Autoflowering Cannabis roots grow extremely fast. Plants can become rootbound very quickly. Don’t let it happen. FREHNER SEBRING
YOU ARE A GARDENER, so you already know quite a bit about growing Autoflowering Cannabis. This is because all of the botanical principles that apply to growing other plants apply to Autoflowering Cannabis as well. The process and methods for growing a tomato are the same for growing Autoflowering Cannabis.
However, there is some special information that applies to growing Autoflowering Cannabis in particular, just as there is with growing any plant. For example, tomatoes are especially susceptible to tobacco mosaic disease. What are the equivalent, unique things you should know about growing Autoflowering Cannabis plants?
This requires a brief discussion of some botanical facts, specific to Autoflowering Cannabis, which will help you to understand how best to grow them. It is also necessary to learn something about the chemicals Autoflowering Cannabis produces.
Cannabis has a very distinctive, no doubt familiar, leaf. Each consists of a number of serrated leaflets. The first leaf pair has single, fingered leaflets. Successive leaves add leaflets with up to as many as 13 making up one leaf. Notably, as Cannabis plants mature, the number of leaflets on leaves at the top of the plant diminishes until the very top displays leaves of a single leaflet again.
Leaves can tell you a lot about an Autoflowering Cannabis plant. They can be used as a general indicator of the health of your plants, just as do the leaves of tomatoes. They should be a healthy green, though it is normal for Autoflowering Cannabis plants to be just a tad on the dull side, as they use everything produced in their leaves so quickly.
If leaves exhibit colors that are not green, there are many gardening books on nutrient deficiencies. While there are actually a hundred possible reason why a plant leaf displays a particular symptom, visual leaf symptoms, though far from perfect, are still useful in helping to determine nutrient deficiencies. Of course, tomato growers are big followers of leaf symptoms, and books that cover those should also be useful to the Autoflowering Cannabis gardener.
Autoflowering Cannabis leaves are naturally susceptible to problems associated with humidity. There is a thin envelope of air that surrounds all plant leaves called the boundary layer. If thick enough, this layer becomes an impediment to the release from leaves of water molecules produced during photosynthesis. In addition, CO2 headed into the plant via stomata has problems.
As a result, the plant does not take up as much water as normal, resulting in a reduction of nutrients going into the plant. Photosynthesis may not be as efficient as it should be, because of CO2 delivery problems. The plant is weakened. It is bad enough to have this happen to a regular plant, but Autoflowering Cannabis plants grow so fast, they cannot afford to miss a day recovering.
Then, there is the disease problem caused by higher humidity around leaves. The boundary layer makes a mini environment, perfect for powdery mildew spores to take hold and germinate and then dig into the leaves. And spread.
The take-home points here: when growing Autoflowering Cannabis, air movement is critical; in addition, it is critical to make sure your soil has all the nutrients your plants will need, so they don’t develop problems.
Autoflowering Cannabis roots grow extremely fast. Plants can become rootbound very quickly. Don’t let it happen. FREHNER SEBRING
As all gardeners know, roots not only support the plant, they are the entry way for nutrients. Autoflowering Cannabis plants have a primary root with many secondary roots splaying off it. These secondary roots, in turn, branch several more times, and their growing tips are covered in root hairs.
Autoflowering Cannabis roots grow extremely fast, and plants can quickly become root-bound. A tomato can recover from being root-bound, but the superfast-growing Autoflowering Cannabis plant suffers too big a loss. It can take a week for a newly transplanted plant of any kind to return to normal growth. Due to the Autoflower’s short life span, the missed time recovering can’t be made up.
The takeaway from this is that Autoflowering Cannabis plants need ample room to grow. Their roots should not be disturbed at all. Ever. This means you should not attempt to transplant Autoflowering Cannabis seedlings, at least until after you grow a few crops to learn just how quickly they develop their root system.
Almost all plants send out signals from their roots to attract specific mycorrhizal fungal types. These fungi share phosphorous, nitrogen, zinc, copper, iron, calcium, magnesium, and manganese with the plant in return for carbon-laced exudates. They are much smaller than root hairs and can mine areas of the soil that are not otherwise readily accessible to the plants’ roots.
There is one particular species of mycorrhizal fungus, Rhizophagus intraradices, which forms this symbiotic relationship with any kind of Cannabis, and Autoflowering Cannabis is no exception. It is best to have this fungus, or at least its spores, in the soil.
