Autoflowering cannabis is descended from wild Cannabis ruderalis populations found in Eastern Europe, Russia, China and elsewhere in central and northern Asia. As with other species and subspecies within the Cannabis genus, the botanical classification of C. ruderalis is disputed. Some botanists classify it as a species in its own right, others that it is a subspecies of C. indica or C. sativa.
The popularity of autoflowering cannabis strains has skyrocketed over the last five years or so, this is a direct result of improved breeding techniques that have created new and improved autoflower strains.
Now, it is possible to grow abundant, high-potency harvests in as little as nine or ten weeks, from germination to harvest. This is a great return for the time period and its easy to see why they have became so popular within the cannabis growing community.
C. ruderalis is a short-statured plant, rarely a maximum height of approximately 90cm, however it is more common for the plant to reach 40-50cm. The main cola has a few side branches growing outwards and both of these sites produce small buds.
The leaves on the plant have the potential to be either narrow-leaved or wide-leaved, people that have studyed this type of plant have concluded that the majority will have thinner leaves rather than wider leaves.
C. ruderalis varieties tend to transition into their flowering phase after about 14-21 days after germination. From germination to harvest, ruderalis plants typically take around ten weeks, but some varieties are ready in as little as six and a half weeks.
These plants are usually highly resistant to pests, cold temperatures and diseases, they can also be grown in low quality soil without the need for much nutrients, this is ideal for first time growers.
Although autoflowering plants do not depend on changes in photoperiod to provide the stimulus to begin flowering, there is some anecdotal evidence that lighting variations can affect their growth.
According to some reports, using blue-spectrum during the vegetative stage allows for more vigorous growth, and shifting from blue light to red light when flowering commences allows the plant to begin flowering at an accelerated pace and achieve overall higher yields.