Growing different strains of weed together

Many cannabis growers enjoy having a few different strains of weed alongside each other in their grow room. The multi-strain approach ensures that the grower will have a variety of different types of bud to enjoy at harvest. But there are challenges associated with this strategy. The plants may have different growth rates and varying final plant heights which may make it difficult to optimise light intensity levels across the canopy. Feeding requirements may also vary from plant to plant. Harvest times may vary by several weeks, there’s a lot to consider. Read on to find professional tips when growing different strains of weed together and find out the advantages and disadvantages of doing so.

Pros and Cons of growing different strains together

Some people routinely grow different cannabis strains together, others avoid doing so in order to simplify the grow. There are two sides to this debate, each has their own advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of growing different cannabis strains together

Many growers love the chance to grow a selection of their favourite cannabis seeds. As well as giving some diversity in the grow room during cultivation, it also allows diversity in the jars after harvest.

Enjoy a wide variety of cannabis genetics with different effects

One of the main advantages of growing different cannabis strains together is that you end up with a range of different bud types. This may be perfect for you if you enjoy sampling a range of effects, flavours and aromas. If you feel you want a change, or perhaps if you feel you are building up a tolerance to a particular strain, you can simply swap to another. Many connoisseur cannabis lovers enjoy having several jars of top-quality buds from different strains to enjoy.

Spread the risk, just in case there’s a strain that you don’t rate so highly

Sometimes if you are trying a new strain, or evaluating a new cannabis seed company, you may feel cautious about filling your entire grow room with it ‘just in case’ there are unexpected issues. After all, no-one wants to invest several months growing poor quality cannabis genetics. So for some, it can make sense to evaluate several new strains alongside each other rather than commit the entire grow room to a single strain.

For these reasons, many growers will only grow a couple of cannabis seeds of a new strain in order to evaluate it before committing to a full grow room.

Improving your grow skills and cultivation knowledge

For those growers that have gained the basic grow skills, growing different cannabis strains together can be a fun chance to put those skills to the test. You may need to perform LST (low stress training, e.g. tying down tall branches) on the plants that are stretching the most. This prevents the grow light from being raised too high for the remaining plants. You may also need to practice super-cropping (stem crushing when bending tall branches from the vertical to the horizontal) and topping/fimming of your plants.

Growing several different cannabis strains together can require the use of various different grow techniques in order to maintain control over the varying growth habits of the individual varieties.

Disadvantages of growing different cannabis strains together

With several different strains growing alongside each other, your grow room may seem a little more complicated to manage and perhaps more hands-on work will be needed. Few licensed professional growers relish the thought of a large warehouse full of different strains. But the rewards are there for the hard-working and skilled grower.
Upfront research and planning needed to understand the practical issues you may face.

You may need to do some strain research to find out the likely growth expectations in your conditions. Some strains may grow with great vigour and can potentially dominate the grow room. Strains that traditionally stay small could be encouraged to grow larger in a bigger container. If one of your strains is known for XXL growth tendencies, then you may prefer to grow it in a smaller container than your other strains. This can restrict growth, allowing it to remain similar to the other strains being grown.

Growing several strains together in the same grow room is possible, and many people do it routinely. But you may need to do some up-front planning and creative thinking to ensure the grow goes as smoothly as possible.

Different strains may have radically different growth patterns, heights and nutritional needs

Growing indica and sativa cannabis seeds together can produce buds with perhaps contrasting effects and appeal. But first you have to manage indica/sativa growth patterns which can vary widely. Indicas may remain short and bushy.

Sativa strains such as Desfrán can be stretchy/tall and difficult to grow in the same room as indicas. Many professional licensed growers strongly prefer a homogenous grow room, full of similar plants. They simply lack the time to make individual adjustments for each plant, instead preferring to grow hundreds of plants from the same strain (or even identical clones).

Desfran sativa dominant weed led hps grow indoor halfpipe scrog high yield

Sativa strains can be tamed by use of e.g. smaller grow containers, topping, super cropping, LST etc. Indica cannabis seeds can be started a few weeks before your hybrid/sativa strains to allow them a slight developmental advantage which may allow a larger final size.