In addition to the potential for bigger plants as a result of better nutrient uptake, Rhizophagus intraradices has the potential to help your plants fight disease, because well-fed plants remain healthy. And its presence even helps roots ward off damaging nematodes because (as with all fungi) its walls contain chitin, which root nematodes do not like.
The takeaway? Rhizophagus intraradices mycorrhizal fungus inoculants are now available commercially. The very same products can and should be used on tomatoes, so more and more nurseries carry it. Grow stores have many different offerings.
It is important to note that all mycorrhizal fungi do best in an organic system. In fact, ensuring that you have mycorrhizal fungi associate with your plants is a primary reason to grow organically.
Nodes along an Autoflowering Cannabis stem. It’s a girl! Note the thin white thread, a stigma. JUDITH HOERSTING.
Pinching just above nodes results in the development of new branches, each of which will, in turn, develop flowers. Note the tiny hairs, actually stigma, indicating the plant is a female. JUDITH HOERSTING.
Male flowers about to open and release pollen. BY THAYNE TUASON, WIKICOMMONS.
Along the stems of Autoflowering Cannabis are nodes, areas where new branches develop. The area along the stem between these nodes is, unsurprisingly, called the inter-nodal zone. Tomato plants form stem nodes, too. It is from these nodes that tomato suckers and flower branches start to grow.
Stem nodes are the sites of undifferentiated cells, called meristem. The meristem at the growing (apical or top) tip of the plant produces the plant hormone auxin, and the presence of enough auxin at lower lateral node tips inhibits branching. Pinch a growing tip of a young Autoflowering Cannabis plant and you cut off the auxin supply that was keeping things in check. The meristem then develops not one but two new tips. If these, in turn, are pinched, the supply of auxins is again diminished, and two more tips grow below each new pinch.
At some point, plants lose the ability to produce new branches. Instead, a chemical is produced that converts the meristem into flower cells. Then flower buds form instead of growing tips. If you pinch at this point, you lose the flower. Unlike before, you don’t get two new ones.
Whether to pinch an Autoflowering Cannabis is directly related to the plant’s genetics. Some have been bred to produce the largest possible amount of branches and flowers. These types of Autoflowering Cannabis plants lose too much valuable time when they are pinched and then they don’t produce as well.
Why are nodes important, then? The home gardener is usually limited, either by space and time or by governmental fiat, in the number of plants that can be grown. Each new growing tip produced represents a potential flower source, so it is important to know if you can pinch your plant back.
Female flowers developing at the tips of branches. JUDITH HOERSTING.
Autoflowering Cannabis has male and female flowers on respective plants. This is a big difference between tomatoes and Autoflowers. It is the female flowers that are prized (unless you are into breeding your own seed) because these produce the wanted chemicals. Male flowers do not. Unless a gardener wants to breed Autoflowering Cannabis, male plants are discarded.
Cannabis flowers, known as buds in the trade, are, botanically speaking, inflorescences of florets. A floret is just a small flower—think of what broccoli or cauliflower heads are made up of. Autoflowering Cannabis inflorescences are florets closely lined up on a stem or in a tight bunch.
Early in an Autoflowering Cannabis plant’s life, close examination of what is happening at node junctions will reveal the sex of the plant long before flowering occurs. Female plants display fine filament pistils (more on pistils and stigma below), whereas tiny sacs indict male plants.
Male and female flowers developing at nodes show the sex of the plant early. WINNIE CASACOP.
A female Cannabis floret forms a calyx. This is a single sepal that wraps itself around the female reproductive parts to protect them. In addition to holding the flower’s pistils, this is where most of the plant’s chemicals are produced.
The pistil, in turn, consists of an ovary, a style, and a stigma. It is sticky and holds pollen during fertilization. Tiny hairs grow out of the pistil. These are stigma, and they, too, can collect pollen.
This huge cola from a New Breed Seed Autoflowering Cannabis plant, Timberline, VAR, is something to strive for. HAROLD FRAZIER, NEW BREED SEED.
The presence of pistils on female flowers makes it easy to distinguish a female plant from a male one—males don’t have them. Stigma start out clear, or white, but as the flowers become ripe, they turn brown.
Calyxes can display all manner of color: green, yellow, pink, purple, and more depending on climate and strain. When Autoflowering Cannabis is grown properly, they crowd together forming what the untrained eye might call a single flower. Actually, this cluster of calyxes is known as a cola.
