T here are many reasons to give growing your own cannabis a try. Regardless of whether you’d like to grow the herb for either medicinal or recreational purposes, tending to your own cannabis plants can be done for many purposes and may even be more affordable in the long run than purchasing marijuana at your local dispensary.
However, growing cannabis is not exactly like taking care of a potted plant. And one thing a houseplant certainly does not need is a deft hand to guide it through its grow cycles. After all, daisies will bloom if you can at least remember to give them some water and sun. Cannabis? Not so much. To grow cannabis that can be consumed for its intended purpose, what it really needs is time and attention.
The Time it Takes to Grow Cannabis
Grow times for cannabis plants vary widely, but on average, are about three-to-five months for indoor grows. However, there are many factors that could add or subtract from that range, including whether you choose to grow from a clone or a seedling, the target yield (how much consumable product) and the growing method, whether indoor, outdoor, greenhouse, hydroponic, coco, etc. A very loose breakdown of a growing timeline could look like this:
Basic Cannabis Cultivation Timeline:
- Seed germination: 1-7 days
- Vegetative stage, when the plant is growing just stems and leaves: three weeks to eight weeks or more
- Flowering stage, when buds start to appear: five weeks to sixteen weeks or longer
- Harvesting, drying, and curing: two to four weeks
But the number one determinant of growing time depends on whether you’re growing sativa, indica, or hybrid cannabis strains. Let’s take a look at some average grow times for each.
Cultivation Time for Indica Cannabis Plants
For those looking to grow cannabis more quickly or achieve higher yielding strains, indica is the way to go. With a shorter flowering period – about eight-to-twelve weeks – plus a generally higher end yield, growers often prefer them because they can be cultivated in more frequent cycles indoors, while outdoor growers can time several growing cycles before the weather turns cold. Another benefit of growing indica is that they tend to be more short and bushy than sativas, making them a better fit for indoor setups or growing in a backyard garden.
Cultivation Time for Sativa Cannabis Plants
This cerebral and uplifting cannabis variety poses more challenges than growing indica. In addition to their longer ten-to-twelve week flowering period, sativas tend to produce a smaller yield (although this is certainly not true of all sativa strains).
Sativas can also grow to be very tall, up to 20 feet in an outdoor setting, which makes them difficult to conceal from neighbors in an outdoor grow setting. Even when confined inside, they may still grow long and lanky, a challenge for anyone trying to manage a small grow space.
Cultivation Time for Hybrid Cannabis Plants
A genetic mix of both indica and sativa strains, the growing time for hybrid marijuana strains may vary depending on which way the genetics lean. But, on average, hybrids tend to grow faster in the vegetative stage like a sativa, but may have a shorter flowering period like indica, about six-to-ten weeks. Since hybrids are a true blend of both sativa and indica, cultivators often prefer to grow them because of their higher output, generally faster growing time, and consumer appeal.
If you do decide to grow your own cannabis, plan on approximately seven months from when you plant to when you can consume your homegrown stash.