cannabis seeds

Cannabis Seeds: What Growers Should Know

Cannabis seeds are tiny miracles of nature. As a grower, you may be more interested in the plants that emerge from your seeds; but if you stop and think about it, it is pretty useful to know just what a cannabis seed is and how to treat it. That is why this blog shows you just what sort of first-class material you get when you order our premium marijuana seeds.

What Are Cannabis Seeds, Anyway?

The moment you get your Amsterdam Genetics cannabis seeds delivered to your doorstep, you’re literally holding the foundation of growing cannabis in your hands. After all, there can be no growth or flowering without seeds – and therefore, no flower buds to harvest and enjoy.

But what exactly is a cannabis seed? Don’t be alarmed, but you are actually holding a baby here: a tiny, living creature carrying inside all it needs to grow into a strong mature cannabis plant, with roots, branches, leaves, and of course, those big bulging flower buds full of the trichomes we’re after!

best cannabis seeds
…And you’ll find those genes in our premium cannabis seeds!

We can almost hear you think: “Living creatures? No way! They look dead to me; and besides, they won’t do anything until I germinate them by adding water?” Well, it’s a perfectly understandable mistake, but you’re wrong. Cannabis seeds are far from dead: they’re just in a dormant state, waiting for the perfect moment to start growing.

In fact, a seed is a complete plant embryo, just like a foetus growing in a mammal’s womb or a chick in its egg waiting to hatch. Cannabis seeds are key to the reproduction and survival of marijuana strains, carrying the DNA of its parent plants and all the biological structures needed to give the ‘kid plant’ a good start in life as soon as you decide to grow it.

The dormant state of cannabis seeds is similar to hibernation in animals. All the biochemical processes are either paused or slowed down to near-standstill. This allows a seed to survive for a very long time before starting to grow. This is super convenient for growers, allowing them to order the strains they love and store them for future use – they can stay viable for years if you treat them right.

Basically, as long as you keep them dry, cool, and safely stowed away, they will wait patiently until you are ready for germination. We’ll get to that point later, though; for now, we’ll explain just where all those cannabis seeds come from in the first place.

cannabis seeds

Where Do Cannabis Seeds Come From?

Marijuana seeds are produced by female cannabis plants. They have special reproductive organs for doing so, which most growers will recognise as the tiny ‘hairs’ called pistils that indicate whether buds are ready to harvest yet. In fact, however, these hairs are intended to collect the pollen spread by male plants, which they distribute by air as soon as they start flowering themselves.

After pollination, female flowers start to produce seeds containing the combined DNA of both the mother and father plants. Out in the wild, that’s just marvellous, because this is how new generations secure the survival of the species: parent plants will die after flowering since cannabis is an annual plant.

Growers, by contrast, usually want anything but seeds in their flower buds, because they will reduce the amount of cannabinoids (CBD, THC, and many others) and tasty terpenes produced. The prefect harvest consists of ‘sinsemilla’ weed, which is Spanish for ‘without seeds’.

White Choco cannabis seeds
Our legendary White Choco seeds are bursting with prime genetics…

Contrary to growers, cannabis breeders are very much interested in the seeds cannabis plants produce. They use them for plant breeding programmes that allow seedbanks like Amsterdam Genetics to keep developing better, stronger, and tastier strains.

You could decide to try and create your own unique crossbreeds, but as our special breeding blog series explains, that’s a complicated affair taking quite a bit of patience and expertise. Fortunately, there’s no real need to do so: anyone can order top notch cannabis seeds from a catalogue like ours, containing the finest genetics for any taste and liking ready to order from the comfort of your home!

Cannabis Seeds Up Close: What’s Inside?

Once you start to zoom in on the anatomy of cannabis seeds, you’ll discover just what kind of natural biotechnology marvels they truly are. The cross-section included below shows the most important organs and components that make up these miniature baby plants.

wietzaadjes kiemen

The Shell And First Leaves

The exterior wall of a seed is called seed shell, or testa in Latin. Weed seeds have a hard testa casing to protect the insides from external influences. Out in the wild, this helps seeds reach good grow spots in safety (carried in the fur of passing animals, for instance, or in the droppings of deer nibbling on the buds). In less natural conditions, this helps seed suppliers ship their products by mail, while allowing growers to store them until the outdoor season starts, or until they’re ready for a new indoor run.

Hidden deep within the seed lies the germ, which is the actual embryo from which the plant will grow. In the case of cannabis seeds, the germ consists of a plume with a growth tip (apex) and a set of two cotyledon leaves. Upon germination, this [plume] starts to grow up towards the (day) light to become the stem of the plant.