Calyxes make it easier for the female plant to catch the windborne male pollen. Most important, calyxes are covered with special glands called trichomes. These are where the desired chemicals for which the plant is grown are produced.
Each branch along a stem has the potential to develop into a cola of varying size. The top tip branch usually produces the main biggest cola, with smaller ones being produced from lower branches. Cola size is dependent on how many florets form. (Again, think of the whole cauliflower or broccoli head.)
Feminization of seeds to ensure only female plants
Since only sterile female flowers count, someone figured out how to ensure seeds would produce female plants. This can be done by rhodelization (stressing) which causes a female plant to develop a few male flowers with pollen sacs, along with female flowers. If the plant self-fertilizes, or if the pollen from this female plant is used to fertilize another female plant, then the resultant seed will produce only female plants. Using these seeds means you don’t have to grow, identify, and discard male plants, and that will save you time and effort.
But the most common method to feminize seed is to use colloidal silver or gibberellic acid. Application of either to plants at the right time (for 4 weeks after lights are at 12 hours for Cannabis indica and Cannabis sativa, if you must know) causes the plant to produce flowers that contain some pollen sacs. These sacs can be removed, stored, and later used to pollinate a female plant that has had flowers for 2 or 3 weeks. It takes about 6 weeks after pollination for Cannabis indica and Cannabis sativa to become ripe with seeds.
The parts of a calyx. WINNI CASACOP.
Autoflowering Cannabis is no different from other forms of Cannabis, so it is certainly possible to chemically induce rhodelization. The problem in this case is the timing because the plants grow so fast. Generally, however, if you apply one of these chemicals to forming buds, you can induce the production of pollen sacs.
Both colloidal silver as well as gibberellic acid are available on the market. You can even make your own colloidal silver. Feminization of seed is an advanced aspect of growing Autoflowering Cannabis, the details of which can be gleaned off the Internet. It is certainly not something a gardener should try to tackle for the first few grows, or probably ever.
Feminizing your own seeds might be fun as you become more and more enamored with growing Autoflowering Cannabis. You may decide to add this skill to your wheelbarrow and give it a try if you decide to breed your own varieties. Again, this is why Autoflowering Cannabis is a great hobby plant.
Fortunately, you can now buy fantastic feminized seeds from several outlets. Not only will you have less work, but the breeder provides the necessary cultural information to make your job easier, as well as producing seeds with superior genetics. This really is an easy plant to grow, but all the information you can gather helps.
Diagram of glandular trichome. WINNIE CASACOP.
Male Autoflowering Cannabis flowers have stamens and anthers that contain pollen sacs and filaments to hold the pollen sacs onto the plant. The sacs are about 5 mm (0.2 in.) in size. The most important difference between male and female Autoflowering Cannabis flowers, however, is that male flowers do not produce chemicals which are psychoactive. Every now and then a male plant appears. This is why you need to know what they look like.
In addition, male plants need to be removed from the growing area so that they don’t pollinate females. Without males to pollinate, the female plants produce sterile flowers, known as sinsemilla.
Sometimes a female Autoflowering Cannabis plant develops some male flowers and vise versa. Plants with both male and female flowers on the same plant are monoecious. (They are often referred to as hermaphrodites, but this term properly refers to plants that have both male and female parts in the same flower.) This trait is important because it allows interested gardeners to try breeding their own varieties, adding an extra dimension to the hobby.
Autoflowering Cannabis produce special hair-like glands known as trichomes. These are very similar to those that cover the stems and leaves of tomatoes. In Autoflowering Cannabis, trichomes probably protect the plant. The substances they produce may prevent grazing by mammals and insects. In addition, they provide plant surfaces with shade protection from damaging UV waves.
If you look closely at a mature Autoflowering Cannabis flower (and leaves as well), you will see lots of small mushroom-like structures, 50 to 100 micrometers (0.002 to 0.004 in.) long. These are glandular trichomes.
Looking through a hand lens (or the magnification setting on your cell phone) reveals that each consists of an elongated base which holds a round head that is covered with a waxy cuticle. The setup looks like a golf ball on a tee.
Of prime importance, the synthesis of the cannabinoids and terpenoids takes place inside these trichome heads. These factories, however, are very delicate and rupture when treated roughly. Such treatment exposes the chemicals inside, which then oxidize and degrade.
