, sativa and hybrid characteristics are all achievable when growing autos.