Apr
If you’re new to buying cannabis seeds, you may see the back of some packaging and feel a bit lost at what all is being shown, and its relevance to your grow. While each breeder approaches this differently, and some packaging gives very little information, others have a lot of information, which can be really useful once understood.
In this article, I’ll use one of Exotic Genetix’s breeder packs to help you understand which information is most important and how this data can improve your growth.
Strain Name
The name of the strain is usually listed first and foremost. Even in packaging that offers little information about the lineage or how it grows, it will specify the name.
But one must understand that not all seeds with the same strain name are the same. Strain names have become a bit of a marketing strategy for many seed companies, and the “Cheese” they sell is likely to be quite different from “Cheese” from another breeder.
Check out our earlier article for more information on how strains of the same name may differ.
Autoflower/Photoperiod
Exotic Genetix doesn’t breed autoflowers, so there isn’t an area on this pack that states whether the seeds are autoflower or photoperiod. But if you see the term autoflower on a pack, it means that the strain has a heritage that involves Ruderalis, a specific type of cannabis plant that behaves completely differently from normal cannabis plants.
Your everyday cannabis seed will transition from vegging to flowering only once its environmental lighting allows (12 hours of darkness, 12 hours of light is the most common to use to induce flowering).
Autoflowers, on the other hand, will start flowering in any light cycle and will do so based on their age. Typically, they will start flowering within 3 to 6 weeks of veg time. These autoflowering types are a little controversial, as they are a bit more finicky to grow, but when grown well, and when the genetic luck is on one’s side, they can produce some great results too.
If you’re looking to learn more about autoflowers, we have an article about that.
Lineage (Parents)
As you can see in the image above, Exotic Genetix is upfront about the lineage of the strain. In this case, Strawberries and Cream was a name that Exotic Mike gave to his cross between Strawberry and Cookies & Cream F2.
Lineage shows us which parent strains were used in the cross, and this helps us growers understand where the strain came from. This is especially helpful for local seeds, where strains may be given names that don’t exist on websites like SeedFinder, which can be used to track lineage.
Generation (Stability)
Not a lot of breeders give this information, but when it is provided, it gives us a good glimpse into how far the breeder worked the strain. It’s more nuanced than simply saying an F4 will be more stable than an F2, but this is important data to consider.
F1 = First Generation Cross
F2 = Second Generation Cross
F3 = Third Generation Cross, etc
S1 = First Generation Self (A plant reversed onto itself)
IBL = Inbred Line (Long-term incrossing)
When plants are selected well by the breeder, strains can become more stable each generation. By crossing similar plants in each new generation, one can narrow the gene pool and end up with strains where more seeds appear similar when grown.
Family (Indica/Sativa Ratio)
Indica and Sativa are two terms that are kind of ‘on their way out’ of a lot of cannabis discussions, as it’s recently been confirmed that while these terms can accurately describe specific varieties, there’s no inherent influence on the effects they produce. Historically, there was the idea that sativa equalled energetic highs while indica was sedating.
That’s because effects are determined by the cannabinoids and terpenes, including how these two groups of molecules interact with each other.
Still, plants with Sativa lineage tend to be longer-flowering and stretch more, while plants with more pure Indica heritage stay more squat and flower out quicker.
Most strains these days are neither pure Indica nor pure Sativa; they’re what’s referred to as a hybrid. Where both types have been crossed together, usually over many generations. With hybrids, you can end up with seeds from the same pack that express more Sativa, while others express more similar to Indica. This is especially true for strains that haven’t been worked on over several generations.
Sex
Sex doesn’t tell us whether the seeds are male or female, but rather whether they’re female or a mix of male and female. That’s to say, it’s possible to create seeds that are all female, but it’s not possible to create seeds that are all male, at least not in everyday growing.
This is something important to consider, as if you grow regular seeds, you’ll want to toss out the males early on in flowering, or they can pollinate your crop. Only if you’re looking to breed should you keep males around, cause even just a small amount of pollen can render your crop virtually unsmokable.
Growing Conditions
Exotic Genetix tells us what type of growing style the strain works with best, which is helpful for growers looking to maximize their yields. This isn’t something found on most seed packages, however.
In this example, Strawberries and Cream responds well to topping or sea-of-green grows. A sea of green is where one grows lots of smaller plants, untopped, creating a lot of single-cola plants. Topped plants, in contrast, have had the tips snipped off during the middle or late veg states, which then redistributes hormones and creates two main flowering tops instead of one.
Some plants don’t respond well to topping, while for others it’s essential to keep them under control and from stretching excessively.
Height
Plant height is another useful piece of information, especially for stealth and indoor growers, where height can become a concern. But again, one should keep in mind that height will likely vary between each seed in the pack, depending on the phenotype.
Taller plants are typically better topped to create additional branching, and one should keep in mind that a lot of the height may come down to the aggressive stretch when the plant is flipped to flower. Just because it’s short in veg, doesn’t mean it won’t be large once it’s midway through flower.
Plants that get too high indoors can easily reach the lights, which can damage the flowers, often causing heat stress.
Flowering Time
An essential metric that’s provided by a lot of breeders, this tells us the average flowering time for that strain. In today’s age, an average flowering time of between 55 and 65 days is common, but some strains can easily go more than 80 days before harvest.
This variable changes a lot between seeds, even from the same strain, and is often determined by how Sativa or Indica-leaning the plant is. There are long-flowering Indica and short-flowering Sativa, but overall you’ll probably want a flowering time of under 70 days, otherwise there are other concerns that come into play, such as plants that keep flowering into Autumn months with more moisture, which raises mold risks, or indoor growers reducing the amount of annual harvests they get through.
Check out our article on breeder’s flowering times for more information.