Autoflower trichomes respond to improper treatment in a negative way. Physical manipulation, passage of time, and exposure to heat, air, and light are detrimental. It is critical to limit contact with glandular trichomes and to make sure plants are grown in the proper environment, and stored in one as well.
Of equal importance, the color of capitate-stalked trichomes is a great visual indicator to monitor a plant’s stage of growth. In fact, the gardener can really only tell if plants are ready for harvest by tracking trichome color changes from clear to cloudy, and then to amber.
At the base of each female Cannabis flower is a tiny structure known as a bract, a pseudo leaf. (It is the bracts on poinsettias that give those plants their color.) This bract helps hold the flower together. As important (and maybe even more so), these bracts are covered with capitate-stalked trichomes.
Autoflowering Cannabis trichome under magnification. Note that some are clear, some are cloudy, and others are amber. FRED GUNNERSON, SOFRESH FARMS.
When you have the right genetics and do a good job helping these plants grow, glandular trichomes form a dense coating that is known as sugar or frost. This a is very desirable trait and production of plants with lots and lots of trichomes is your goal.
There are two kinds of smaller trichomes. These cover male plants, which do not produce many glandular trichomes (alas). The first are known as bulbous trichomes, which are only 10 to 15 micrometers (0.0004 to 0.0006 in.), making them the smallest of the trichomes. They cover the entire plant.
The last group are the capitate sessile trichomes. These have a stalk and a head just like the capitate stalked trichomes, but don’t produce the same amount or kinds of resins as do the bigger bulbous glands. They also cover the plant, being even more abundant than the bulbous types.
O.K. Now you know enough of the plant parts to follow the growth pattern of Autoflowering Cannabis as the plant goes through various stages of its growth.
First the seeds soak up water and germinate, in sometimes as little as 30 hours. Seed cotyledons unfurl and are followed by the seedling stage during which the plant develops 2 embryonic leaves and then between 4 and 8 more mature leaves of increasing size. Depending on the environmental conditions, this stage can last from 1 to 3 weeks.
The vegetative or growth stage is next. The stem grows thicker and taller, and side nodes develop. More leaves are produced and new branches too. The vegetative stage lasts up to 5 months in a Cannabis indica or Cannabis sativa. Autoflowering plants can move out of the vegetative stage after only 3 short weeks.
Next is the pre-flowering stage. The plant continues to grow. The male plants display a small, green sac-like structure at nodes. (This sac will eventually fill with pollen.) White hairs, the pistils of female plants, form at the nodes of female plants. Pistils are distinct female plant organs that consist of an ovary, a style, and a sticky stigma which is where male pollen is first collected. It is the color of the stigma which helps determine ripeness. Because of this importance, the term stigma is often used to refer to the entire pistil.
The flowering stage occurs after these early sex precursors develop more. Buds form and start to grow. Trichomes become visible, coating bracts, flowers, and nearby leaves, causing them to them to get sticky. The plant may also develop an odor characteristic of the variety being grown. This odor is from the chemicals produced in trichomes. Male pollen sacs (if male plants are allowed to remain) fill and open, spilling pollen.
When the pistils on flowers turn from white to rusty brown, it is a signal that the plants are ripening and nearing the harvest stage. This often starts with the top buds of the main cola and moves down to lower colas during the course of a week or so.
The glandular trichomes gradually turn from clear to opaque. On average, once 20 to 50% of them are milky in appearance, it is time to start the harvest. After trichomes become cloudy, they turn amber or honey-colored. Time to harvest for sure. The pistils turn brown and dry.
The Autoflowering Cannabis harvest stage can occur after an astonishingly brief 5 or 6 weeks (though usually it is 8 weeks or a bit longer). After it is finished, the harvest will require collecting, drying, and curing. Drying can take about a week or so. Curing is an ongoing process that can take place as the Autoflowering Cannabis is stored.
Traditionally, Cannabis was grown for making rope, producing cloth, and making paper. I don’t wish to delude anyone, however. It is the chemicals in Cannabis that today make Autoflowering Cannabis of interest to the home gardener.
These chemicals cause the psychoactive highs and impart the medical effects for which many forms of Cannabis are known. I use the plural because different chemical mixes in different varieties of Cannabis plants cause varying degrees and types of psychoactivity or impact different parts of the body in different ways. Chemicals that don’t produce psychoactive effects may impact other aspects of our psychology and physiology, causing calming, reduction of inflammation, prevention of certain kinds of seizures, and more.
