What Should Cannabis Seeds Look Like?

The look of cannabis seeds is a subject that raises several questions amongst growers. We regularly get asked about how cannabis seeds should seem, with regards to their size, shape and appearance, as these factors are believed to be directly related to seed quality. In this post we take a comprehensive look at the key physical characteristics of cannabis seeds in order to clarify any concerns that you may have.

This guide has been created to answer all the key questions that we regularly get asked by clients and growers regarding the physical characteristics of our core product: high-quality cannabis seeds.

Our 15 years in the field have given us solid knowledge as well as a broad perspective on this topic, so it is an honour for us to be able to share our experience with all of you in the cannabis world.

The dimensions of cannabis seeds

As most of the cannabis strains that are currently on the market are polyhybrids, the size of the seeds can fluctuate depending on their hereditary line.

Some clients, for instance, reach out to us to inform us that they have purchased Critical + seeds and they feel they look too small. But this is a standard feature of this strain: we've seen millions of Critical + seeds and we can confirm that they are inherently smaller than others. It is thus incorrect to think that this is a marker of poor quality.

If, on the contrary, the seeds seem too big, this may be triggered by a deficiency of macronutrients during the crop's growth cycle. As any cultivator with certain experience will realize, https://nativesusa.com/ (https://nativesusa.com/) calcium deficiencies are corrected by adding calcium and mg, a combination that helps reestablishing the perfect nutritional balance of plants.

So in this case, an increase in dimensions could be a direct indicator of this addition of calcium and magnesium, which is done in order to alleviate that macronutrient shortage during growth. This has no impact on the plant's potential for sprouting, growth, flowering, or yield, nor on the formation of the organoleptic properties of the buds (scent, flavour and effect).

So we can confidently say that this difference is simply visual. If we take the case of a Moby Dick seed, its size will most likely be bigger than those of Critical +, although you can also encounter slight variations between seeds from the same strain. Don't forget that, as with all biological beings, cannabis seeds are also biologically different amongst themselves.

The form of cannabis seeds

Cannabis seeds can also show slight changes at morphological level. It's entirely normal to discover minor differences in the elliptical shape of seeds from the identical batch.

In some instances their shape is more elongated; whereas in others one of the extremities can be rounded whilst the other is more pointy. But this is no reason for concern: as with size, these slight variations in the profile of the seeds are simply visual and have nothing to do with quality.

Related post: The most typical mistakes when sprouting cannabis seeds

The hue of cannabis seeds

Although it is correct that ripe cannabis seeds tend to have a dark shell that can range from brown to black, with stripes that look like tiger 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 characteristics of an individual seed. A top-grade strain can also be light or dark gray in colour.

Let's take the case of Critical + again, one of our consistent bestsellers that has had outstanding success across the world thanks to its remarkable scent, flavour, effect, and production capacity.

Critical + is a clear example that colour, opposite to what many cultivators believe, is not always a quality indicator: these unquestionably high-quality seeds exhibit a very pale grey, almost white-ish grey, to a mid-tone grey colour.

However, a green-tinted colour is a definite sign of immaturity, which means that the seed has not developed fully or it has not received all the needed resources to reach full maturity. In this particular case, if you acquire seeds with this color you need to contact your supplier right away and try to have them substituted.

If this happens to you with one of our seeds, don't hesitate to contact us directly. Send us a few of pictures so we can check them out, and our customer service team will substitute them as soon as possible.

Another factor that can be misleading is the fact that a ripe, freshly-harvested cannabis seed has a more vibrant and darker color than after it's been packaged for one to two months.

This could be likened to a newborn whose physical look quickly evolves during their first few days of life in order to adapt to the entirely new outside surroundings.

The same thing happens with cannabis seeds: the packaging and the different stages before they're sold can entail lighting and humidity variations, as well as a little of oxidation, which may slightly affect the color of the shell but certainly has no effect on the final product. Once again, this is simply an aesthetic effect.

We trust that this guide has provided you with some helpful information about the physical traits of your cannabis seeds to help you interpret them more accurately before starting their germination and cultivation.