How to Grow the Best Auto-Flowering Cannabis Plants

How to Grow the Best Auto-Flowering Cannabis Plants

Auto-flowering cannabis plants have earned themselves a great reputation amongst home growers. Over recent years, they have become a popular choice thanks to their low maintenance, resilient nature, and top-quality results they produce.

In this article, Skunk Magazine talks you through all you need to know about autos and provides all the reasons you should consider planting an auto-flowering plant in your grow room or outdoors in 2025.

How Auto-Flowering Cannabis Plants Differ from Photoperiod Cannabis Plants

When growing photoperiod cannabis plants, as they are phototropic this means you will need to set your timers to 12/12, in order to induce flowering. Autos, on the other hand, will begin to flower automatically once they hit day 28 from germination, regardless of how many hours of light they receive. This means you can plant them indoors and place them inside your vegging room, or flowering room, and they will produce excellent quality flowers and plenty of sugar-coated trim.

Auto-flowering cannabis plants will tend to grow to a medium height between 50-80 cm tall and produce a stocky and squat profile, making them a wise choice for indoor and outdoor growers who may have limited growing space.

Are Autos Good for Small Indoor Spaces?

The short is yes! Not only will autos keep a low profile, but they will typically remain low compared to photoperiods, due to the fact they have a much shorter vegetative phase and spend the rest of their time focusing on flowering and growing aromatic, tasty frosted buds. I would strongly recommend planting autos inside micro-sized grow rooms, converted cupboards, and especially first-time growers who have a spare wardrobe.

Are Big Pots Better for Autos?

From my experience, big-sized plastic or felt pots are the best options, to allow their roots to get as big as possible, and ensure a medium-sized plant, capable of impressive yields. That being said, you can still grow autos in small-sized pots and produce a good yield, making auto-flowering cannabis plants extremely practical and efficient.

Watering Autos and the Right Nutrients to Use

The best advice I could give you is to provide autos with nutrients that are created for the vegetative period. The reason is this allows the plants to produce a healthy and vibrant structure, whilst encouraging explosive bud growth and providing the right amount of N-P-K, Calcium,and Magnesium and those all-important micro and macronutrients.

You may want to consider using a flowering booster towards the final few weeks of flower production and grow hard-to-squeeze, dense nugs that are packed with flavor and oozing resin.

The Optimal Light Cycle for Autos

Even though autos will trigger into flower production after the end of week four, you will produce the best results as far as growth and size is concerned, opting for 18–20 hours of intense lighting. This means you can grow autos in the same room that you are vegetating photoperiod cannabis plants,

However, avoid anything more than 18 hours of light, allowing you to save electricity at the same time, with no reduction in final yield according to  Sensi Seeds.

Achieving a Perpetual Harvest Indoors

One of the reasons, so many indoor growers love working with autos, is the fact you can create a perpetual harvest indoors, by simply planting new auto-flowering cannabis seeds every two to four weeks. Doing so will allow you to harvest frequently with little ease and will keep your jars full of high-grade head stash!

The Best Plant Training Techniques for Auto-Flowering Plants

There are ways to get even more yield from auto-flowering cannabis plants, and that is by using the low-stress training method. By tying the branches down during weeks 2-4, you will maximize light exposure, reduce the final size of the plants, control the stretching phase and the end result will be an even more compact and dense flower, as explained by Auto-Seeds.

Growing Autos Outdoors and What to Consider

Now for home growers who have the luxury of a private garden that receives plenty of sunlight, then planting auto-flowering cannabis plants outdoors is a true pleasure. Not only will autos remain discreet and keep a low profile, but they can be planted every 75- 90 days.

Not only will you be able to knock out back-to-back harvests throughout the year, you will be able to grow some delicious outdoor sun-grown organic crops with very little maintenance and with strong resilience to wind, rain ,and colder temperatures.

The Benefits of Growing Autos

• Auto-flowering cannabis plants are a great choice for beginner growers.
• They do not require much maintenance and are tough and hardy plants.
• Ideal for indoor growers with limited height and especially for micro-sized grow spaces.
• Autos can be planted and harvested every 2–4 weeks, allowing perpetual harvests.
• You can grow autos in the same room as vegetating photoperiod cannabis plants.
• First-time growers are able to produce superb results and top-quality crops.
• Autos will perform well in small and large-sized pots, making them very versatile.
• There is a wide variety of auto-flowering cultivars available to buy in feminized form.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Growing Autos

1. Do not re-pot autos once they have passed the fourth week due to causing stress.
2. Topping or fimming autos can result in stunted plant growth and much lower yields.
3. Providing 12 hours of light after germinating will cause plants to become small.
4. Feeding autos with a high amount of P-K nutrient may cause Nitrogen deficiency.
5. Planting them outside too early or late in the year will result in dwarf-sized plants.

 

Photo credits: Seed Stockers