A Guide To Feminized and Auto-Flowering Cannabis Seeds

Ever wondered what the deal was with seeds marked as both feminized and autoflowering? Feminized cannabis seeds are very popular these days, so it’s easy to forget that they have an interesting history and development process. Let’s compare feminized cannabis seeds with auto-flowering cannabis seeds! Here are the details:

What Is a Feminized Cannabis Seed?

Feminized cannabis seeds are seeds that have been bred especially to produce only feminized plants. Though referred to as “feminized” to differentiate them from traditionally bred female plants, feminized plants are female for all intents and purposes – they still produce high-quality bud and good yields.

Feminized cannabis seeds are made by gently stressing female plants. Thanks to some special properties of cannabis, female plants have the ability to pollinate themselves when there appears to be a lack of males in the area, or insufficient environmental conditions to carry on their family line.

Though this trait is along the same lines as the one that can result in hermaphroditic cannabis plants, the processes used by established, reliable breeders today offer a 99% guarantee that feminized cannabis seeds will not become “hermies”.

Once a female plant has pollinated itself, it is highly likely (again, about 99%) that the seeds taken from that plant will be feminized/female. This is due to the lack of male chromosomes involved in the creation of the seeds.

Why Choose Feminized Marijuana Seeds?

Choosing feminized seeds is a great idea for new gardeners and those who simply don’t need to make their own cannabis seeds and want only flowering, bud-heavy plants for harvest.
If a male cannabis plant is allowed to fertilize a female, the female’s buds “go to seed”, which makes for very low-quality marijuana. Feminized seeds remove the possibility of accidentally pollinating your female plants.
Male plants do not produce usable buds, so planting regular (non-feminized) cannabis seeds means you will have to get rid of the male plants before they mature enough to start pollinating. As such, you’ll have gaps in your grow room, and will have spent money on seeds you never really used. Feminized seeds eliminate this potential waste.

Can Feminized Cannabis Seeds Become Hermaphrodites?

It used to be that feminized cannabis seeds were something “real” gardeners avoided. Like any new endeavor, the early attempts to feminized cannabis seeds had a few kinks. As we mentioned above, cannabis can use its dual-sex powers for “bad”: they can become hermaphroditic from excessive stress or genetic tendency.

Today, though, a plant from a feminized seed is no more likely to become hermaphroditic than a plant from a non-feminized seed. Experts tell us that if you multiple plants in your garden have developed into “hermies”, you probably have an environmental issue. If a single plant becomes a hermaphrodite, it is likely due to a genetic quirk.

If you think you might have a hermaphroditic plant in your crop (if you see little sacs known as “bananas” developing), quickly isolate that plant to ensure it doesn’t pollinate the females or feminized plants nearby. Get in touch with us (and be sure to send pictures) and we may be able to help you out*.

Can Autoflowering Cannabis Seeds Be Feminized?

Any cannabis strain or type can be feminized. As long as the plant is capable of pollinating itself – and as far as we know, all strains are – it can be coaxed into developing feminized cannabis seeds. That means even auto-flowering strains can have feminized options.

At Growers Choice, we sell a great selection of feminized auto-flowering cannabis seeds. Our list of premium strains is always growing, but we currently offer the following high-quality strains for your growing pleasure:

Where Can I Get Feminized Cannabis Seeds?

You want to buy you feminized seeds from a reliable provider. At Growers Choice, we lab-test our cannabis seeds to ensure they have authentic genetics and are as fresh as possible. Though there isn’t a reliable lab test for identifying the gender of a seed, we trust our breeders 100% and have yet to hear of any customer growing a hermaphroditic or male plant from one of our seeds.

In addition to guaranteed feminized plants, when you buy from Growers Choice, your medicinal investment is also protected by our germination guarantee. This promise ensures you have a good experience when growing with our seeds. By following our easy germination guide, you are covered for 90% germination. That means if only 2 out of 3 seeds sprout – we’ll send you a new one. All you need to do is let us know and pay a minimal shipping fee, and you’ll get a new seed right away!

Buy feminized cannabis seeds from Growers Choice, and find out why everyone is clamoring for our quality medicinal and recreational strains!

*Please note: as hermaphrodites are usually a result of environmental stressors, our ability to replace hermie plants is determined on a case-by-case basis. We do not guarantee replacement seeds for hermaphroditic plants