There are all sorts of numbers tossed about as to how many different chemical compounds are produced by a Cannabis plant. Suffice to note there are over 100 that react chemically with receptors found in both plants and animals. You will have heard of some of these cannabinoids, at least in their abbreviated form, as they include THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), CBD (cannabidiol), and CBN (cannabinol).
Actually, cannabinoids are in acid form inside the Autoflowering Cannabis plant, so they are more properly named THCA (tetrahydrocannabinol acid), CBDA (cannabidiol acid), and CBNA (cannabinol acid). In these acidic forms, cannabinoids are not bioavailable and humans cannot react to them. They cannot be absorbed. We will stick with the non-acid abbreviations in this text.
It is drying and, in particular, heating that converts these chemical compounds from acids to their absorbable form. This is via a process known as decarboxylation. Scientifically, a cannabinoid gives up a single carbon dioxide molecule. If you skip decarboxylation, your Autoflowering Cannabis might just as well be lettuce insofar as psychoactive or medical activity is concerned.
Once decarboxylated, however, cannabinoids can be absorbed and will react with the human body. A lot of studies are being conducted to figure out just exactly what these impacts are and how they happen. (Stay tuned.)
How cannabinoids work
Many functions in the human body such as sleep, mood, pain, immune system responses, hunger, and memory are regulated by a messaging chain, the endocannabinoid system. The chemicals used in this regulation are endocannabinoids. They attach to special receptors mostly concentrated in the nervous system, brain, immune system, and organs.
When cannabinoids from any Cannabis plant are present, they work with the body’s endocannabinoid receptors to produce a variety of effects. These receptors are sensitive to cannabinoids, which interfere with or change the body’s natural chemical messages.
Only the endocannabinoid receptors found in the brain react to THC producing psychoactive effects. There is a second set of receptors which are all located outside the brain and are not involved in psychoactivity, but are responsible for a number of other physiological responses such as inflammation and pain. These react to CBD.
In sum, when an individual ingests Cannabis, the endocannabinoid system becomes overloaded as THC and the other phytocannabinoids from the plant attach to receptors all through the body. This interferes with the activity of the body’s natural endocannabinoids. And, because the endocannabinoid system is distributed throughout the body, the impacts can be wide-ranging.
Cannabinoid guide. WINNI CASACOP.
To keep things simple, the Autoflowering Cannabis gardener only needs to be aware of a few cannabinoids. Incidentally, these are all odor free. However, their presence or lack thereof helps define how Autoflowering Cannabis impacts the body. Let’s explore them.
The main psychoactive cannabinoid is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinoid acid, THC. This is the primary cannabinoid produced by the psychoactive varieties of Cannabis. This is what imparts the characteristics of a “high.”
THC attaches itself to endocannabinoid receptors in the brain causing psychoactivity. Initially, these reactions to THC can also increase heartbeat, cause anxiety, or sedate. There is a diminution of the psychoactive effects at high (sorry) doses. This is because the body’s receptors become saturated. Signals are blocked by other cannabinoids.
Usually, ingesting too much THC is not a problem. However, it can cause bloodshot eyes and dry mouth. It can also be responsible for any anxiety attacks, short-term memory loss, dizziness, or even nausea.
Cannabis is often recommended to chemotherapy patients to control nausea. It is the THC that does this. The pain relief prescription drugs Cesamet and Marinol provide relief because of THC they contain.
Breeders have been able to achieve remarkably high (again, sorry, but this is exactly the right word!) THC percentages that can equal over 30% of the plant’s dry weight. This is a huge amount, much more than is found in plants growing in nature. Each gardener will have different tolerances to using them. Until you understand their impact, remember the Goldilocks Rule: use in moderation.
Tetrahydrocannabivarin (whew, no wonder you don’t hear about this one), THCV, is a different form of THC that has different impacts on the endocannabinoid system. There is not a lot of research, however, on these cannabinoids, though there are some studies on its ability to help with certain forms of glucose intolerance.
CBN, for cannabinol, is found in Autoflowering Cannabis. It is a by-product of degradation of THC. It usually doesn’t exist in large quantities in fresh plants.
CBN is psychoactive and has sedating properties. It is considered an anti-psychotic by some. Studies show varying impacts on such diverse human (and pet) aliments as diabetes, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, Crohn’s, and inflammation.
