Automatic flowering plants, like Lowryder, have been available for several years now, though mostly, they have been offered through specialty seed banks. In the past couple of years, they have become much more popular and widespread. In contrast to the initial wave of skepticism and debate, nowadays, automatics have generally been accepted as belonging to a whole new category of pot. Now, most major seed banks have jumped on the automatic bandwagon, adding at least one new autoflowering variety to their list, in, arguably, the biggest wave of pot plagiarism since Skunk #1.

Advantages of Autoflowering
From the start, autoflowering plants generated a lot of interest, primarily because they’re supposed to be very fast, compact, and easy to grow in just about any climate or environment, requiring no change of light to flower. They finish quicker than conventional plants and have a determinate lifespan, meaning they stick to their own schedule, rather than relying on environmental cues to flower and finish. Their outcome, in terms of size and schedule, is very predictable.

In Europe, at least, autoflowering varieties are all the rage. In America, their acceptance has been a little slower, but that’s starting to change. Why the difference? For one thing, northern Europe has a short season, coupled with longer days, for which automatics are well suited. In northernmost areas, like Finland, automatics are a godsend – they are often the only type that will mature before the killing frosts arrive. In contrast, in most of the US, longer seasons are available, so extra-early varieties are not needed. That’s definitely been a factor.

Europe is generally tolerant of seed sales and, as a result, its seed industry is necessarily more developed. That’s not the case in North America, where seeds are not traded as openly and where clones are more commonly used (automatics can’t be effectively cloned). Here, growers simply prefer larger plants, and with good reason – there is always the issue of keeping the number of plants to a minimum, while maximizing yield (risk of prosecution increases with the number of plants). Up until now, automatic flowering has basically been equated with dwarfism, as their height typically only reaches 12 to16 inches. So while many small gardeners, who appreciate their compact aspect and predictability, have eagerly adopted them, more serious growers, or those seeking larger, more productive plants, have mostly shunned them. This may be about to change.

The New Wave: Larger Automatics
From seeding, regular automatics tend to finish in a mere 60 days. As such, these are the fastest maturing plants available. But in the past year, several new varieties have appeared, advertising themselves as “larger automatics.” From seeding, these new types finish in 75 days or more, and typically reach 2-3 feet feet. Their life cycle is extended since they take a little longer to kick into flowering (which translates into more vegetative growth), as well as an extra week or two to finish. Obviously, these new automatics are more productive than the smaller ones, filling an intermediate niche between dwarf and conventional types.

Read the rest and more in SKUNK volume 6, issue 2