I Tried 5 Fastest Flowering Cannabis Strains (Here’s #1)
Talk is cheap and innacurate information on the web is rife. This is why I took it upon myself to compare the results of the 5 fastest flowering cannabis strains to prove once and for all which seed provides the quickest results from seed to harvest.
Fast flowering cannabis strains are hands down the most popular type of seed on the market and we do not see this changing any time soon. Whilst all cannabis plants are beautiful and unique, they are not all equal and have an ever-expanding variety of properties. One of the biggest and most important differences in cannabis strains is the time it takes to flower and finish producing its bud.
Some marijuana plants can flower super quickly in as little as 6 to 7 weeks whilst others can take over 14 weeks! Having a seed that flowers fast has some huge benefits to all types of growers using all types of environments.
Directly below I will compare my findings on the 5 fastest flowering cannabis strains starting with the quickest one, Fast Grapefruit.
Contents
The Fastest Flowering Cannabis Strains
After hours of research and browsing through grow journals it became obvious that the most popular five choices were Fast Grapefruit, Fast Kush, Auto 7 Week Wonder, Giant Bud, and UK Cheese.
But just reading the breeder’s statistics isn’t enough to prove their worth, and neither is reading random grow journals because having different growers cultivate in different environments would not be a fair test. So I organised an experienced gardener to grow all five strains in the exact same environment to finally prove which seed could provide a quality harvest in the fastest time possible.
Along with links to these five grow journals I have included a graph (as seen below) to help readers quickly see the impressive statistics of each strain.
The following strains were grown individually in separate small tents using a 15L pot with coco and a 200W LED grow light.
Fast Grapefruit
#1 WINNER
Fast Grapefruit is our number 1 winner and flowered the fastest out of all five of these strains. This plant took 6 and a half weeks to flower and create a beautiful harvest. The plant could have gone a little longer if the grower preferred, but there were visible amber trichomes on the day of harvest. View the full grow journal here.
Known for her sweet deep smells, Grapefruit Seeds can produce top-shelf marijuana with a rapid flowering phase. A respectable 500 to 550 grams per square meter can easily be accomplished with these impressive genetics which is a huge yield for such a quick strain. This plant has many impressive aspects but the one that really stands out is the 6 to 7-week flowering phase which makes her one of our most popular strains and the winner of this grow.
Fast Kush
#2
The second quickest plant to reach a harvestable stage was Fast Kush. This plant took 7 weeks to be ready for the chop.
This beautiful crossover by the name of Fast Kush has been bred out with an incredible balance of speed and power. This heavy-hitting 100% Indica genetic is short and stumpy with huge colas that average harvests of 550 grams per square meter. She was created by crossing over a special Afghan Kush pheno with a Black Domina and the resulting plant is a mini powerhouse that flowers in just 6 to 7 weeks! The flowering time is the same as the Fast Grapefruit above but the buds do not smell quite so pungent making it a stealthier option.
Auto 7 Week Wonder
#3
Slightly slower than the name suggested, Automatic 7 Week Wonder needed an extra week taking the total time of seed to harvest to 8 weeks. The bud looks nice but is not quite as strong as the other strains listed here.
Auto 7 Week Wonder is new to the scene and as such it is not yet very well known; but from what we have seen that will change very quickly! These game-changing auto-flowering genetics can produce a yield of 30 – 110 grams of bud in just 7 to 8 weeks from seed! The lineage for this plant is quite complex but the main parents are a Jack Herer and a Big Skunk. Auto 7 Week Wonder is one of the fastest cannabis strains in the world and is expected to be used in many situations where speed is of the essence.
Giant Bud
#4
Whilst Giant Bud was not the fastest, it is still a pretty speedy option compared to most other genetics. This plant took 8 weeks and 3 days to ripen. It produced a far larger yield than the strains above so the extra time is most certainly worth it when yield is an important factor.