There are lots of non-psychoactive cannabinoids. These impact only endocannabinoid nodes in the body, not in the brain. As a result of a tremendous amount of publicity in the first part of this century (a news story of their impact on a child’s severe seizures that appeared on national TV in the United States and Canada), they became almost as popularly known as THC. There is no reason a home gardener can’t grow their own.
Cannabidiolic acid converts to CBD, the number two cannabinoid in Autoflowering Cannabis, constituting up to 40% of the cannabinoids in a plant’s resin. It interacts with a much broader range of endocannabinoid receptors than THC (but does not react with the receptors that THC does). This is the chemical touted for its impact on certain forms of epilepsy, but it has a wide range of impacts on the human body.
CBD has been found to actually interfere with the intensity of THC. It is being studied for its impact on anxiety, depression, and pediatric epilepsy. It is antibacterial and has been studied in light of positive responses to dealing with MRSA-type pathogens.
In addition, CBD reduces pain and inflammation. It has become very popular as a home remedy for muscle pains and as a sleep aid. One of the most promising attributes appears to be the ability to aid in protecting the brain after an injury such as a concussion. Clearly, the research has just begun, and no doubt more uses will be discovered for CBD.
In terms of percentages, after THC and CBD comes cannabigerol or CBG. It is actually the precursor of THC and CBD and is converted to the other two by cellular enzymatic activity.
CBG has gained attention of late because mouse studies show it is effective in helping with irritable bowel diseases. It is strongly antibacterial and antifungal and is being studied as an anti-tumor agent and as an aid in treating prostate diseases.
CBG can interact with cellular systems in addition to the endocannabinoid. Only about 1 percent of the cannabinoids are in this group, though this can be increased by breeding, as can the other cannabinoids.
Cannabichromene (again, you can see why abbreviations are used), CBC, is only found in some Autoflowering Cannabis plants. It isn’t psychoactive, but it is a moderator of pain. CBC has antibacterial and antifungal properties and has been shown to reduce acne.
In addition to cannabinoids, over 200 chemicals called terpenes have been found in Cannabis thus far. Terpenes and their oxidized forms, terpenoids, are odoriferous compounds produced by all plants and animals. Each has a unique smell, taste, and effects. They serve a number of functions. Bacteria, for example, communicate by producing and “reading” each other’s terpenes.
There are more than 30,000 terpenes found in nature. The exact same terpene can be made by different plants: lemon, lime, and orange trees, for example. Still, many terpenes produced by Cannabis cannot be found in other plants.
Terpenes give Autoflowering Cannabis plants their characteristic smells and flavors. They bind to the cannabinoid receptors in the brain and body where they chemically complement THC. Autoflowering Cannabis would not be the same without them since they blend with (odorless) cannabinoids. Think of the smells of lemon, orange, or pine, as all of these scents and flavors are due to terpenes.
While there is only one kind of THC, there are lots of kinds of terpenes. The way Cannabis affects you, therefore, depends an awful lot on the mix of terpenes (and other cannabinoids) present. Some are noted for imparting pain relief, others for reducing inflammation, inducing sleep, reducing anxiety, providing focus, or serving as anti-microbial agents. Each terpene imparts a different feeling to the experience of using Cannabis, and knowing their mix, or “profile,” in a plant can define the experience before one ingests.
The same variety of Cannabis grown under different conditions can show a different profile. This has led to a confusing array of names which has complicated breeding and buying Cannabis. They are often, incidentally, as useless as are the names of tomato varieties.
The different mixes of cannabinoids and terpenes is what makes growing, and actually harvesting and using your Autoflowering Cannabis, interesting. It is a good idea to become familiar with the major terpenes as they will help you describe your plant. Follow the smells.
More and more commercial vendors are using a system that lists and describes the terpene content of the product. This system is rightfully replacing an indica versus sativa method of choosing which Cannabis to grow or use and provides a much more exact preview of what to expect.
Today, there is an ever-increasing number of studies designed to shed light on the subject. As a result, we are beginning to understand that the terpenes and terpenoids have much to do with the type of high induced by Cannabis. Terpenes are made up only of carbon and hydrogen so they are hydrocarbons. Terpenoids are terpenes altered by oxidation and contain other elements. Both act in synergy with cannabinoids and create an “entourage effect.”
