What Should Cannabis Seeds Look Like?

The visual traits 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 article we take a thorough look at the main physical characteristics of cannabis seeds in order to clarify any questions that you may have.

This guide has been created to answer all the key questions that we frequently get asked by customers and growers regarding the physical traits of our primary product: premium-quality cannabis seeds.

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

The size of cannabis seeds

As most of the cannabis varieties that are currently on the market are polyhybrids, the dimensions of the seeds can differ depending on their hereditary line.

Some clients, for instance, contact us to tell us that they have acquired Critical + seeds and they feel they look too tiny. But this is a standard feature of this variety: we've seen millions of Critical + seeds and we can verify that they are naturally smaller than others. It is hence incorrect to think that this is a sign of poor quality.

If, on the other hand, the seeds seem too big, this may be caused by a shortage of macronutrients during the crop's growth cycle. As any grower with some experience will know, calcium deficiencies are corrected by adding calcium and magnesium, a mixture that helps reestablishing the optimal nutritional balance of plants.

So in this instance, an increase in size could be a clear indicator of this addition of calcium and magnesium, which is carried out in order to address that macronutrient shortage during growth. This has no impact on the crop's potential for germination, growth, flowering, or harvest, nor on the development of the organoleptic characteristics of the buds (scent, flavour and effect).

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

The form of cannabis seeds

Cannabis seeds can also display 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 situations their shape is more linear; whereas in others one of the tips can be rounded whilst the other is more tapered. But this is no reason for https://nativesusa.com/ (nativesusa.com) concern: as with dimensions, these slight differences in the outline of the seeds are merely visual and have no relation to do with quality.

Related post: The most frequent mistakes when sprouting cannabis seeds

The colour of cannabis seeds

Although it is true that ripe cannabis seeds tend to have a darker shell that can range from brown to black, with stripes that look like zebra stripes, this cannot be viewed as a reliable quality indicator by itself.

Yet again, this is a misleading physical attribute that does not guarantee the germination potential or overall traits of a seed. A top-grade strain can also be light or dark grey in colour.

Let's take the example of Critical + once more, one of our well-known bestsellers that has had outstanding success across the globe thanks to its remarkable scent, flavour, effect, and yielding capacity.

Critical + is a clear example that colour, opposite to what many growers believe, is not always a quality marker: these undeniably high-quality seeds show a distinctly pale grey, almost whitish grey, to a medium grey colour.

However, a green-tinted colour is an obvious sign of immaturity, which means that the seed has not developed fully or it hasn't received all the necessary resources to attain full maturity. In this particular case, if you buy seeds with this hue you need to reach out to your supplier right away 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 check them out, and our customer service team will exchange them as quickly as possible.

Another aspect that can be misleading is the fact that a mature, freshly-harvested cannabis seed has a brighter and darker color than after it's been packaged for 1 to 2 months.

This could be likened to a newborn whose physical appearance quickly changes during their first few weeks of life in order to adapt to the completely new outside surroundings.

The identical thing happens with cannabis seeds: the packaging and the different stages before they're commercialised can entail lighting and humidity variations, as well as a little of oxidation, which may slightly affect the colour of the shell but certainly has no impact on the end product. Once more, this is merely an aesthetic effect.

We hope that this post has provided you with some useful information about the physical characteristics of your cannabis seeds to assist you interpret them more accurately before starting their germination and cultivation.