Giant Bud is available in both auto flowering and photoperiod variants. It is known very well for having a low scent, huge yields, and a quick turnaround and was also featured in our high-yielding strains article. A perfect balance for large-scale operations in the cash-cropping cannabis industry. Dense yields can range between 600 to 700 grams per square meter. This is a huge crop for a cannabis strain with such a short flower period of 8 to 9 weeks. Giant Bud really has everything going for it!
UK Cheese
#5
Coming in at number 5, UK Cheese has a potent aroma that we all know and love. The plant took just 8 weeks to flower and fully ripen. This strain is a serious contender for anyone needing a quick turnaround of top-quality product. You can see the detailed grow journal for UK Cheese here.
UK Cheese seeds are another hugely popular strain that is also available in auto flowering genetics. The Cheese strain has a very interesting history that many people are not aware of and it is only by both crazy luck and the founder’s ambition that it was ever released. Cheese cannabis first arrived in the UK and word quickly traveled around about her unique aromas and taste. She became a very popular strain in a small amount of time. Our UK Cheese cannabis seeds have a fast flower phase along with large yields. Yields can reach 600 grams per square meter and she takes 7 to 8 weeks to flower.
Why do some strains flower quicker than others?
There are two main reasons why some marijuana strains flower quicker than others. One reason is due to humans breeding different plants together to purposely create fast-finishing plants, and the other is due to mother nature.
Human interference
Originally, a very long time ago, a plant that flowered in 8 to 9 weeks was considered a fast flowering genetic. But all of this changed when breeders expanded their knowledge and started working with ruderalis (auto-flowering) plants. The practice of crossing over chronic photoperiod plants with ruderalis was a standard procedure in order to create much more tasty and interesting auto-flowering strains.
But breeders started to notice that adding a small amount of ruderalis to a photoperiod plant could, at times, produce some very interesting results. Whilst the new resulting plant remained bound to photoperiod rules, the buds flowered and ripened much faster thanks to the ruderalis genetics that were introduced. Thanks to this practice an extra 1 to 2 weeks has now been taken off flowering times of many strains being sold on the market!
Mother Nature
For thousands, of years cannabis has been growing naturally all over the globe in places such as Africa, Asia, and Mexico. During this time it has faced many different natural obstacles such as pests and extreme weather. Whilst many different cannabis varieties will of been lost to this the strongest always survives and passes its genetics on to the offspring.
In the harsh climate that some of today’s genetics came from, only the fastest survived and had time to reproduce. Plants that finish fast will always be more likely to reproduce successfully and as such fast flowering cannabis strains were an easy thing to find in the wild. These speedy wild ladies were then often bred with stronger strains that were more tempting for growers to try.
So as you can see, natural selection and nature’s breeding program is the reason that some strains flower more quickly than others.
What can be done to make a cannabis plant finish flowering faster?
It is true that there are many tricks that can be done to make a cannabis plant flower faster than normal. But before trying any of these tricks, the grower should first ensure that the growing environment is running correctly as things like incorrect temperatures or inadequate lighting will slow a plant down in both vegetative growth and the flowering phase.
Is fast flowering purely down to genetics?
Genetics is the main reason for how long a plant will take to flower. However, there are certainly many things a grower can do to help speed up the process of flowering.
The easiest way to make a cannabis plant finish flowering faster is by using additives such as Canna Boost or Sugar Daddy which is claimed to bring harvest day forward by at least one week. Many growers also use molasses which is a natural substance made from refining sugarcane. This is a much cheaper option but only works properly in soil and should not really be used in hydroponics.
Aside from additives, there are still more ways to both grow and flower a cannabis plant quicker than normal. Using hydroponic methods such as NFT, DWC, or Ebb and flow, will not only shave off another week of flower time but also take a week or two of vegetation time too. The only drawback to using hydroponic methods is that everything has to be right or the plants will develop problems and take much longer than normal to grow and flower.