Instead of indica versus sativa, we now know that terpenoid alcohols such as linalool, bisabool, guaiol, as well as beta-myrcene are partially responsible for couch-lock and terpenes that create the sativa-type high include terpinolene and beta-caryophyllene. It is possible to learn to taste and recognize the smells of terpenoids and terpenes just as one does with wine.
With Cannabis, the ensemble effect comes into play. The sum of the impacts is greater than the individual components. Various terpenes work together better than they do alone, creating special impacts.
This terpene smells like menthol and camphor. It is found in cinnamon, wormwood, and galanga. Borneol imparts a calming effect and can be very sedating. It is also used to repel insects. Strains of Cannabis that have it include Diamond Girl and Green-o-matic.
The only terpene to intersect directly with the endocannabinoid system, beta caryophyllene is a spicy terpene that smells somewhat like black pepper, in which it is also found. It is also found in cloves, cinnamon, oregano, basil, and rosemary, and in green leafy vegetables. Because of its complex makeup, it survives temperatures used to make extract products and so is found in lots of them. Strains with beta caryophyllene include Skywalker, Haze#2, and Super Silver Haze.
Beta caryophyllene is used as an anti-inflammatory. It is being studied to help deal with alcoholism. As a topical and ingested, it has analgesic and anti-anxiety impacts. It also gives a characteristic odor when oxidized, and it is said this is the scent that law enforcement drug dogs were trained to locate.
As you would expect, this terpene is what gives eucalyptus its spicy, minty smell. It is also found in tea tree, amphora, sage, and rosemary. Strains that contain eucalyptus include Chem Dawg, Bubba Kush, and King’s Kush. Eucaluptol is an antibacterial used in mouthwashes and body deodorants.
Hops, a botanical relative of Autoflowering Cannabis, contains lots of humulene, which has a woody, earthy smell and is found in black pepper, cloves, as well as sage. Strains with humulene include White Widow, Skywalker OG, Headband, Girl Scout Cookies, and Sour Diesel.
Humulene is an appetite suppressant. It relieves inflammation and is an antibacterial.
Limonene is the second most abundant terpene in Cannabis and, as its name suggests, is found in large quantities in citrus rinds. Any strain with a citrus fruit or sour in its name contains limonene. Jack the Ripper, Lemon Skunk, Jack Herer, OG Kush, Sour Diesel, Tangerine, Super Lemon Haze, and Durban Poison are all notable strains that contain limonene.
Limonene is antifungal and antibacterial. It reduces stress and elevates moods. It is considered the terpene that imparts the energetic high associated with some Cannabis varieties. It is being studied as it appears to kill cancer cells in lab tests.
This terpene imparts a spicy, flowery smell. It is found in lavender, mint, cinnamon, and coriander. Strains that contain linalool include Amnesia Haze, Grape Ape, G-13, Lavender, LA Confidential, and OG Shark.
Linalool is very relaxing and sedative in its effects. Some use it in oil form for treatment of burns and acne. It is said to help with arthritis, insomnia, seizures, and depression.
Myrcene has an earthy, musky smell, which is also found in hops. Some suggest it resembles the smell of cloves. This is the terpene that imparts the characteristic underlying smell of Cannabis , probably because it is the dominate terpene in Cannabis. In some strains, 60 to 65 percent of the terpenes are myrcene.
Strains that have high amounts of myrcene are sedative in effects. Look for it in Skunk, White Widow, White Rhino, and Mango. Many associate the couch-lock feeling with Cannabis indica because it accompanies the use of many Cannabis indica varieties. Actually, it is the myrcene in Cannabis that induces this feeling.
There are two types of pinene terpenes in Cannabis, alpha and beta pinenes. Both smell like pine needles, in which you can of course find it. You can also find pinene in rosemary, basil, and parsley. Strains that contain pinene include Super Silver Haze, Train Wreck, Cheese, Bubba Kush, Dutch Treat, Jack Herer, Strawberry Cough, Blue Dream, and Romulan.
Pinene is a solvent that breaks down plastics, and it is one of the reasons Cannabis should be stored in glass jars rather than plastic containers. Pinene helps with asthma. It is anti-inflammatory and helps with arthritis.
While the name suggests turpentine smell, terpineol actually imparts a lilac or apple blossom odor. It is used in perfumes and flavorings.
OG Kush, Girl Scout Cookies, White Rhino, and Jack Herer strains contain significant amounts of terpineol. Terpineol induces a very relaxed mood, often described as couch-lock. In addition to being a relaxing agent, it is said to have anti-oxidant properties.
