Looking for the shortest flowering strains and breeding question

[HigherTheHigh]

I'm looking for short flowering period plants, plan on trying to cross breed a few next year in the summer when it's just to hot to flower.

So yes I'm looking for the shortest possible, heard some people pull plants with a good amount of cloudy trichomes and a finished/mature look, I would like some genetics like that so if I wanted the amber % high I would only need to push another week or two rather than the 10-11 weeks in running 8-9 week strains.

With this being my first time breeding how long do I run the flowers for in flower for seed?

Which way is it if I want one strain to be the most dominant?

Can I cross breed with a 6 week dominant strain but cross it with an 8 week then cross that seed back with another 6 week strain and hope for it to stay on the 6-7 weeks side of flowering?

Be great if I could get some of this info from genuine breeders in here.

 

[HigherTheHigh]

@Rich Farmer Your probably the main man here lol.

 

[Chris Scorpio]

So


Just curious

Why cross something ya don't like...or know if I like

Why I cross stuff I love...heck most are 8-10week flowers, so do what u like

Gunna take almost a year ta test yer cross... So make it good

 

[HigherTheHigh]

No I will like it, I was just thinking would it hopefully get part of the genetics of the 8 week strain but still finish at week 6 if you know whatnot mean.

Yeah I have around 8-9 months to get it done so all in good time I suppose, I have loads of seeds butt most are from hermied bud so if I can produce even 100 quality seeds they will cover me for at least 5 year.

Thanks buddy.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Maybe I'm missing something, here. But if you like the "pour yourself into a couch" type effect, instead of trying to prolong a plant's flowering period until its trichome heads are overripe/degraded/amber, why not simply grow an indica strain that's got a pretty extreme "heavy / narcotic" effect? Something that tests at 20+% THC with a high (for something that isn't classified as a "CBD strain) percentage of CBD. Most seedbanks are full of them, because up until a few years ago, only Big Heads from Way Back and connoisseurs appreciated a fine sativa and its soaring effects enough to babysit the sometimes unruly and "picky-eating" things for 4 months or more in the flowering room or, outside, into late November if not beyond. And seed sellers like to sell product as much as anyone else who runs a business, so... indicas abound, lol. If you pick a really strong butt-kicker, you can have that downer effect without having to run it past prime. Which will, at a guess, that it would get harvested sooner. And there'd be less chance of waking up with a "pot hangover" from having the THCa / CBDa / etc. degrade into less wanted cannabinoids.

I really never understood the whole "harvest early for an up effect, harvest late for a down effect" thing. Grow the strain that provides the effect that you're looking for, and harvest it at its peak of potency. It might take some research, and trying a few - or maybe even more than a few - different strains before you find the perfect effect profile for YOU. But with over 2,000 different strains (or at least that's what I read a year or two ago), it's surely out there.

Regardless, I wish you luck in your quest. Everyone should get to experience the strain that's perfect for THEM at least once in their life. And, with luck, lol, get to clone the <BLEEP> out of it for the next several decades . . . .

 

[Jackalope]

I'm looking for short flowering period plants, plan on trying to cross breed a few next year in the summer when it's just to hot to flower.

So yes I'm looking for the shortest possible, heard some people pull plants with a good amount of cloudy trichomes and a finished/mature look, I would like some genetics like that so if I wanted the amber % high I would only need to push another week or two rather than the 10-11 weeks in running 8-9 week strains.

With this being my first time breeding how long do I run the flowers for in flower for seed?

Which way is it if I want one strain to be the most dominant?

Can I cross breed with a 6 week dominant strain but cross it with an 8 week then cross that seed back with another 6 week strain and hope for it to stay on the 6-7 weeks side of flowering?

Be great if I could get some of this info from genuine breeders in here.

I had to add your quote so I could remember everything LMAO. This is right up my alley. I will start at the top.

One of the earliest strains I grow is Cinderella 99 it can be taken as early as 6 weeks in lots of case's. This strain also checks the mark for dominate which I will cover in a minute.

Seeds will need 5 to 6 weeks to mature after pollination. Longer is better for seeds. You want to be sure they are done. You will be able to see seeds splitting out of the pod when they are done.

The plant that is the most "Dominate" is the one that "IS". Some strains are going to be more dominate than others. That is where C-99 comes into play. I have grown it and 2 of its hybrids. C-99 shines through in the hybrids, It is a dominate strain because it is stable. The more stable a strain is the more it will show its dominance in a hybrid.

The control a grower has is what to add to a hybrid. The male plant is used to transfer traits to the female while the female will contribute growth type and other things.

