Regular seeds are a traditional type of cannabis seed. They’re used by breeders and experienced growers to create new strains.
They’re more resilient than feminized seeds, and are less likely to turn into hermaphrodites when stressed. This makes them ideal for cultivators who want to avoid the risk of wasting 50% of their space on male plants.
Stable Genetics
Stable genetics are essential for a breeder to achieve the consistency that growers desire. This is achieved by breeding or backcrossing plants with desired traits over several generations.
The process of plant breeding is time-consuming, costly, and requires patience, capital, and the expertise to grow multiple generations of plants. This is because it involves a lot of cross-breeding, which can produce undesirable results in the form of inbreeding depression.
A stable strain will generally express a dominant phenotype, with few to no specimens that are different from its siblings. Some varieties exhibit less stability, however, and this can cause unpredictable phenotypes to emerge in the offspring.
Fortunately, many breeders use the backcrossing technique to stabilise their seed stock. This can speed up the stabilization process and reinforce preferred dominant characteristics. The quantity of crossbreeding a strain has experienced in its history also affects the stability of the plant.
More Versatile
Regular seeds are an excellent option for those looking to experiment with breeding and produce new strains. This is because they can produce male plants as well as females, which can be a great help when it comes to genetic cross-pollination and seed-setting.
These are also cheaper than feminized seeds, which means that they are often the choice for growers on a budget. However, it is important to note that when you have males in your growing environment, they will decrease the growth potential of your females.
As for their phenotypes, regular seed can generate a much wider range of phenotypes than feminized seeds can. This means that growers will be able to find strains with more vigour, yield and resin production than they might be able to with feminized seeds.
Less Hermaphrodite
Hermaphrodites are a type of self-fertilization that can occur in some cannabis plants, especially those used to produce feminized seed. Hermaphrodites can be classified into two types: “true hermaphrodites” and “banana hermaphrodites.”
A hermaphrodite cannabis plant is one that produces distinctly male and female reproductive flowers, either side by side or in different areas of the plant. They look a lot like bananas, and will take a few weeks to fully swell before they burst and release their pollen.
Some strains can become hermaphrodites as a response to stressors, such as a poor nutrient solution, or even high temperatures or root rot. It can also happen when the light cycle is interrupted, as occurs with some less-stable, clone-only hybridized varieties.
Hermaphrodites also develop an appendage called a stamen that lacks sepals inside the female flower and drops pollen directly onto buds for self-fertilization. This is a useful survival mechanism for these plants, and can result in the production of feminized seed.
Cheaper
If you have a limited budget and want to grow marijuana seeds, regular seed is an option that can help you achieve your goals. These plants are usually less expensive than feminized seeds, and are easy to grow from seed to harvest.
Aside from being affordable, these weed seeds are also compact and easy to take care of, and they are the perfect choice for new growers. They contain a small share of ruderalis genetics, which ensures good potency and auto-flowering ability.
Dutch Passion is one of the best reputed cannabis seed banks online that offers regular seeds. They have over 30 years of experience offering these seeds and they have a collection of some of the finest old school marijuana genetics.