Like all seed type options, regular seed has its pros and cons. It’s a good choice for experienced growers that have some cultivating cycles under their belt.
Essentially, regular seeds produce both male and female plants (hermaphrodite) in the growing process. Typically, it’s up to the grower to identify and remove any male plants throughout the growing cycle.
Unaltered Genetics
Like all plants in nature, regular seeds produce both male and female cannabis crops. Generally, the ratio of male to female plants is approximately 50/50. This is great for breeders and growers who want to preserve the genetic diversity of a particular strain.
Blueberry regular seeds give birth to a robust family tree that smells just like ripe blueberries and produces traditional indica effects of deep relaxation and munchies. Regular seeds are a good choice for anyone interested in growing natural, stable marijuana that isn’t tampered with by human hands.
However, unlike feminized seeds, regular seed has an equal chance of producing male cannabis plants, which will pollinate your crop and lower your yields. The process of identifying and removing male plants requires patience and a certain amount of cultivation experience.
More Genetic Variation
Seed size and number are major contributors to the reproductive output of plants, yet their genetic architecture and interaction with life-history traits remain largely unknown. Although the theory that a trade-off between seed number and seed weight is inevitable has been broadly accepted, empirical tests of this hypothesis have yielded mixed results.
The QTL analysis of average seed weight and number identified eight QTL, located on chromosomes 1, 3, 4, and 5. The largest one is located on chromosome 1 (
The QTL analysis of seed coat glossiness also identified several significant markers, but the segregation pattern is dominated by the Asp gene and only moderately influenced by the J locus. This suggests that natural selection has not been shaped by a trade-off between these traits.
More Vigorous Plants
Unless you’re after extreme potency or specific terpenes, your best chance of creating your dream strain is by working with regular seeds. They perform exactly how nature intends and offer an equal chance of sprouting as male or female cannabis plants. This makes them ideal for growers who are keen on breeding, as they allow you to make superior clones and cultivars that produce fantastic growth and yields.
Many old school cultivars, such as Thin Mints and Chemdawg, were originally grown from regular seed. They are also perfect for breeders and experienced growers who want to highlight particular genetic traits through breeding, such as high THC content. Growing from regular seeds also allows you to take cuttings for making new plants, something that feminized seeds simply cannot do.
More Stable Genetics
Regular seeds are what you’d find in nature before feminized and autoflower varieties stole the spotlight. They go through their life cycle based on the amount of light they receive, and develop into male or female plants with a 50/50 split (barring rookie errors that turn your plants into hermaphrodites).
If you breed two F1 marijuana strains together to produce regular seeds, their offspring will contain all possible phenotypes, thanks to the genetic variation in their parent plants. To stabilize a strain, breeders must select and cross them over multiple generations until they can reliably predict the characteristics of offspring.
For this reason, it can take years for breeders to perfect a strain. Once they do, however, growers can reap the benefits of stable plants.
Easier to Breed
Regular seeds have a 50% chance of producing male or female plants after germination. This means that a grower might have to cull male plants from their crop, which can cut down on the potential yield of a harvest.
However, this is often a good thing as the male plants can be used to produce clones. This makes a strain more stable and can help to maintain important traits like resistance to pests or high THC potency.
This also gives growers access to a wider genetic pool when breeding, and can help them discover new phenotypes with unique flavor and aroma that might not be possible with feminized seeds. This is a key reason why many experienced cultivators prefer to work with regular seed.