How Do Cannabis Seeds Look Like?
The appearance of cannabis seeds is a subject that raises many questions amongst growers. We frequently get asked about the manner cannabis seeds should look, with regards to their dimensions, shape and colour, as these characteristics are believed to be closely related to seed quality. In this guide we take a thorough look at the main physical characteristics of cannabis seeds in order to clarify any questions that you may have.
This article has been created to answer all the key questions that we regularly get asked by customers and growers regarding the physical traits of our core product: premium-quality cannabis seeds.
Our 15 years in the industry have given us strong knowledge as well as a wide perspective on this topic, so it is a privilege for us to be capable to share our experience with all of you in the cannabis world.
The size of cannabis seeds
As the majority of the cannabis varieties that are presently on the market are polyhybrids, the dimensions of the seeds can vary depending on their hereditary line.
Some clients, for instance, contact us to inform us that they have bought Critical + seeds and they believe they look too small. But this is a standard feature of this variety: we’ve seen countless of Critical + seeds and we can verify that they are inherently smaller than others. It is thus incorrect to believe that this is a marker of poor quality.
If, on the other hand, the seeds look too big, this may be triggered by a lack of macronutrients during the plant’s growth cycle. As any grower with some experience will understand, calcium deficiencies are addressed by adding calcium and mg, a mixture that assists in reestablishing the perfect nutritional balance of plants.
So in this situation, a rise in size could be a direct indicator of this addition of calcium and magnesium, which is performed in order to address that macronutrient deficiency during growth. This has no effect on the crop’s potential for sprouting, growth, flowering, or yield, nor on the formation of the organoleptic qualities of the buds (scent, flavour and effect).
So we can clearly say that this difference is simply visual. If we take the case of a Moby Dick seed, its dimensions will most likely be bigger than those of Critical +, although you can also discover slight variations between seeds from the identical strain. Don’t forget that, as with all biological beings, cannabis seeds are also genetically different amongst themselves.
The form of cannabis seeds
Cannabis seeds can also show slight changes at morphological level. It’s perfectly normal to discover minor differences in the elliptical shape of seeds from the same batch.
In some situations their shape is more linear; whereas in others one of the ends can be rounded whilst the other is more pointy. But this is no reason for concern: as with size, these slight variations in the contour of the seeds are simply visual and have nothing to do with quality.
Related post: The most frequent mistakes when sprouting cannabis seeds
The color of cannabis seeds
Although it is accurate that ripe cannabis seeds tend to have a darker shell that can go from brown to black, with markings that look like zebra stripes, this cannot be considered as a quality indicator by itself.
Yet once more, this is a misleading physical attribute that does not guarantee the germination potential or overall qualities of an individual seed. A premium strain can also be light or dark gray in colour.
Let’s take the example of Critical + once more, one of our long-time bestsellers that has had outstanding success across the world thanks to its remarkable scent, flavour, effect, and production capacity.
Critical + is a strong example that colour, opposite to what many growers believe, is not necessarily a quality indicator: these unquestionably high-quality seeds exhibit a distinctly pale grey, almost whitish grey, to a medium grey colour.
However, a greenish colour is a definite sign of underdevelopment, which means that the seed has not developed fully or it hasn’t received all the required resources to attain full maturity. In this particular case, if you buy seeds with this hue you need to reach out to your supplier immediately and try to have them exchanged.
If this happens to you with one of our seeds, don’t delay to contact us directly. Send us a few of pictures so we can review them out, and our customer service team will substitute them as quickly as possible.
Another element that can be confusing is the fact that a ripe, freshly-harvested cannabis seed has a more vibrant and darker colour than after it’s been stored for one to two months.
This could be likened to a baby whose physical appearance quickly develops during their first few days of life in order to adapt to the completely new outside environment.
The same thing happens with cannabis seeds: https://nativesusa.com/ [https://nativesusa.com] the storage and the different stages before they’re sold can entail lighting and humidity fluctuations, as well as a little of oxidation, which may somewhat affect the color of the shell but certainly has no effect on the end product. Once again, this is merely an aesthetic effect.
We hope that this post has provided you with some valuable information about the physical features of your cannabis seeds to help you interpret them more accurately before starting their sprouting and cultivation.