Autoflowering and pot sizes

Stinkmeaner

Well-Known Member
so we all know that autos grows however they want and bloom whenever they want

question is, what is the smallest pot you can use for optimum growth?
i mean they dont get that big you know
1 gallon minimum?
 

gopherbuddah

Well-Known Member
I've only grown autos a couple times and both times I went with 3 gal grow bags from start to finish with no problems. I'm not saying that's as small as you can go, that was the size I felt comfortable using. Imho I think 1 gal may be too small. As far as how big, I wouldn't go above 5 gal. Again these are my opininons and what worked for me.
 

Stinkmeaner

Well-Known Member
I've only grown autos a couple times and both times I went with 3 gal grow bags from start to finish with no problems. I'm not saying that's as small as you can go, that was the size I felt comfortable using. Imho I think 1 gal may be too small. As far as how big, I wouldn't go above 5 gal. Again these are my opininons and what worked for me.
yeah but was 3 gallons really necessery ? feels like thats way to big imo. my auto only got about a foot tall .
 

gopherbuddah

Well-Known Member
yeah but was 3 gallons really necessery ? feels like thats way to big imo. my auto only got about a foot tall .
I don't know about necessary. Better safe than sorry I guess. I've seen people grow in party cups. Seriously a personal call in the long run.
 

Stinkmeaner

Well-Known Member
I don't know about necessary. Better safe than sorry I guess. I've seen people grow in party cups. Seriously a personal call in the long run.

yeah i guess im vague. i mean how small does a pot have to be to keep an auto rootbound?
but then again, people manage to grow in dixie cups as you say...hmmm
 

gopherbuddah

Well-Known Member
I found this article. Gotta be honest, didn't read the whole thing just kinda skimmed. Maybe this will help out.

When buying a pot for your autoflowering cannabis plant you need to know how small or big to get it and that can be a bit tricky. There are many opinions out there of how big or small should the pot be but the truth is that no two plants are exactly the same and before choosing the right pot size you need to think about some aspects that affects your decision.

Regular strains have a great rules determining the pot size and they are – you should get a gallon (3,7 liters) of pot for each month that the plant will be alive or you could just anticipate how big your plant will become and get a gallon for each foot (30,4 cm) of growth. So if your plant will grow 5 months you need a 5 gallon (18,5 liter) pot.

With auto flowering plants it’s not easy to chose the pot size because you need to think not only about the time how long will your plant live, but you need to also think about the size of the plant and how big you want it to get. Most people choose auto-flowering cannabis because their growing space is limited and they can’t grow plants that stretch 1 or 2 meters (3,2 or 6,5 feet) in height and pot size can greatly affect the plants height. If you plant your autoflower cannabis seed in a small container like “Dixie cup” then it will stay short because it will become pot bound (root bound) fast and that will stress the plant slowing down the growth.
 

Stinkmeaner

Well-Known Member
oh snap " a gallon a month" man thats crazy
but look at the pot size in condition to the plant and lighter.
the plant is about 3 times larger than the pot. when i grew autos the pot was as big as the plant. heightwise atleast. looked stupid as hell
 
so we all know that autos grows however they want and bloom whenever they want

question is, what is the smallest pot you can use for optimum growth?
i mean they dont get that big you know
1 gallon minimum?
IMO you don't even need to go as big as a gallon, especially with an Auto. I'm not saying using a 1 gal or larger is a bad thing, it'll work just fine, just that it isn't necessary as long as the correct density grow medium is used. I've found the using the correct density grow medium makes all the difference the world when trying to factor pot size. Obviously there will be exceptions, pro's and con's, limitations, etc. but so far I've found the end results to be very acceptable. I am by no means an expert or scientist but as I understand it the logic is as follows:

Roots themselves don't take up much room.
They require oxygen, water, and nutrients.
More energy is put towards expanding the root system in time of need, and less energy when satisfied.
When satisfied roots will grow in what ever shape, size, or medium you want, when not satisfied they will never give up trying to grow until they either succeed or die.
Root systems do not require nutrient filled media, so long as all deficiencies are compensated for in the water.