Alternatively, sativa strains could be grown under a SCROG screen while the neighbouring indica plants could be allowed to grow naturally without any training. This way you could still achieve an (approximately) level canopy of buds. Although your cannabis genetics may be quite different, with some innovative thinking it isn’t too difficult for the home grower to successfully cultivate different genetics in the same grow room.

Note that you can check out grow reviews of the Dutch Passion strains online. Why not check out real-world grow reviews before you grow? Few cannabis seed suppliers have as many online grow reviews as Dutch Passion! Below is our full library of grow reviews.

If you would like to learn more about cannabis cultivation and improve your grow skills then our expert library of grow guides is well worth a look and may help you find tricks and tips to successfully grow different cannabis strains alongside each other.

Lighting and harvest time considerations

Different strains may well have different bloom periods. If you plan to grow a fast indica with a 7-week bloom time alongside a Haze with a 12 week+ bloom time you will need to plan ahead accordingly. Will you be able to manage to harvest and dry the early strains effectively?

Some compromises may have to be made if you are using very high light (PPFD) levels in your grow room. Some strains handle these better than others. If one strain struggles to handle the highest PPFD levels you may have to reduce lighting intensity across the entire grow room to compensate. Increasing the levels of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in your grow room is one way to help your plants cope better with high light intensities.

Nutritional concerns when growing different cannabis strains together

Growing a tent full of genetically identical clones is relatively easy. They should all grow at the same rate, reach a similar size and have the same nutritional needs at each stage of growth, making life easy for the grower. Harvest day should be the same for all the plants too, another major convenience. But a tent full of different strains can present challenges. Each plant may require different strength nutrient feed solutions, that’s extra work for the grower.

How to plan a multi-strain grow efficiently

You may have to work a little bit harder when growing several radically different strains together in the same tent/grow room. Maintaining a flat, level canopy of buds from different strains can be tricky when each strain is growing and stretching differently.

Don’t be surprised if you have to make the occasional compromise or need to work harder to plan and execute the grow. But at the same time don’t feel overly daunted by the challenge. If you choose your cannabis seeds wisely you may be surprised how easy it is to pull off a successful multi-strain grow. Many growers do so routinely.

Best Dutch Passion strains to grow together

If your choice of cannabis strains have broadly similar growth rates, stretch and nutritional needs it won’t be too difficult to manage several strains growing together. A multi-strain tent full of short indica plants might be considerably easier to manage than a mixed tent containing both short/bushy indica and stretchy sativa plants.

Likewise, harvest would also be simpler when the plants have similar bloom periods. These are all considerations when selecting which cannabis seeds to grow. You need to balance these considerations with your own experience levels and time availability.

Best photoperiod cannabis seeds to grow together

Growers often like to select cannabis strains with similar genetic profiles. If you choose an experienced cannabis seed supplier they may have the hard work for you. Dutch Passion allow you to search for strains using various filters. This allows you to select, for example:

Dutch Passion Indica cannabis seeds

Sativa dominant cannabis seeds by Dutch Passion

Dutch Passion Sativa cannabis seeds

Dutch Passion Hybrid cannabis seeds

Furthermore, the various cannabis seed families also group together strains with many genetic similarities. These are shown below.

Afghani Kush cannabis seeds
Short, squat indicas with limited stretch

Blue family cannabis seeds
Related to Blueberry genetics.

CBD Rich cannabis seeds
Cannabis seeds with over 4% CBD in the dry buds.

Classic cannabis seeds
All your favourite cannabis genetics, some new classics and old legends!

Dutch Outdoor cannabis seeds
Perfect for outdoor and greenhouse growers at Dutch latitudes and similar.

High Altitude cannabis seeds
Selectively bred by professionals, the best choice for those growing at high altitude.

Latin America cannabis seeds
Cannabis genetics from South America.

Orange family cannabis seeds
Related to Orange Bud cannabis genetics.

Skunk Cannabis seeds
The finest skunk seeds with nose-tingling terpenes and epic THC levels.