Traditionally, people grew and selected Cannabis for consumption based on its classification as either a sativa or an indica plant. The former was said to induce an uplifting and energizing high, while the latter was noted for inducing lethargy and deep relaxation.
Terpenes, however, represent a much more accurate measure of the potential impacts of ingesting Cannabis and are more probably the cause of the effects felt. There is growing evidence that terpenes have quite a bit to do with the different types of effects caused by ingesting Cannabis. THC, CBD, etc. have predictable impacts, but these impacts are altered depending on the accompanying terpene mix. Myrcene, linalool, and nerolidol create a sedative high, while pinene or limonene mixes leave the user feeling much more energetic.
There is a third set of compounds in Autoflowering Cannabis that need to be highlighted. These are “flavonoids,” compounds responsible for some of the taste and smell of Autoflowering Cannabis and also for the non-green pigments found in vegetables and fruits. They protect the plants from UV rays and deter pests, both grazers and disease-causers.
Flavonoids exist elsewhere in the plant kingdom with over 6,000 identified. About 20 of these are in Autoflowering Cannabis. (Some of these flavonoids are unique to Cannabis plants.) This represents about 10% of the chemical compound mix in these plants, so they are not insignificant. They are thought to modulate the effects of THC.
Flavonoids are also responsible for giving leaves and flowers their colors. They are visible when not masked by green chlorophyll. In addition to imparting color to Cannabis, flavonoids create odor and flavor and react with cannabinoids in synergistic ways.
Anthocyanins are plant chemicals that cause the red, blues, and purples of grapes, cherries, and blueberries. They are found in Auto-flowering Cannabis, where reds are expressed when the soil is acidic and purples as the soil becomes neutral. At some point as the pH becomes more alkaline (goes up), these colors disappear because the anthocyanins break apart. You don’t always see anthocyanins because of the presence of over-riding green chlorophyll molecules.
Cannaflavin A and B are strong anti-inflammatory agents. So far, they have only been found in Cannabis. One study found cannaflavin A to be more effective than aspirin as an anti-inflammatory.
Beta-sitosterol is found in avocados and nuts. It is an anti-inflammatory.
These two flavonoids were studied and shown to have anti-cancer effects, one paper suggesting that they prevent cancer by causing cancer cells to degrade and die.
This is a highly studied flavonoid with anti-anxiety and anti-inflammatory capabilities. Several studies suggest they stop the growth of breast cancer cells.
Kaempferol is being studied to treat heart problems. It is a known anti-cancer agent and has antidepressant properties.
Clover contains luteolin. In is antibacterial and is being studied as an anti-tumor agent.
This is one of the most studied of all the flavonoids. It is found in celery and parsley and chamomile tea. It appears to inhibit the growth of breast cancer and is an anti-anxiety as well as an anti-inflammatory agent.
This flavonoid is found in many fruits, and vegetables as well. It is also found in wines, green tea, and berries. It is considered to be an anti-cancer agent and an anti-oxidant and great for relieving pain.
Catechins are found in cocoa and tea. They can have antioxidant properties and have shown cardiovascular benefits including helping to maintain cholesterol levels.
Orientin is a flavonoid with vasodilator properties and is being studied for heart impacts. It is an anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and painkilling flavonoid.
At some point the restrictions against studying Cannabis will be lifted and a great deal more will be learned about all of the compounds in the plants. They have already been shown to be anti-oxidant, anti-aging, anti-viral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, good for vasodilation, cardio-protective, radiation protective, neuro-protective, antidepressant, anti-adipogenesis, and pain-relieving. (Wow!)
This is really all the specialized knowledge you will need to grow Autoflowering Cannabis, maybe even a bit more than you need! Anything more complicated is beyond the scope of this book. If you want more information, however, there is plenty to be had. The Internet is your immediate source for anything upon which you want to expand.
There is an ever-expanding universe of research papers involving Cannabis and Autoflowering Cannabis. This research is important because previous laws restricted it or, as in the case of the United States, ensured studies were designed to prove the evils of Cannabis.
It is always a good idea to keep abreast of new studies that pertain to your hobbies. In the instance of Cannabis, new discoveries are being made all the time. Again, refer to the Internet, which is a great tool to help you in growing Autoflowering Cannabis. Let’s look at other useful tools in the next chapter.
