Autoflowers have earned their popularity. They stay short without any training, they finish fast, and they forgive the kind of mistakes that would wreck a photoperiod plant. This post is our running list at Paramount Seed Farms of the high-yield autoflower strains and autoflower seeds we keep coming back to.
Plenty of growers still write autos off as weak novelty plants that yield nothing worth trimming. We have heard that complaint for years.
High yield autoflower strains: best high yield autoflower seeds in the USA
High-yielding autoflower seeds get you a lot of weight off a cannabis plant in a short window, which is the whole reason anyone bothers with them.
| Strain | Yield |
|---|---|
| White Widow XXL | 150g+/plant |
| Tangie | 150g+/plant |
| Sweet Cheese XL | 150g+/plant |
| Amnesia XXL | 150g+/plant |
| Cream Cookies | 150g+/plant |
| Sour Stomper | 120g+/plant |
| Ripley’s OG | 120g+/plant |
| Critical 2.0 XL | 100g+/plant |
| OG Kush | 100g+/plant |
| Diesel | 90g+/plant |
If the low-yield complaints held up, we would have dropped autos a long time ago. Instead we keep hunting for the next gem to add to the stable.
Autos are always somewhere in our indoor rotation, and when the season comes around we hand a big chunk of the outdoor garden over to them. Two harvests are cut and drying before the big photoperiod plants are anywhere close to done.
No, you are not pulling 2000g off a single outdoor autoflower. Ask anyone who has grown for a while and you get the same answer: it comes down to efficiency. Squeeze the most weight and potency you can out of the least space, time and power.
Hitting 200g+ outdoors off an auto is realistic, and that plant will probably be ready to chop in under nine weeks.
Everything in the table above came off plants we ran ourselves, and we update it whenever something new beats what is already on it.
*These numbers come from our own grows across 44 autoflowering strains, under conditions we would call close to ideal.
*Every test ran on Gen Hydro Flora Series Nutrients, one plant per 5-gallon DWC system, no added CO2, under a Mars Hydro LED Grow Light in a 4×4 tent, three plants per tent.
White Widow XXL
★ Our pick of the bunch
White Widow XXL Auto is indica-dominant, made by crossing a White Widow Auto with Dinafem’s elite photoperiod White Widow clone. It is third-generation auto genetics and takes about eleven weeks from seed to harvest. The buds come out hard, caked in resin, and carry very little leaf, so trimming goes quickly once they are dry. That last part matters more than people admit when you are staring down a full tent. It handles indoors, outdoors and greenhouses, and the greenhouse option is worth using in cooler regions where the season runs short. Dinafem suggests cutting your soil mix with about a third coco coir to keep roots oxygenated and speed things up. Indoors you should see 400-450 gr/m2 over an 80-day grow cycle, while outdoor plants run 60-170 gr each from April through October. The smell is floral with a bitter-sweet taste behind it. THC runs high, and the effect is heavy without turning into couch glue.
- Variety: Mostly Indica
- Genetics: White Widow elite clone x White Widow Auto
- Flowering: 80 days
- Indoor yield: 400-450 g/m2
- Outdoor harvest: April to October
- Outdoor yield: 60-170 g/plant
- THC: High
- Taste / Flavour: Bitter, Flowery, Sweet
- Effect: Long-lasting, Powerful, Relaxing, Soothing
Tangie
Tangie Matic is a sativa-dominant auto that can push 23% THC. The Tangie cut behind it was picked up at a cannabis event in California and turned into an autoflower by the Fast Buds crew. One warning if you are putting it outside: it can stretch to 150 cm, which is taller than most people want sitting in a backyard. It also hates being messed with, so skip the training. Any real stress in the vegetative stage sets it back and you will see it in the final weight. Left alone and fed properly it does 450-650 grams per square meter, or 50-350 grams per plant, about nine weeks from seedling. Growing it, the tent smells like fresh tangerine peel, and that citrus carries through to the smoke. The high starts in the head and settles into the body after half an hour, more creative than sleepy. It is a morning and daytime strain, and one of the few autos we would hand to someone who still has things to do that day.
- Variety: Mostly Sativa
- Genetics: Tangie clone x auto-flowering selection
- Flowering: 63 days
- Indoor yield: 450-650 g/m2
- Outdoor yield: 50-350 g/plant
- THC: up to 23%
- Taste / Flavour: Citrus, Fruity, Spicy / Herbal, Tangerine
- Effect: Creative, Meditative, Strong
Sweet Cheese XL
Sweet Cheese XL Auto came out of a breeding program aimed at making the original Sweet Cheese Auto bigger, stickier and stronger, and it worked. The mix sits at 61.3% sativa, 35.6% indica and 3.1% ruderalis. Indoors or out, it is done eight weeks after germination. Height lands anywhere between 75 and 140 cm depending on your conditions and how much root space you give it, so pot size does most of the talking here. Indoor yields run 375-600 gr/m2 and outdoor plants give 45-190 gr, which is a wide spread that mostly reflects grower skill. The smell is old-school skunk with mature cheese underneath and a citrus edge on the exhale. THC sits between 15 and 20% with CBD at 0.1%, and the high is strong but easy to sit with.
