We at DutchFem get a lot of questions about the difference between autoflower and regular feminized seeds. That’s why we’re putting the most important differences here for you so that you can decide if, and when, you can use autoflowers to their fullest potential and when to use regular feminized seeds.

Like the name implies, autflowers bloom automatically. This doesn’t sound like anything new because regular feminized seeds also bloom automatically, but there’s a huge difference. Regular Feminized grow at 18 hours of light a day and only bloom at at least 12 hours of darkness. This will be automatic around the end of August when they’re outside, because the days get shorter and the nights longer. They will have to bloom for 7 to 9 weeks. From April to the end of August, normal feminized seeds will only grow and definitely won’t bloom eariler than August.

The big difference with autoflower is that they’re not dependant on the amount of light they get to bloom. They come up and bloom automaticaly after 3-4 weeks. If you put them outside in April, they’ll already bloom in May and in 6 to 8 weeks they’re ready to harvest. Of course the amount of sun determines their growth, bloom and result of an automatic.

Because of this, autoflowers seem to grow and bloom faster than regular feminized seeds, but this only applies to growing outside. Inside you decide the amount of hours of light, and when you put them in bloom. Autflowers also go their own way when grown inside and after 3 or 4 weeks of growth, even at 18 hours of light per day, automatically bloom and need 9 to 12 weeks with 6 to 8 weeks of blooming.

The most heard of argument to grow autoflowers inside is because they’re supposedly ‘done faster.’ This isn’t right with inside growing. The second argument is that they’re supposedly easier than feminized. We assume that someone that can give a plant 18 hours of light a day, should also be able to do this for 1, 2, 3 or 4 weeks, but then 12 hours instead of 18. This is the only thing you have to do extra compared to growing with autoflowers. Normal feminized is other than that just as easy to grow as autoflowers. Because the autflowers give the best result if they are under a light source for 18 hours straight (Even when in bloom) you save with feminized seeds at least 6 hours of light (and thus, power) a day and that is especially for growers with an HPS lamp a definite saving.

If these 2 arguments don’t apply anymore, then the yield is the last important factor.
Seeing how regular feminized gives 3 to 5 times as much as autoflowers, it doesn’t seem as hard to make the right choice anymore for your ‘inside garden.’ Only for the beginning growers that want a plant without a lamp, behind glass, inside and on the windowsill for fun, autoflowers is a little better and easier because that’s nearly impossible with normal feminized. For a fast guerilla outside growing or in countries with short summers and cold Octobers/Novembers, autoflower is the best choice but
for a successful growth we always advise to go for normal feminized.

The last important difference is in the THC and CBD percentage of the plants. Autoflowers of the latest generation produce a lot more THC than previous generations, but usually it’s around 12 to 16% THC. Normal feminized plants may have higher THC than 16% and can go up to 22 or even 24%. The CBD percentage is also lower on autoflowers than with regular feminized plants and won’t go higher than 5% while regular (medical) feminized have a staggering amount of 42% CBD.

The effect of autoflower weed is not to be underestimated, however. It might be less strong than regular feminized weed but the difference is in the duration of the effect. Because autoflowers are all above the 12% THC they will give a strong high or heavily stoned feeling that’s almost identical to regular feminized. This high however lasts longer than with autoflower. Within half an hour it’s usually done with autoflowers but with regular feminized it can take a few hours. Of course the THC
percentage is the most deciding factor with this, the higher the THC, the heavier the psychoactive effect will be, and the longer it can go on.

If you still have any questions, drop by at the DutchFem Live Chat and ask them to one of our experienced growers or leave your question so that we can answer you as soon as
possible.