Whilst this last method of speeding up the flowering phase has not been proven, some growers swear by it. When flipping a photoperiod plant to flower, some people like to leave the plant in 48 hours of darkness before switching the lights back on to 12/12. This is said to ‘trick’ the plants into thinking that the season is changing faster than normal, potentially resulting in the plant going into the flowering phase faster than normal. Some people also like to use 48 hours of darkness directly before harvest day to help ripen the buds.
Which is faster, Autos or Photoperiod?
The fastest way to complete a cannabis plant’s lifecycle and pull down a crop is by using autoflowering seeds as these are faster than photoperiod seeds. However, all strains for both variations differ in flowering time so it is still important to compare the statistics for each option.
There are a few important differences between autoflowering and photoperiod seeds, we recommend that you read up on the difference between photoperiod and autoflowering strains to help make your decision.
What makes auto-flowering strains quicker than photoperiod strains
Because autoflowering plants still use 18+ hours of light to flower they are able to get a lot more work done compared to photoperiod plants. This extra 6 hours of light a day makes a huge difference to what the plant can achieve and when you look at an auto-flowering plant’s life cycle time compared to a photoperiod this proves it.
An autoflower plant can take an average of 8 to 10 weeks from seed to harvest whilst photoperiods can take an average of 12 to 16 weeks from seed to harvest. This is a huge difference and if a grower is turning over plants all year round the time saved means even more as they can complete 4 or 5 auto grows rather than just 3 photoperiod grows.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Fast Flowering Cannabis Strains
Like all things in life, everything has its good and bad points. Fast flowering cannabis seeds are mostly advantageous but there are a few slight disadvantages that people should be aware of before making their choice.
Advantages
- Save Time. There are several reasons why people often opt for short flower period genetics but the main reason is simply not wanting to wait longer than necessary to start enjoying the fruits of their labour. The fast flowering cannabis seeds can offer all of the same potency and flavours as genetics that take longer, so in most cases, it simply just makes sense to go with speedier types of ganja.
- Save Money. When growing marijuana the biggest running cost is always electricity. Some of the fastest genetics take just 7 weeks to flower whilst some of the slowest take over 14 weeks. Not having to run the operation for an extra 7 weeks is a massive saving in electricity costs.
- Medicinal Emergencies. Imagine you are a caregiver or a medicinal patient. You are running low on your herbal medications and will run out soon. Millions of people rely on cannabis for many different illnesses. If time is short and you need more medicine ASAP then you will want to get the fastest flowering cannabis seeds available. Shaving 4-7 weeks off a normal crop is a huge deal in a case such as this.
- Outdoor Growing in colder climates. Whilst these strains will thrive indoors, they can also be a great choice for the outdoor grower in countries with colder weather. Due to the shorter flowering phases, these plants can excel outdoors in locations such as the UK that have shorter summer periods; Quick-finishing cannabis seeds are the only viable choice for these types of locations.
- Fewer Pest and fungal Problems. There are many plant problems that can arise during a cannabis plant’s life cycle such as bud rot, broad mites, and aphids. The faster a plant is completed the less likely a grower is to face these types of issues.
Disadvantages
- Less Choice. Whilst there are quite a few very nice strains that finish quickly, there is certainly less choice than if you look at all of the seeds on the market. Not everyone’s preference will be available in express form.
- Less Bud. Whilst there are still some decent yields available it will never be as much as a normal strain that takes longer to yield.
So as you can see, the advantages quite easily outweigh the disadvantages.
Conclusion
To conclude, fast flowering cannabis strains are no doubt a great choice for all types of growers and collectors. They continue to be bred into other strains making more and more fantastic options to pick from.
For those who are on both a budget and in a rush then our collection above could not be a better fit. All of our premium collections of marijuana seeds have cheap price tags attached and they all feature many different properties. In total, we currently stock over 150 different types of marijuana seed so as you can imagine, browsing through that many can be time-consuming – so by viewing the strains listed in this article you can save a lot of time.
All of the marijuana strains listed here have a very quick flowering cycle, meaning that the buds will finish and ripen much sooner than the average strain. You can shave off anywhere from 2 – 7 weeks by opting for one of our fast cannabis strains! Our prices can go as low as £3.60 per seed when you make a bulk purchase of 50 or more!
