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25.04.2025

What are Fast cannabis strains?: growing faster without losing quality
What are Fast cannabis strains?: growing faster without losing quality
"Fast" cannabis seeds are ideal for growers who live in cold regions, as they offer the best of both worlds: high speed and great yielding capacity. However, many people have doubts about what exactly these varieties are and how to grow them. In this post, we explain everything you need to know to get the most out of these strains and harvest premium buds in record time.
 

What are Fast cannabis seeds?

“Fast” cannabis seeds are genetics designed by seed banks to have a shorter flowering period, so they’re ready for harvest about two or three weeks earlier than the good old photo-dependent feminised varieties. This trait offers great advantages for outdoor growers living in cold regions with short summers (like Germany), since their short flowering period prevents the bad autumn weather from ruining their crops.
 
 

Are Fast cannabis strains photo-dependent?

Yes. This is one of the questions most frequently asked by growers. Fast strains are NOT autoflowering, so they depend on the number of hours of light that they receive to start flowering. This feature is the most important when it comes to understanding the advantages of this type of genetics, since they need to be grown like any other feminised seed. Therefore, the vegetative period can be extended for as long as you want, which gives you the chance to grow real trees in the purest Californian style (and which will in turn significantly increase your harvest). As long as Fast cannabis plants receive more hours of light than hours of darkness per day (they need a 12/12 photoperiod to start flowering), they will continue with their vegetative growth. We can therefore establish that the only difference between Fast seeds and normal photo-dependent feminised seeds is their shorter flowering period.
 

How are Fast strains created?

Fast genetics (also known as Fast flowering strains) are created from the cross of a photo-dependent variety with an autoflowering. The result of this union is a cannabis plant that preserves all the qualities of its photo-dependent parent (high THC, crop quality, yielding capacity, etc.) but with the added speed of autos.
This combination enables you to create plants that depend on the light cycle to start flowering, but with a drastically reduced flowering time (up to two weeks less than that of standard varieties). Therefore, Fast strains have flowering cycles of between 6 to 7 weeks, instead of the 8, 9, or 10 that many traditional genetics require.
 

What are the advantages of Fast flowering cannabis seeds?

These strains have been designed to make life easier for all types of growers, but especially for those living in cold countries with short summers who want to grow cannabis outdoors:
 
  • Shorter grow cycle: Thanks to their short flowering period, Fast genetics avoid climate risks and maximise productivity in indoor grows (more crops can be grown per year thanks to their short life cycle).
  • Greater control and yielding capacity: You can determine the size of your plants (by lengthening or shortening their growth period), and they offer a greater margin for error in the event of a mishap (the plants have enough time to recover in case of pests, fungi, etc.).
  • You can perform pruning and training techniques: Unlike with autoflowerings, pruning and training techniques such as SCROG or LST can be applied to Fast strains. As these genetics are photo-dependent, there is enough time for the plant to recover and for the desired results to be obtained. This doesn’t happen with autos because their short growth period (of 4 or 5 weeks) makes this type of growing techniques irrelevant.
  • They offer the same quality and production parameters: Fast seeds maintain the standards of their photo-dependent feminised parents (i.e., THC levels, yielding potential, terpene profile, etc.). Therefore, these varieties offer greater speed without compromising the quality of the crops.
 
 

Fast Flowering strains are perfect for you if…

You’re an outdoor grower who lives in a cold region with short summers.
You grow indoors and want to boost your yields by increasing the number of harvests per year.
You’re a rookie grower looking for quick results with less risk of complications at the end of the flowering (which is the most delicate moment of the growing cycle).
 

Linda Seeds’ best Fast cannabis seeds

We wanted to go a step further in our breeding of Fast genetics. That’s why our team of breeders has created four new varieties that are not only fast flowering, but have also been designed especially for outdoor cultivation in the German climate. This has been possible because, in addition to introducing "the speed" of an autoflowering in the cross, we have also selected strains with very specific traits that make them especially resistant to climates in northern regions, where sudden temperature changes and summer rains are frequent. Discover these gems designed especially for outdoor growing in Germany:
 
 
 

FAQs about Fast Flowering cannabis strains

Let’s review some concepts…
 
  • Do Fast varieties lose potency?
Not at all! Many fast-flowering strains produce THC levels above 20%.
 
  • Are Fast genetics autoflowering?
No. Although they contain autoflowering genes, Fast strains are still photo-dependent.
 
  • What is the flowering period of a Fast strain?
These genetics complete their flowering period in about 6 - 7 weeks from the moment of change in the light cycle (from 18/6 to 12/12), as compared to the 9 - 10 weeks of the normal photo-dependent strains.
 
  • Can Fast cannabis seeds be grown indoors?
Yes. As they’re fast and easy to grow, they’re in fact incredibly popular for indoor growing.
 
  • Do Fast cannabis strains have less flavour?
No. Modern Fast genetics offer intense and complex flavours, just like their predecessors.
 
If you’re looking for high speed, quality, and yielding potential, Fast genetics are an incredibly safe bet. Whether you’re a rookie or an experienced grower, these strains enable you to optimise your times without compromising on results.

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