Every plant has specific conditions where it grows well. The cannabis plant specifically prefers warmth. However, this doesn’t mean it won’t grow in cold climates if you provide it with the necessities. All you’ll need is knowledge, a bit of preparation, and some technical know-how. You’re in winter, but this shouldn’t stop you from growing healthy cannabis plants that yield beautiful buds. Generally, cannabis plants are tough and versatile. This means they can thrive even in relatively unfavorable conditions. 

This article will walk you through some of the tactics you’ll have to adopt in chilly months to grow the best possible cannabis. You would want to begin with an indoor setup. There are the issues of temperature, moisture, lighting, and humidity that you’ll naturally consider. So if you’re ready to learn the necessary facts to give your plants better care, please continue reading. 

Choose The Right Genetics For Winter 

Their genetics governs every batch of cannabis plants you cultivate. Therefore, if you know your plants will need to withstand cold weather conditions, starting with the right genetics will assure a good yield. Preferably, your strain and genetics of choice should come from areas with cooler climates. For instance, Landrace and Indica-dominant strains originating from Asia’s mountainous regions perform better in lower temperatures relative to Sativas. 

Another excellent example of cold-friendly marijuana plants is auto-flowering strains. These strains are perfect if you find yourself dwelling or cultivating in areas of extreme or prolonged cold. The Cannabis Budder produced by these cold-resistance stains are just as potent and quality as any other cannabis types. Usually, your autos should take eight weeks to go from seed to bud. 

Understand How Cold Weather Affects Cannabis Plants

Choosing the best strains will not be enough for optimum productivity if you lack the knowledge and understanding essential to properly cater to your cold plants. Growing cannabis in winter comes with two major concerns. The first is the effect of cold on the root system of the plants. A healthy cannabis plant will always depend primarily on the health of the root system. 

And chilly weather directly influences the state of your cannabis plants’ roots. The metabolism of your plants significantly reduces the moment soil temperatures go below 12 degrees Celcius. But what does this mean in layman’s terms? Simply put, your cannabis plants begin to find it challenging to take up water from the soil through its root system. 

Also, the supply of other essential nutrients, oxygen, and enzymatic processes required to facilitate growth will cease. Gradually, you’ll notice that your plants become stunted, or in some cases, wilted. Apart from this, some cannabis strains become hermaphrodites due to cold weather. 

This means they develop pollen sacs and buds, resulting in self-pollination and substantially reduced yields. The second main concern posed by cold is the moisture present in the air. Moisture from snow, dew, frost, or rainfall can accumulate and stick to the flowers or leaves of cold cannabis plants. 

That, in turn, triggers molds that you’ll find challenging to deal with. Even worse than this, your flowers will begin to rot and may never reach maturity. It’s vital to note that cannabis plants prefer temperatures between 18-30°C, depending on varying stages of their life cycle. 

Maintain The Right Room Temperature

Given that the cannabis plants need a specific temperature range to thrive maintaining the right temperature is one challenge you need to surmount.  The daytime temperature that works best for cannabis is 24-30°C. In the night-time, optimal temperatures lie between 18-22°C. Therefore, you’ll need to prevent the temperature of your growing room from falling outside these ranges. 

Further, it’s necessary to ensure that temperature discrepancies between the day and night are not huge. Lack of consistent temperature, whether at night or day, can adversely affect the growth rate just as much as wrong temperature ranges. Moreover, you need to pay closer attention to daytime and night-time temperature during the first 2-3 weeks when your plants begin to bear flowers. Ideally, temperature gaps should differ by 2-4°C during the flowering period. 

Control The Humidity

As mentioned earlier, moisture can lead to mold. This poses a major threat to the health and productivity of your cannabis garden in winter. Usually, the low temperatures recorded during winter increases relative humidity (RH) to a level that’s unfavorable for your plants. In case you are not aware, the marijuana plant dislikes high levels of RH. 

Apart from this fact, high levels of relative humidity also set the right conditions for fungi and mold to develop. The amount of water in the air continues to condense as temperatures reduce. As any experienced cannabis farmer will admit, this condition invites other complications born of mold. The solution to this problem is to control the humidity by maintaining temperatures at the ideal level. If you are finding this issue challenging, you can resort to a dehumidifier. 

Pick The Best Strain For Cold Weather

All cannabis strains are not the same. There are specific properties that make each strain of cannabis unique. Therefore, if you want to ensure that your cannabis garden outlasts the cold weather, you must select a cold-resistant strain. Despite the usual disadvantages of winter, it can also bring out the purple and pink colors of your cannabis plants, provided you choose the right strains. 

Having set up the right growth system, your cold-resistant strain will make the best use of all the conditions to produce the highest possible yields. For those looking for the right strains to help them get superior results in winter, here some examples to try: 

  • White Widow
  • Critical
  • Skunk XL
  • Northern Light Automatic
  • Royal Dwarf

Conclusion

Despite the erroneous notion surrounding cannabis cultivation in winter, you can avoid your plants’ demise by implementing some additional measures for the cold. Sure, the extra care and attention this will require can be exhausting. 

However, you will quickly get used to it after a few seasons of growing your winter marijuana.  So if you want to give it a try this winter, just follow the tips listed in the articles and prepare your grow space in advance. Once everything works out well, you should have yourself a bountiful harvest by the time the year comes to an end.