Yes you can breed a strain like you said. Breed the early harvest strain into another early or fairly early strain should shorten flower time. Do it again and it might set it in even more. The more widely ranging the genetics in the strains you use the more different things will happen. I have one strain that can be done in 5 or 6 weeks but has pheno's that can go passed 12 weeks LOL.

Cinderella 99 from Grimm is a perfect strain for what you are thinking of doing. I plan to breed with it. Using it with a early indica could make a great early harvest strain.

 

[HigherTheHigh]

Hello everyone that's a great deal of info it really is, I will take a look at that Cinderella now, the strain I was hoping to use as a base dominant plant was Old School Skunk x Afghani then I was hoping to cross this with the big bud or maybe the Northern Lights x Big Bud then once I had my seeds from the outcome i then want to cross it one more time with another 6-7 week strain so this is the breakdown.

Old School Skunk x Afghani strain called Royal Cheese being the female which is 6-8 weeks.

Northern Lights x Big Bud or just either Northern Lights or Big Bud for the male which takes 7-9 weeks.

Then I want to cross the outcome with one final strain with genetics that only take 6-7 weeks.

So now that's all down in a readable fashion lol do you think it's possible?

Thanks for this help.

 

[Chris Scorpio]

Just do it

Don't know till ya try

 

[Jackalope]

The project will work. How long you take to do all that will have a lot to do with the outcome. Growing out each hybrid before continuing on will help matters. If you grow it out you will know what you are looking for your hybrid. You have to take a pretty good look at the outcome before you know which pheno has the most traits you are looking for. Choosing only plants that exhibit early flower. You can tell that by how soon they show sex. Finish times will still vary but a early start always helps.

First the more wide ranging genetics the more pheno's you are going to have. More pheno's mean more looking. If you stick with just the Northern Lights or just Big Bud you will be better off. Limiting genetic info will also limit the "What could happen" factor. When you make a hybrid you just never know what will show up. If you want to grow from seed I would stick with the more stable strains.

That last cross is the one you want to be pretty dependable for a fast finish. If you find a great pheno from the original hybrid. Cross it with a male Northern Lights/Big Bud you will be set to grow out a few more seeds. Find the great pheno again then cross it to the last male. Finding the right males is the hard part. That is a reason to use quality genetics for all this. A male from a established strain has a higher percentage of being great. That is one of the reasons I mentioned C-99. it is one of the most stable strains out there that has good THC ratings.

I mentioned to use a male from Big Bud or Northern Lights. That really can't be done. I am sure there are seeds out there now but both are clone only strains. Any "regular" seeds from these strains are hybrids. If you stick with older companies that have been around long enough to have seen the original you should be OK.

If you are doing the whole project in the fast lane. You could consider pollinating only a branch or 2 from lots of females. then take the seeds from the best one to use. This comes in handy as you really don't know what a plant is tell you smoke it.

 

[HigherTheHigh]

I was thinking of growing 5 females in January, then take 1 clone from each plant, find out which was the better plant in flower and which pheno finished first and stick with that plant to start the breeding with.

So after I found the best pheno I was then planning on growing that up into a mother plant and take 4 clones from that plant, at the same time I would then germinate 5 regular seeds and hope for a few males, once both clone and regular seeds have filled out my space I will then flip them to flower, if there is any females in the regular then at least I will be able to create more seeds for more projects.

So by the time I have got to that stage i will be looking at a time frame of being around September next year to start growing females again so I can then try out the out come of the seeds I produced, I'm not growing buds from March to September as my country is far to hot so I'm this time I can grow for seeds instead and not worry about he heat.

Does my explanation look semi okay plan then bud?

For my seeds in going with sensitive seeds as they have some of the greatest early genetics on the market and you certainly pay the price for it too.

 

[Jackalope]

Good starting plan.

One suggestion. I like my male plants to have a couple weeks head start on the females. After sexing I move the females back into veg just as soon as they show sex. Hard to do if you only have one tent.

 

[HigherTheHigh]

I have a few tents but what I'm thinking now is to grow 10 regular seeds outside in the summer, collect the pollen from the males so then at least my tent isn't covered in pollen that could eventually pollinate other plants I don't want contaminating so when I do collect the pollen do I put that in the fridge?

 

[Bush Doctor 77]

I've been growing my own crosses for decades. While it is personally fulfilling, I've decided to go with commercial strains that are proven. There is nothing worse than growing a beautiful plant all summer that sucks and won't give you a buzz! You will be competing with breeders that pop hundreds of seeds, and then send samples out for analysis to get the best pheno. I'll let someone else do all the work.

 

[Jackalope]

Bush Doctor 77 is especially right if you want to breed a strain from the ground up with land race stuff.