The cotyledons are the first two leaves that emerge as soon as your seed becomes a seedling. These ‘baby levaes’ do not yet have the characteristic serrated shape of cannabis fan leaves. They serve as the plant’s first solar panels, meant specifically to catch the first light needed for the photosynthesis that will fuel further growth.

Roots And Nutrition

At the other end of a germinated cannabis seed, you will see the first tiny root emerge from the testa shell. This radicle will go on to become the taproot that anchors the plant in the soil. After some time, lateral roots form and expand sideways to form a comprehensive root system that supplies the plant with water and nutrients from the soil.

This is why like roots, germinating cannabis seeds need to be able to ‘breathe’. The soil has to be loose enough to allow sufficient uptake volumes, or the plant may suffocate (damp off) and even die.

The final crucial component of cannabis seeds is the so-called endosperm. This is a seed’s onboard food supply, required to make the first dash towards the light, after which the cotyledon leaves and roots take over and let the seedling fend for itself. The endosperm also explains why many seeds are edible: they contain lots of starch, and if you ever had sunflower seeds, you’ll know they can be tasty to boot.

germinate cannabis seeds

How Cannabis Seeds Germinate

You can read all about the best way to germinate cannabis seeds in this dedicated germination blog. We will just explain what a seed needs to ‘pop’ here. First, it needs water to ‘wake up’ and end the dormant state. The other basic condition is temperature: all seeds require a specific temperature range to germinate, which is slightly above room temperature for cannabis seeds, conveniently.

Some growers use special heating mats underneath their germination platforms to help al seeds pop at the same time, but that just adds to efficiency rather than being necessary. Finally, some seeds require light to trigger the germination process, but most seeds, including cannabis seeds, pop in the dark instead. That makes perfect sense: after all, the soil in which they naturally germinate is pitch black, too.

If you order cannabis seeds online, these conditions are easy to mimic by placing them between two damp sheets of kitchen towel, covered by two plates to keep them dark, warm, and damp. But as we already mentioned, you’ll read all about successful germination in our dedicated blog, or on the leaflet you’ll receive with your Amsterdam Genetics seeds order.

cannabiszaden wietzaadjes ontkiemen kiemen

Various Types Of Cannabis Seeds

The Amsterdam Genetics online store has cannabis seeds in a variety of strains and flavours in a comprehensive premium selection. Our collection can be divided into three types of different genetics, classified as Regular, Feminized, and Autoflower seeds.

A pack of Regular seeds contains roughly equal numbers of male and female seeds. That means you won’t know in advance which plants will be males or females. This can be a distinct advantage, for instance if you plan to breed your own strains using our genetics. Be careful not to pollinate females unintentionally, however, or they will produce their own seeds that will negatively affect the quality of your harvest.

Feminized cannabis seeds are bred specifically to grow into female plants in at least 98% of all cases. That makes them a smart and safe choice for most growers. You’ll still need to pay attention, though, as feminized seeds are still natural products, but you have a good chance of raising only females full of fat flower buds bristling with active compounds to harvest.

The third category covers our autoflower cannabis seeds. At Amsterdam genetics, all autoflowers are also feminized cannabis seeds, but they possess another trait that sets them apart from the rest.

In contrast to other strains, autoflowers determine their own best time to start flowering. This is highly useful, as you won’t need to stick to seasonal changes outdoors; and moreover, autoflowers tend to grow and flower faster than most non-autoflower strains. That means more harvests, even if you don’t have much room to grow.

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Ordering And Growing The Perfect Cannabis Seeds

So there you have it: you now know what is hidden inside the magical natural miracles we call cannabis seeds. You have seen which types exist, and how you should treat them if you want to watch them grow into strong, healthy cannabis plants. That means you are now ready to start ordering your own! Our collection offers the finest strains to choose from, ranging from haze to kush and from indica to sativa dominant.

We have cannabis seeds in the most delicious flavours, carrying the scent of fruits and chocolate, cheese aromas, or even diesel fumes. You’ll also find high CBD seeds here, but most of our strains pack high levels of THC and fragrant terpenes to produce a high that matches your individual taste.

Pick The Perfect Seeds

If you feel you could use some help finding your perfect match in cannabis seeds, just check out this seed finder guide to help you along. And once you complete your order and you’re all set to start your grow, be sure to check out our extensive collection of Grow Blogs. They’re a great source of useful tips and easy techniques to make the most out of all the cannabis seed magic Amsterdam Genetics manages to squeeze inside!

White Choco strainWhite Choco as grown from Amsterdam Genetics Cannabis Seeds

White Choco