Putting the above items together and for the sake of the OP, factoring out all types and styles of growing except for a medium filled container, the result is the use of an extremely light, loose, and airy medium with excellent drainage yet must still have the ability to retain a decent amount of water. Mixing and fine tuning such a mixture will allow the use of 16oz "Red Party Cups" for clones, veg, sexing, and even flowering if you so choose. This is also not limited to Autoflowers. The same mixture will allow regular strains to grow out wonderfully in considerably smaller pots as well.

I recently finished up 3 Afghan Kush Ryder (see avatar pic) grown one each in a 16oz party cup, a 1/2 gal container, and a 1 gal container. All 3 were germinated together, and always received the same amount of light. After the first week it appeared the plants in the two larger containers were growing great, while the small one wasn't doing well at all. I soon realized I hadn't factored in additional watering due to less medium. I upped the water for the small one and with in a week it had caught up to the others. End result was a nice little harvest, all three being nearly identical in height at about 2 ft.

Having an extremely light and airy medium will allow the roots to have little issue filling nearly all the space while using considerably less energy.
Having good drainage will allow as many watering periods as you want.
Using a soil-less medium allows You to control exactly how much nutrients it gets and when it gets them.
Decent water retention allows longer periods to be taken between watering periods.

I currently have a sativa dominant hybrid in it's 7th week in flower requiring a screen for main colas and supports for side colas. It is currently just over 3 feet tall, has no signs of being root bound, and is only in a 10.5 " pot. I also use the same mix for seedlings, clones, veg, and sexing. The largest plant I've grown from seed to harvest in a 16oz red party cup came in at 2' tall.


As for the medium, I've tried many different grow mediums and ultimately decided to mix my own. It's ultimately the growers decision and personal preference, but I have found my mix works great for my needs.

It consists of:
Coco coir
Perlite
Vermiculite
Grow Stones
Small amount of Happy Frog

The mix has a small amount of nutes from the happy frog which, added to the water retention properties of the vermiculite, one could give a good watering and leave for a few days.

The coco coir is not only an acceptable ph level, but contains no nutrients providing you greater feeding control. It also has the benefits of holding water and being lightweight when dried out.

The perlite keeps everything from compacting and aids in medium airation.

Lastly the grow stones provide fantastic air and liquid retention, while also helping resist medium compaction.

Facing little resistance the roots will begin to take over the entire container. Every time you water a small amount of medium with drain out the pot, over time leading to more root room. Utilizing as much of the space inside the pot as possible not only allows larger plants in smaller containers but provides many of the benefits from regular hydroponics grow systems as well as many of the benefits of growing in a soil less mix.

So, enjoying my rambling novel?!? lol If I'm lucky there might even be an answer or some information you might find useful in there somewhere! :) Hope this helps!
 

bigsteve

Well-Known Member
Kinda related.... Using non-autos I did a test by putting identical clones into different size pots. Most interesting thing
was the difference in plant height and yield when I went from a 7 quart pot to a 10 quart pot. Plants were 50% taller and
yielded twice as much in the 10 qt. pots as those in the 7 qt. pots.

BigSteve.
 

beanolynx

Member
for autos a total safe bet is the 11 litre or 3 gallon pot
no need4bigger and smaller will yield lesser. simples :)
 

midmo

Member
I have an autoflowering Bubblelicous plant growing in a 3 gallon DWC container. Do they only grow small or can they get big? Mines 2 weeks old and its really tiny right now. Its got me concerned.2012-11-08_10-49-29_480.jpg2012-11-08_10-49-35_750.jpg2012-11-08_10-50-09_827.jpg2012-11-08_10-50-15_968.jpg2012-11-08_10-50-26_868.jpg2012-11-08_10-50-32_718.jpg
 

weedtester420

Active Member
on my autos i used 2 ltr pots autos dont hav a very long life cycle and bud 3rd 4th week so bout 10 weeks of life...... take a look at my album for results .........