- Variety: Mostly Sativa
- Genetics: Sweet Cheese Auto selection
- Flowering: 56 days
- Indoor yield: 375-600 g/m2
- Outdoor yield: 45-190 g/plant
- THC: 15% – 20%
- Taste / Flavour: Cheese, Citrus, Skunk
- Effect: Powerful, Relaxing
Amnesia XXL
If you live somewhere warm with a long season, Amnesia XXL Auto is the one to stagger. Start plants indoors, move them out any time between April and October, and you can run three or more crops back to back. Dinafem again recommends about a third coco coir in the soil mix to get more air to the roots. This is a sativa-dominant plant that stays easy to grow and still puts up weight in a short cycle. Indoors that means 450-500 gr/m2 in 75-90 days. Outdoors it is 60-170 gr per plant at anywhere from 75 to 170 cm tall. The nose is deep and perfumed, haze and lemon over pine and incense, and it is the kind of smell that tells you the plant was fed right. THC lands between 15 and 20% with a cerebral high that overstays its welcome in the best way.
- Variety: Mostly Sativa
- Genetics: Original Amnesia x Original Amnesia Auto
- Flowering: 77 days
- Indoor yield: 450-500 g/m2
- Outdoor yield: 60-170 g/plant
- THC: High
- Taste / Flavour: Haze, Lemon, Pine, Spicy / Herbal
- Effect: Cerebral, Long-lasting, Powerful
Cream Cookies
Cream Cookies Auto is Fast Buds’ creamier take on Girl Scout Cookies, and the selection they made leans euphoric rather than flattening. It is strong, but not so strong that it rules out daytime use. Late in flower the plant turns blue and purple, and it looks as good as anything we have run. It will grow under sunlight, HID, CFL or LED without complaining, but it eats. Feed it well and keep the water coming, because a hungry Cream Cookies is a disappointing one. Full maturity takes 8 to 11 weeks at 60-90 cm with a bushy frame. The buds are dense and dripping resin, which is why it is a favorite for extracts. Low-stress training or simple bending and tying helps, and so does pulling the big fan leaves during flower. The flavor is creamy and rich with earthy, woody, pungent notes underneath. THC is high with low CBD, and the effect is relaxing with enough sativa lift to keep a conversation going. Fast Buds and plenty of growers claim therapeutic uses for it, though those claims come from the breeder and the community rather than from clinical trials.
- Variety: Mostly Indica
- Genetics: Girl Scout Cookies
- Flowering: 70 days
- Taste / Flavour: Coffee, Cookies, Cream
- Effect: Relaxing, Strong, Uplifting
Sour Stomper
Auto Sour Stomper is what careful breeding looks like. It is a 50/50 indica-sativa hybrid from a Sour Crack female crossed with a Grapestomper OG male out of Gage Green, which Mephisto Genetics then took fully auto. It grows like an indica and keeps a low profile right up to flowering, then stretches up to four times its height and shows the OG in its background. Plenty of budding sites, thin foliage and an open structure mean light gets everywhere, so the popcorn bud problem mostly disappears. Indoors, outdoors or in a greenhouse it finishes at 80-120 cm and 120-150 gr per plant in 65-70 days from germination. The buds are absurdly resinous and make excellent hash. Drop the night temps and the leaves go blue and purple. Grape and funk on the nose, the same on the way down, and a genuinely good-natured high.
- Variety: Indica / Sativa
- Genetics: GrapeStomper OG (Gage Green Genetics) x Sour Crack F5
- Flowering: 65-70 days
- Yield: 120-150 g/plant
- Taste / Flavour: Grape
- Effect: Happy, Uplifting
Ripley’s OG
Mephisto Genetics went through a pile of elite seeds and cuts before landing on the two that built this one: Triangle Kush and Alien OG, both from Cali Connection stock. Alien OG is short and stocky with thick leaves, dripping resin and deep autumn colors that go almost black in late flower if the nights cool off. The first run yielded well for an OG, and repeated grows gave dense, heavy buds. For the auto side, Mephisto picked a bigger sativa-leaning plant, and that came through in Ripley’s OG as it developed. The structure opened up and it averages around 110 cm, one of the tallest things they make. Give it a decent environment and a healthy life and you can take up to 120g per plant off it.
- Variety: Indica / Sativa
- Flowering: 70 days
- Yield: 120 g/plant
- Taste / Flavour: Berry, Sweet
- Effect: Energetic, Strong
Critical 2.0 XXL
Critical 2.0 XXL Auto is a 70% indica cross of Critical Auto and a CBD Auto, and it lands in the middle of the medical and recreational crowd without annoying either. It is sweet and it is potent. The structure stays compact, which is why it works on a balcony, in a conservatory, in a greenhouse or in a small indoor grow room where a stretchy sativa would be a headache. Under lights it will do 500 gr/m2 in 45 days of flowering. The flavor is fruity with skunk behind it, and the 20% THC with 3% CBD makes for a calmer, more even effect than the THC number alone suggests.