With "selfing" a person doesn't really need to be a breeder anymore. You still end up with pollen being around. Regeneration and selfing great plants is probably the best way to for most to make seeds nowadays. Plus every time you self one plant you have a opening for a hybrid. Putting a clone of another strain you like along with the plant being selfed can give you a nifty hybrid.

Still it is a bug lots of people catch. Plus it is fun. I have 2 of my own strains going right now. I sure hope I don't get something that is crap. It is a risk I am taking though. One is a cross of 2 strains I really enjoy smoking. I am really curious how the outcome is. Proper planning and knowing what you are working with has a lot to do with it. Having at least 1 plant you are sure of is the key.

The biggest thing. Just because you make seeds doesn't mean you need to grow them. If the mother of the seeds is not a great plant. Then her offspring probably won't be.

On saving pollen. Yes it can be done. I use tin foil to collect it so I have a contaminate free surface to collect it on. Then it can be stored in a container with rice to absorb any moister. It can be stored in the freezer. Refrigerators are too humid for pollen storage.

 

[Bush Doctor 77]

One of the best mamas I ever had for crossing was a DJ Short Blueberry. She made some nice hybrids. AK is another good one for crossing.

I'd pop a couple of hundred seeds in a tray of twenty four, 3" pots. Ten or so seeds to a pot, and cull to 24 plants. I'd soak the seeds first until they sunk in water and plant them. That was classification by growth characteristics. Chem analysis would be the best way. GC/MS.

 

[Jackalope]

That is the main thing about breeding on a budget. I say that because space is money. If you want to grow out strains to find great plants. For those of us that don't have the room to grow lots of plants. We have to use solid genetics to start with. Your Blueberry is one of the best out there. Older strains were bred to be stable unless stated as a F-1 hybrid. That is going to help the outcome immensely if you use a stable strain. Great plant or not.

These are the major traits I use for consideration.
Early sign of sex.
Trichome production.
Plant structure.
Inter-node spacing.
And finely how it smokes. Strength is not the major factor here. It is but not all of the equation. If the weed is fun to smoke that has to be considered too.

 

[Jackalope]

No I will like it, I was just thinking would it hopefully get part of the genetics of the 8 week strain but still finish at week 6 if you know whatnot mean.

Yeah I have around 8-9 months to get it done so all in good time I suppose, I have loads of seeds butt most are from hermied bud so if I can produce even 100 quality seeds they will cover me for at least 5 year.

Thanks buddy.

To answer the question about length of flower time. Crossing a 6 week strain into a 8 week strain. You might gain a week in general. Some may finish in 6 weeks others are going to take 8 at least. With hidden genetic traits you may be end up with some that go 10 weeks or more. On average the plants should finish somewhere in the middle of the 2 parents.

 

[Remystemple]

I had to add your quote so I could remember everything LMAO. This is right up my alley. I will start at the top.

One of the earliest strains I grow is Cinderella 99 it can be taken as early as 6 weeks in lots of case's. This strain also checks the mark for dominate which I will cover in a minute.

Seeds will need 5 to 6 weeks to mature after pollination. Longer is better for seeds. You want to be sure they are done. You will be able to see seeds splitting out of the pod when they are done.

The plant that is the most "Dominate" is the one that "IS". Some strains are going to be more dominate than others. That is where C-99 comes into play. I have grown it and 2 of its hybrids. C-99 shines through in the hybrids, It is a dominate strain because it is stable. The more stable a strain is the more it will show its dominance in a hybrid.

The control a grower has is what to add to a hybrid. The male plant is used to transfer traits to the female while the female will contribute growth type and other things.

Yes you can breed a strain like you said. Breed the early harvest strain into another early or fairly early strain should shorten flower time. Do it again and it might set it in even more. The more widely ranging the genetics in the strains you use the more different things will happen. I have one strain that can be done in 5 or 6 weeks but has pheno's that can go passed 12 weeks LOL.

Cinderella 99 from Grimm is a perfect strain for what you are thinking of doing. I plan to breed with it. Using it with a early indica could make a great early harvest strain.

I read once ( and only once ) that the pollinator will have more genes in the seed than the receiving plant. is there any truth to this?

 

[Felix the Dog]

I read once ( and only once ) that the pollinator will have more genes in the seed than the receiving plant. is there any truth to this?

I don't know the answer, and I would like to know, but someone posted on some forum I was on (maybe this one!) the the female makes about a 75% DNA contribution, the male does the lesser part. I have no idea if that is true. The person posting may have been uninformed, confused, or............. on drugs.

 

[HigherTheHigh]

I will create a breakdown of potential parents ect then we can see what you all think.