Cannabis cultivation

This article presents common techniques and facts regarding the cultivation of the flowering plant Cannabis, primarily for the production and consumption of marijuana flowers ("buds"). Cultivation techniques for other purposes (such as hemp production) differ.

Botany

Cannabis belongs to the genus Cannabis in the family Cannabaceae and includes three species, C. sativa, C. indica, and C. ruderalis, (APG II system). It is typically a dioecious (each individual is either male or female) annual plant (life period: April–September).

C. sativa and C. indica generally grow tall (some varieties reach 4 m) and their females start the production of flowers rich in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (up to 29% by weight) as the season changes from summer to autumn. C. ruderalis is very short, produces only trace amounts of THC, but is very rich in cannabidiol (CBD), which may be 40% of the cannabinoids in a plant and is an antagonist to THC, and it flowers independently of the photoperiod and according to age. However, commercial cross-bred hybrids containing both ruderalis, indica and/or sativa genes exist (usually called autoflowering).