How to choose a strain for your needs!!

ilovethegreen

ilovethegreen

Well-Known Member
I'm seeing a bunch of people asking about what strain to choose for their area and taste and what-not and decided i would put a little info out there based on my experiences. First off, you want to make a list of environmental factors(I would recommend doing this on paper)that you're dealing with. like-
Duration of your grow season
Humidity & rain patterns
Experience level
Duration of direct sunlight

It would also be helpful to make a list of personal preferences, which shouldn't be that important when it interferes with your needed growing conditions, which decide whether you grow your own meds, or pay for them....like-
Taste
Smell
Potency
Looks

So, lets get down to the nuts & bolts of it. we've got our 2 main varieties of cannabis, Sativa & Indica. Also, we have a crossbreed of both called a hybrid.

Sativa plants tend to be fast growing, but slowly maturing.
  • an average flowering period for a sativa plant is about 10-16 weeks, and don't usually yield much ***Per capita***
  • these things can reach 15'+ in height.
  • they aren't exactly your stealth option, although we can manipulate that.
  • The sativa varieties are much more apt to humidity, because they aren't as bushy and have skinnier buds.
  • generally are harder to grow, because you would have to inspect & care for the HUGE plant more regularly. Also because you would want to train the plant with acquired techniques, Harvest times are difficult....and PATIENCE, Daniel San!
  • not very suitable for places with short summers
Sativa strains are great for warmer places that have at least 6 months of good growing weather(~50-95)degrees Farenheit

Indica strains tend to be more fast growing and maturing compared to sativa.
  • have an avg. flowering period of 7-10 weeks and for the most part have big, fat buds
  • are Short, bushy plants that usually reach ~5-6' in height
  • are good for colder climates with shorter windows of good growing conditions, because they finish their life cycle faster.
  • are more at risk of getting mold & rot because of their thick, dense structures.
  • also can take quite a bit of care, because they're very thick & dense and you have to watch out for fungi, pests..mold..etc. all in all the difference in experience required isn't too different,but some varieties are very pesky and you'll have to learn them.
​Indica strains are good for colder climates with shorter growing seasons, although they are more susceptible to mold.

***Hybrid varieties are a good balance of the best of indica and sativa. And are VERY useful when it comes to tricky climates.
  • varying heights and sizes, depending on the amount of indica to sativa genes that the variety has acquired.
  • flowering times usually will range from 8-12 weeks
  • can be great for temperate, tropical, desert and all kinds of climates, again, depending on the amounts of indica &sativa in their genetic makeup, also known as a "genome"
  • hybrids are usually fairly mold and rot resistant
  • are the usually best strains to grow because they have been bred to contain the best genotypes & phenotypes from both of their indica &sativa parents.
  • are usually the most potent strains.

  • Hybrid strains are the most versatile and useful when trying to find a good variety for a tricky climate, because you can choose between the best characteristics of indica &sativa

So, lets say you're trying to grow in a climate that has fairly good growing weather, but it's very humid, and frost isn't too far from the middle of July(when flowering usually starts), in this case, you would probably want a 50/50 hybrid, because of the sativa's (general) mold resistance and the Indica's short flowering time, to beat the frost. See what im getting at here? Also, try to stray away from selecting strains based on their names, the name is just a label, & is very often inaccurate in correspondence with the original genotype & phenotype that was given that name.

I hope this helped, but i'm sure that i left things out because I am very, very stoned at the moment. later on I'll put a chart on here showing how i select strains...
 
sonar

sonar

Well-Known Member
Excellent post. I see these questions just about every day.

One thing I'd like to add, take breeder descriptions with a grain of salt. Just as every breeder promotes their strains as potent, huge yielding, etc., they also almost ALWAYS promote them as "fast finishing." Not saying they all lie, but it is better to go by what other growers report rather than breeder description. One of the reason I like running strains that have been around a few years. There is lots of info on them.
 
ilovethegreen

ilovethegreen

Well-Known Member
sonar said:
Excellent post. I see that questions just about every day.

One thing I'd like to add, take breeder description with a grain of salt. Just as every breeder promotes their strains as potent, huge yielding, etc., they also almost ALWAYS promote them as "fast finishing." Not saying they all lie, but it is better to go by what other growers report rather than breeder description. One of the reason I like running strains that have been around a few years. There is lots of info on them.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I couln't agree more:eyesmoke:
 
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