- Variety: Mostly Indica
- Genetics: Critical Auto x CBD Auto
- Flowering: 45 days after the first sign of flowers
- Indoor yield: 500 g/m2
- Outdoor yield: 120 g/plant
- THC: 20%
- CBD: 3%
- Taste / Flavour: Fruity, Skunk
- Effect: Calming, Relaxing, Soothing
OG Kush
West Coast O.G. Autoflowering came from breeding a real West Coast OG selection with auto genetics, and it kept what made the original worth keeping. It is mostly indica. Early on it looks like nothing is happening, because the plant is busy putting energy into roots instead of leaves, and that slow start scares first-time auto growers every time. Leave it alone. Once it settles in it can reach 100 cm and it runs well in both Sea of Green and Screen of Green setups, giving 500-650 gr/m2 indoors or 70-300 gr per plant outdoors on a roughly 60-day cycle. It stinks while it grows, fresh and woody and citric, so run a filter unless you want the neighbors involved. Dried and cured it turns fruity. Lab work puts it at 21% THC and 1% CBD, and the balance between euphoric and relaxed is about as even as OG gets.
- Variety: Mostly Indica
- Genetics: West Coast OG selection x auto-flowering selection
- Flowering: 63 days
- Indoor yield: 500-650 g/m2
- Outdoor yield: 70-300 g/plant
- THC: 21%
- CBD: 1%
- Taste / Flavour: Citrus, Fruity
- Effect: Euphoric, Relaxing
Diesel
Diesel Auto from G13 Labs is a Canadian ruderalis crossed with New York Diesel, so there is Chem Dawg in the family tree. The taste is lime and lemon and mandarin with fuel underneath it, and it is distinct enough that you would pick it out blind. The effect is mild by modern standards, which we mean as a compliment. You can smoke it and still get through a day without being pinned to a chair. It shrugs off mold in cold climates and does not pick up fungus problems in Mediterranean conditions either, so it is an easy outdoor pick for anyone who does not want to babysit a garden.
- Variety: Indica / Sativa
- Genetics: NYC Diesel x Canadian Ruderalis
- Flowering: 70 days
- Yield: 450 g/m2+
- THC: 16%
- Taste / Flavour: Citrus, Lemon, Lime, Orange
- Effect: Focused, Motivating
How to increase autoflower yield
- Start with seeds that can actually put up weight. The list above is a fine starting point, and sticking with breeders who have a track record with autos matters more than the strain name on the pack.
- Plant into the final pot on day one. Autos are on a clock and every day lost to transplant shock is weight you never get back.
- Start nutrients at half strength once you see two sets of true leaves, then bump about 10% every 5-7 days based on how fast the plant is growing and drinking. The autoflower feeding schedules lay this out properly. And do not overwater, which kills more autos than anything else on this list.
- Run hydro or coco if you can. If you are in soil, use fabric pots instead of plastic. More oxygen at the roots means more weight at the end, and the difference is not subtle.
- Resist the urge to push EC in search of bigger buds. Nutrient burn stunts the plant, and a stunted auto does not have time to recover.
- Switch to LED grow lights. Our auto yields jumped when we moved off HPS, and the power bill went the other way.
Best autoflower seed banks and autoflowering cannabis seeds
Good genetics only help if the seeds actually arrive and actually pop, which is why the seed bank you buy from matters as much as the strain. We keep full reviews of the ones worth using.
What to look at before you hand over your money:
- Read real customer reviews, and pay attention to what people say about germination rates and how the bank handles a bad batch. That tells you more than any homepage ever will.
- Check that the bank operates legally where it is based, and look for licenses or certifications.
- Look at the catalog. A bank with a deep autoflower selection gives you room to try something different next run instead of settling.
- Reputable seed banks tell you which breeders they work with. Vagueness there is a bad sign.
- Read the shipping, return and privacy policies before checkout, not after. Discreet packaging and a secure checkout should be standard.
- Compare prices, but treat a price that seems too good as a warning rather than a deal. Cheap seeds are usually cheap for a reason.
- Ask other growers. Forums and cultivation communities will tell you which banks are currently shipping well and which have gone downhill.
Buying decent seeds from a bank that ships properly removes most of the ways a grow goes wrong before it starts.
Popular autoflower seed banks for buying seeds online
ILGM Autoflower Seed Bank
Seedsman Seed Bank
Greenpoint Seeds Seed Bank
Homegrown Cannabis Co. Seed Bank
Best autoflower seeds FAQ
What is the best seed starting mix for Autoflowers?
A light, well-draining mix that holds some food but will not drown a seedling. We use roughly 50% coco coir or peat moss, 30% perlite or vermiculite, and 20% compost or worm castings.
Final thoughts on the best high-yield autoflower strains
Autos earn their spot, especially in small outdoor gardens where a photoperiod plant would be a liability. The strains above are the ones that have consistently put up weight for us, and the list changes as we test more of them.
The ruderalis in autoflower genetics is the reason they finish so fast, and it is also the reason they will never match a well-run photoperiod plant gram for gram. That trade is worth making more often than people think, and the strains on this list narrow the gap about as far as it currently goes. If you want to close it further, put the money into a decent LED grow light before you spend it on anything else. Here is more on cannabis ruderalis if you want the background.