Need more choice? Check out these other speedy seeds
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Fast Grapefruit Feminized Seeds
From: £7.00 per pack- Seeds Genetics: C99 (the Grapefruit pheno)
- THC: High
- CBD: Med.
- Height: Medium
- Suitability: Indoor, Outdoor
- Flowering: 6 - 7 Weeks
- Flavour: Grapefruit and Pineapple
- Yield: 500 gr/m2
- Indica / Sativa: Mostly Indica
- Breeder: Dark Wizard Genetics
- Smell Level: High
- Type: Feminized
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Fast Kush Feminized Seeds
From: £7.00 per pack- Seeds Genetics: Afghan Kush x Black Domina
- THC: High
- CBD: Med.
- Height: Short
- Suitability: Indoor, Outdoor
- Flowering: 6 - 7 Weeks
- Flavour: Citrus
- Yield: 500 gr/m2
- Indica / Sativa: 100% Indica
- Breeder: Dark Wizard Genetics
- Smell Level: Average
- Type: Feminized
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Auto 7 Week Wonder Seeds
From: £7.00 per pack- Seeds Genetics: Jack Herer x Big Skunk x Autoflowering
- THC: Med.
- CBD: Med.
- Height: Short
- Suitability: Indoor, Outdoor
- Flowering: 49 - 56 Days (7-8w)
- Yield: 30-110g a Plant
- Indica / Sativa: Ruderalis, Indica, Sativa
- Breeder: Dark Wizard Genetics
- Smell Level: High
- Type: AutoFlower FEM
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Giant Bud Feminized Seeds
From: £7.00 per pack- Seeds Genetics: Northern Lights x Critical Mass
- THC: High
- CBD: Med.
- Height: Medium
- Suitability: Indoor, Outdoor
- Flowering: 8 - 9 Weeks
- Yield: 700 gr/m2
- Indica / Sativa: Mostly Indica
- Breeder: Dark Wizard Genetics
- Smell Level: Low
- Type: Feminized
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Afghan Kush Feminized Seeds
From: £7.00 per pack- Seeds Genetics: Afghani x OG Kush
- THC: High
- CBD: Med.
- Height: Medium
- Suitability: Indoor, Outdoor
- Flowering: 8 - 9 Weeks
- Yield: 600 gr/m2
- Indica / Sativa: 100% Indica
- Breeder: Dark Wizard Genetics
- Smell Level: Average
- Type: Feminized
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Black Domina Feminized Seeds
From: £7.00 per pack- Seeds Genetics: Hash Plant x Afghani and Ortega x Northern Lights
- THC: High
- CBD: Med.
- Height: Short
- Suitability: Indoor, Outdoor
- Flowering: 8 - 9 Weeks
- Yield: 600 gr/m2
- Indica / Sativa: 95% Indica / 5% Sativa
- Breeder: Dark Wizard Genetics
- Smell Level: Average
- Type: Feminized
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Hindu Kush Feminized Seeds
From: £7.00 per pack- THC: High
- CBD: Med.
- Height: Medium
- Suitability: Indoor, Outdoor
- Flowering: 8 - 9 Weeks
- Flavour: sandalwood, spicy citrus
- Yield: 500 gr/m2
- Indica / Sativa: 100% Indica
- Breeder: Dark Wizard Genetics
- Smell Level: Low
- Type: Feminized
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Cheese Feminized Seeds
From: £7.00 per pack- Seeds Genetics: Old Skunk #1 x Afghani #1
- THC: High
- CBD: Med.
- Height: Medium
- Suitability: Indoor, Outdoor
- Flowering: 8 - 9 Weeks
- Flavour: Spicy cheese, Musty
- Yield: 500 gr/m2
- Indica / Sativa: 75% Indica / 25% Sativa
- Breeder: Dark Wizard Genetics
- Smell Level: Average
- Type: Feminized