https://www.rollitup.org/members/delvite-298715/albums/newest-autos-25118/ ................ https://www.rollitup.org/members/delvite-298715/albums/il-diavolo-auto-25222/ .............. +rep if you like it :)
man...2 litr the whole cycle?????.....please hope u see this...this can change all the way my auto grows in the future....always though than need 10L minimum
+rep for u
 

delvite

Well-Known Member
man...2 litr the whole cycle?????.....please hope u see this...this can change all the way my auto grows in the future....always though than need 10L minimum
+rep for u
2ltr was all i used, most i use for autos is 5 litre with them having the short life.
heres some greenhouse big bang autos in 5ltrs i did week 7-8

[video=youtube;TRLn6IJYQkI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRLn6IJYQkI[/video]

Delvite :hump:
 

cherd

Member
oh snap " a gallon a month" man thats crazy
but look at the pot size in condition to the plant and lighter.
the plant is about 3 times larger than the pot. when i grew autos the pot was as big as the plant. heightwise atleast. looked stupid as hell
Yeah I usually go on how many month's it will grow and finish flowering. A 3 month plant will get a 3 gallon pot, and so on. Somewhere between 3-5 gallons is the most I would use. There are techniques of slowing the plant down and putting more of it's energy into the roots allowing for a much bigger pot in the end, but trying to do that if very difficult and takes a lot of repeat attempts "strain specific" to get it right, even cloning can be done, and is the preferred method of getting a bigger wider root mass. When you pop that auto seed, it has a tap root that does not get the same structure that a clone does. Because that tap root wants to go down instead of out to the sides like a clone, you get roots that want to go down and circle around the pot, instead of a lot more fishbone roots. That would be the "only" reason someone would need 7-10 gallon pots for auto's IMO, but It is being done though.
 

wee_m

Well-Known Member
I found this article. Gotta be honest, didn't read the whole thing just kinda skimmed. Maybe this will help out.

When buying a pot for your autoflowering cannabis plant you need to know how small or big to get it and that can be a bit tricky. There are many opinions out there of how big or small should the pot be but the truth is that no two plants are exactly the same and before choosing the right pot size you need to think about some aspects that affects your decision.

Regular strains have a great rules determining the pot size and they are – you should get a gallon (3,7 liters) of pot for each month that the plant will be alive or you could just anticipate how big your plant will become and get a gallon for each foot (30,4 cm) of growth. So if your plant will grow 5 months you need a 5 gallon (18,5 liter) pot.

With auto flowering plants it’s not easy to chose the pot size because you need to think not only about the time how long will your plant live, but you need to also think about the size of the plant and how big you want it to get. Most people choose auto-flowering cannabis because their growing space is limited and they can’t grow plants that stretch 1 or 2 meters (3,2 or 6,5 feet) in height and pot size can greatly affect the plants height. If you plant your autoflower cannabis seed in a small container like “Dixie cup” then it will stay short because it will become pot bound (root bound) fast and that will stress the plant slowing down the growth.
5 months ??? also auto,s hate getting transplanted 1 grow only auto talkinhj 12 13 weeks MAX dont know where you get 5 month once autos start u cant keep them in veg they will flower no matter whay light blue for veg still bud personal get just over an once of boned bud no wood after cure with 15 litre pots hope this help
 

Nathan1000

New Member
Sweet

I found this article. Gotta be honest, didn't read the whole thing just kinda skimmed. Maybe this will help out.

When buying a pot for your autoflowering cannabis plant you need to know how small or big to get it and that can be a bit tricky. There are many opinions out there of how big or small should the pot be but the truth is that no two plants are exactly the same and before choosing the right pot size you need to think about some aspects that affects your decision.

Regular strains have a great rules determining the pot size and they are – you should get a gallon (3,7 liters) of pot for each month that the plant will be alive or you could just anticipate how big your plant will become and get a gallon for each foot (30,4 cm) of growth. So if your plant will grow 5 months you need a 5 gallon (18,5 liter) pot.

With auto flowering plants it’s not easy to chose the pot size because you need to think not only about the time how long will your plant live, but you need to also think about the size of the plant and how big you want it to get. Most people choose auto-flowering cannabis because their growing space is limited and they can’t grow plants that stretch 1 or 2 meters (3,2 or 6,5 feet) in height and pot size can greatly affect the plants height. If you plant your autoflower cannabis seed in a small container like “Dixie cup” then it will stay short because it will become pot bound (root bound) fast and that will stress the plant slowing down the growth.
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