Hybrid cannabis: What You Should Know
Regular seeds always have endless possibilities for growers to explore. At first of late, the European cannabis seed market, was a regular seed only. Now, use the word regularly to differentiate the original sown seeds from feminized or autoflowering cannabis seed. Some hybrid types also retain this common name.
In Europe, where the climate is mild and summers are hot, hybrid seedlings from various locations in Africa, Asia and even Australia, are grown primarily for export to countries with warm climates. This makes them easy to ship and sell; and cheaper for consumers. One regular seed has the genetic material coded for producing high THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, which is the chemical in marijuana that produces the “high”. In Australia, hemp and cannabis are often grown inter-crop with native species like the rosemary, mint, kangaroo paw and other herbs that produce herbs similar to cannabis, but have lesser amounts of THC.
If you look at the marijuana seed packaging today, you will find that most varieties have a sativa or psychoactive strain on the seed. Some examples are White Widow, Black Cat, Russian Circles and others. These names refer to the high (but not too high) concentrations of the THC within the regular seeds. In other words, you can grow regular seeds, but be careful about crossbreeding, as the new genetics you create may contain THC that would cause a problem for those who do not metabolize it properly.
Crossbreeding between two different species of cannabis is called crosscarmellization. The result is a plant that contains a high amount of one type of THC, but none of the other chemicals that are the results of crossbreeding. Crossbreeding like this would have disastrous effects on the plant and so, no reputable breeders crossbreed their plants. Instead, they select only two specific cannabis strains to cross breed – usually one from each of the two primary types of cannabis.
Another advantage of regular seeds over feminized seeds is that regular plants tend to be less susceptible to external stresses, like disease and pests. This is because they retain more of the characteristics of their parents. For example, the White Widow has a thick taproot, which means it’s more water resistant. As it is more resistant to water, this makes it a great choice for growing outdoors.
Another advantage of cannabis seeds is that they have been kept relatively simple over the years. They are usually dry-grown, without the aid of artificial hydroponics or soil. However, they can be customized by adding various things to them. For example, some seed banks will let you add an extra plant or pair of plants to your order. This means you can grow a larger garden with fewer plants. Just keep in mind that the more plants you add, the greater the chance that your garden will become disease-prone and unhealthy.
Regular cannabis seeds also contain fewer genetic combinations compared to feminized seeds. This is because there aren’t any artificial means of creating new genes. Some cannabis breeders have the genetics they need to create a new variety by selecting certain pairs of cannabis plants and crossing them. However, many growers just don’t have the time to do this. If you want to be sure that your plants will produce the best results, just buy your cannabis plant from reputable breeders who keep their lines strictly to genetics.
One advantage of hybrid plants is that they have been bred to be resistant to certain kinds of disease and pests. Unlike regular seed, some varieties are less prone to disease and pests. Examples include the African Cichlids, Shasta Daisy, Lemon Mentos, Brinkmann White and Red Creole, Giant Cilantro, Purple Cilantro and Tangerine. You also won’t have to worry about cross pollination between different species. All plants can be pollinated by themselves, although cross pollination may occur among some hybrid plants.