Autoflower or not?

What are the advantages - disadvantages of auto-flowering plants? I have been using femenized seeds for a few years now.

I dont really see any advantages, most auto strains are going to be weaker potency just for the fact they have ruderalis in them.

Mephisto Auto's are the only way to go when doing auto's IMO. Heavily worked lines with some that have tested quite high and can also get quite large depending on the strain.

IMO - keep using fem seeds. I inadvertently now have a (maybe) White Widow auto in my grow, compared to the others she's smaller and slower growing.

Autos advantage are speed and ease.

They can be a lot faster (10 weeks all in)

They require one light schedule.

They do what they do.

Disadvatages are primarily yield and strength but the super autos work for that too. They take longer than 10 weeks.

You can not manipulate the shape of the plant as easily (topping/fim/super crop dont work so good on autos)

And strength will suffer but some are not too bad. It has to do with the ruderalis genetic being part of the total makeup of the plant.

Some autos suck. I would never run another sanserra seeds. I was not impressed. Flavor was good but they were weak.

Trans siberian (Auto Seeds) was fantastic. White russian auto (AK47 X white widow). 1 to 2 oz per plant but you could get 3 to 4 with a good setup.

Royal Queen Sour Diesel was pretty awesome too but low yield

Rudderalis is also used in photo period plants to shorten flower time. I have a king tut and an AK47 that both have rudderalis to get the 8 to 10 week flower time (i think that is why it is done).

Serverchris said:

I dont really see any advantages, most auto strains are going to be weaker potency just for the fact they have ruderalis in them.

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no difference than high cbd strains people grow. As previously stated, guys like Mephisto have taken it to another level. I'd try it once just to try and see how much if at all it mattered on time, etc, in a smaller, indoor situation. Know someone tried fast buds, none germed, when you see the grows on IG and places, Mephisto seems to have figured something out bout the autos, imho

I retract my previous statement about slow growth. Just checked what I thought was a month younger and larger plant, only to find hairs.....arggggh

If I was going to do an auto I'd definitely do mephisto but still if you need product quickly veg for 2 or 3 weeks and then flower and you will essentially finish just as fast as an auto flower.

I don't think most people realize that auto flower plants still "veg" for about 2-3 weeks until they become sexually mature.

Like others have mentioned, you can just flip a regular fem after 2-3 weeks and bam, or just flower it right off the bat.

I have decided to stay with fems. Been using LST and pleased with the results. I really hate to mess with a good thing. Thanks for all the insite on autos.

Because autos flower under any light schedule. They will produce much larger yields in a smaller time frame. If you are going for weight with quick turnover autos are the way to go.

Where I live and grow outdoors in the Pacific Northwest, early, fall rains are famous for destroying outdoor crops. I raise autos in pots 3-5 gallons and these are easy to move out of bad weather and are also very easy to hide. They produce several ounces and the new auto flowers are outrageously good. I can harvest in August and avoid bud rot. The plants grow so fast that bugs and disease don't have a great chance to get established. Start 'em in cowpots under a small growlight and then transplant into their grow pots in the great outdoors. They all seem to love organic compost. The smaller plants also offer me a chance to grow smaller amounts of flowers with outstanding terpenes in a wide variety. Berries, chocolate, orange, lemon, cheese, strawberry, etc. await.