Special cannabinoids seeds
For those interested in THCV, CBDV, CBG and other esoteric cannabinoids.

USA Special cannabis seeds
The best USA cannabis genetics! Loud flavours, dazzling potency and XXL yields.

It’s important to note that some cannabis seed collections, such as the USA seeds, will contain sativa-leaning and indica-leaning strains. This means that you will need to carefully select strains with similar growth characteristics if you’re aiming for a smooth, uncomplicated multi-strain grow. Conversely, cannabis seed collections such as the Afghani Kush family contain many similar indica-leaning genetics with small height profiles, limited stretch in bloom and fast flowering times.

Best autoflower cannabis seeds to grow together

Many autoflower growers enjoy the diversity that comes from a multi-strain auto grow. But as always, it will make your grow easier if you select autoflower seeds with similar growth patterns. Note that certain XXL auto strains such as Auto Glueberry (12 weeks), Auto Ultimate (12-15 weeks), Auto Skywalker Haze (12 weeks) and Auto Desfrán (12-15 weeks) can have a longer seed-to-harvest cycle than average. That’s something to consider when planning your grow. Many of these longer-blooming auto strains are also capable of reaching the largest sizes.

As with photoperiod feminised cannabis seeds, the forward-thinking auto grower will aim to find strains with similar levels of indica/sativa heritage. They will also aim to pair auto strains with ones of similar seed-to-harvest times and similar growth/size profiles. Nature often has her own unpredictable plans too, so be prepared to tie down/train any plants that grow taller than you expect.

The experienced cannabis cultivator shouldn’t have any concerns about using a variety of high-stress or low-stress training techniques to manipulate plant size. Autoflower genetics (at least those from the better-quality seed companies) are tough enough to cope with all different types of plant training techniques.

Multi-strain growing FAQ

Can I grow different cannabis strains together in hydroponics?

Not necessarily. Some cannabis strains can tolerate more nutrients than others. If you have a multi-strain hydroponic grow with a shared nutrient reservoir you may end up having to compromise. That means some plants will have to be fed less than they might prefer.

Many hydroponic experts are seasoned perfectionists for whom the word ‘compromise’ can be hard to take. That’s why they would often prefer to have small individual hydroponic systems for each plant rather than attempt a ‘one size fits all’ policy. Our guide to hydroponics may be useful reading to anyone wanting to learn more…

What will happen if you grow two different cannabis strains in the same pot?

If you grow two different cannabis strains in the same container then they will both have to accept the same nutrients and feed regime. That could be an issue if one plant has significantly different needs to the other. Both plants may be competing for root space, so if you do grow two plants in the same pot it may help to use a large one.

It may also help to grow similar strains. But if you don’t want to, then growing organically in a large container with slow release nutrients (BioTabs are especially recommended) is a particularly good way of approaching a multi-strain grow in the same container.

What is the optimum grow room temperature level for a multi-strain grow?

Aim for the same temperatures and humidity ranges as you would normally use, around 25ºC/77ºF with lights on and perhaps a degree or two cooler with lights out.

Do different weed strains need different nutrients?

To grow a strain in optimum conditions the nutrients should, ideally, be optimised for that specific plant. If you don’t have the passion for personalised perfection, you can often ‘get by’ with the same batch of nutrients for all your plants assuming that they are generally of similar age and genetic heritage. But not necessarily always. You need to be able to monitor and read the needs of your plants, recognising that sometimes individual care and tailored nutrients are the best way forward.

Can you grow photoperiod strains alongside autoflowers?

Yes this is possible, but in order to do so you will need to grow the autoflowers with the same light schedule as the photoperiod plants. The photoperiods will need a 12/12 light cycle to begin bloom. This means that the autoflowers will also have to be grown on a 12/12 light schedule from the moment the clock is switched to bloom. This can result in several weeks of 18/6 or (20/4 and 24/0) for VEG and the remaining 7-12 weeks on 12/12 for bloom. The reduced light hours will probably result in lower yields for the autoflowering plants. However, if you pick XXL yielding autoflowers you may be surprised with the results that are still possible!