By Steven Voser

Cannabis indica and sativa are inherently different, particularly in their morphology (i.e. physical traits). Given their increased height and longer flowering stage, sativa cannabis plants can be notoriously difficult to grow indoors in a room or tent. In this article, we'll teach you the ins and outs of how to successfully grow sativa strains indoors.


Tricks of the Trade — The Challenges of Growing Sativa Strains

Sativa cannabis plants, generally speaking, grow larger than indicas (with longer spaces between their nodes/branches) and have longer flowering stages. This likely comes from generations of adapting to regions with long, warm, and humid summers.

Cannabis sativa is believed to originate from Central Asia (though landrace strains can also be found in the Americas), while indicas are believed to originate from colder regions of India and the Middle East. Sativa cannabis plants also tend to stretch considerably before, as well as after, they begin to flower.

These peculiar traits can make sativa strains somewhat challenging to grow indoors, where space is often limited. Even experienced growers sometimes get caught off guard by a particularly tall, stretchy sativa reaching for the top of their room or tent. The apical growth of sativas can also cause a plant's main cola to overshadow its other branches and bud sites, resulting in a subpar harvest of one great cola and dozens of small "popcorn buds". For this reason, growers have traditionally opted to grow sativas or sativa-dominant hybrids outdoors while growing indicas or indica-dominant plants inside.

Sativas Indoor

How to Grow Sativa Strains Indoors — Tips for Handling Sativa Stretch, Flowering Times, and More

So, growing sativas indoors can be challenging. However, with the know-how we've compiled below, you should have no problem growing great sativa weed in a room or tent. Read through these tips carefully before your next sativa grow, and get ready for a stellar harvest.

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Pick the Right Strain to Avoid Any Unwanted Surprises

Skill level: Beginner

One of the best ways to simplify your indoor sativa grow is to start off with the right strain. Take some time to analise both the limitations of your grow space (such as the height of your tent, for example) and your skills as a grower; beginner growers may not feel prepared to experiment with some of the techniques we mention further down in this article. Then, pick a strain to suit.

Thanks to the breeding efforts of seed banks like Royal Queen Seeds, it's now easier than ever before to find cannabis strains to suit your grow space and skills. At RQS, for example, we stock a wide variety of sativas and sativa-dominant hybrids that have been purposely bred to stay compact and flower faster to suit the needs of indoor growers. Our sativa-dominant autoflowers, for example, are a great choice if speed and size are particularly vital to your growing operation.

Use Small Pots and Cut Down the Veg Stage to Compensate for Plant Height/Stretch

Skill level: Beginner

Once you've picked the right strain for your grow room, the next thing you can do to help control the vigorous growth of your sativas is plant your seeds/seedlings in smaller-than-average pots. The exact size of your pots will vary depending on the amount of space you have available and how many plants you intend to grow at one time. However, 5–7l is a good ballpark figure. Moreover, if you have a standard 1m tent, we recommend growing just one sativa plant at a time.

Cutting back your sativas' vegetative stage will also help to limit their growth. Most indoor growers let their plants veg for about 4 weeks; when growing sativas, however, you may want to consider flipping your plants to bloom after 2–3 weeks to account for their stature and stretch. Remember, some sativa strains can stretch up to double their size as they enter their bloom stage.

Small Pots RQS

Keep the Conditions in Your Grow Room Optimal

Skill level: Intermediate

Once your sativa plants are in the soil and growing, you'll want to make sure the conditions in your room/tent remain optimal to avoid running into difficulties or ending up with a subpar harvest. Remember that sativa strains hate cold conditions but are fairly tolerant of humidity (much more so than indicas).

They also tend to be a little more sensitive to nutrients (it's not uncommon to see nitrogen toxicity in sativa plants even when using standard doses of fertiliser) and love long hours of high-intensity lighting. Keep up these conditions in your tent/room, and your sativas should prove super happy!

A Note on Sativa Bud Structure

Sativas naturally produce wispy, airy flowers. If you've ever had the chance to grow or smoke a pure landrace sativa, you may have been surprised by the look of the plant's natural "foxtail" buds. Most modern sativas, however, tend to have some indica genetics, which breeders use to improve the size and weight of the flowers. If your sativas look healthy but have airy buds, it's likely just due to their genetics—don't get caught up trying to fatten them with bloom boosters or other fertilisers. To avoid harvesting airy flowers in the future, shop around for sativa-dominant hybrids with a denser bud structure.

Use LST or HST to Break Apical Dominance and Control Stretch

Skill level: Intermediate

Apical dominance and stretch are two of the biggest challenges to growing sativas indoors. Light burn can damage and stress overly tall plants that grow too close to the lights, while plants with a towering main cola can produce nothing but light, wavy popcorn buds on their lower branches. That's where training can come in super handy. Try topping/fimming your sativas early and regularly. Combine this with LST, and you should be able to encourage your sativas to develop more horizontal growth rather than just shooting upward.

LST

Use Lollipopping, Defoliation, and Side Lighting to Avoid Harvesting Popcorn Buds

Skill level: Advanced

LST and topping/fimming are great ways to manipulate sativa plants into growing a more even canopy. Meanwhile, lollipopping and defoliation can help to direct a plant's limited amount of energy to the areas that'll produce the biggest, most potent flowers. Experienced growers may even want to experiment with main-lining—a growing style that uses a combination of LST, topping, and lollipopping to focus a plant's energy toward only a few main shoots, which will eventually grow into massive colas.

Finally, installing side lighting in your room or tent can help to direct more light to a plant's lower branches and prevent the growth of flimsy flowers. Just note that growing with side lights will increase the amount of energy it takes to operate your room/tent.

When to Harvest Sativas Indoors — How Long Do Sativas Take to Flower?

Sativa strains are notorious for having long flowering times. This may have to do with their geographic origins—most sativas likely originate from regions with long summers, whereas indicas originate from colder regions where summer is naturally shorter. While modern sativas generally take around 10–11 weeks to flower, this is just a very rough ballpark figure, and varies greatly from one strain to another.

Amnesia Mac Ganja, for example, is an 80% sativa-dominant hybrid bred from Amnesia Haze and GG4 that can take up to 11 weeks to complete her flowering cycle. Green Crack Punch, on the other hand, is still sativa-dominant (60%) but finishes flowering in just 8–9 weeks.

Sometimes, flowering times can even vary among phenotypes of the same strain—this may come down to the genetics of each individual plant or the conditions in your room/tent. Light intensity, for example, can have a great impact on how long it takes plants to flower, and you may find that plants that receive more light will finish flowering before others.

Flowering Sativa

Why Bother — What Are the Benefits of Growing Sativas?

Given the special care they need, you might ask yourself if there's any reason to grow sativas indoors. Well, rest assured, growing sativas can be super rewarding for a number of reasons:

  • Sativas typically produce great yields thanks to their size.
  • Sativas make a great challenge for growers looking to increase their mastery.
  • There are claims that sativa strains tend to produce more THC than indicas, though this is increasingly hard to measure with so many hybrids on the market. Still, sativas do tend to produce distinct cannabinoid and terpene profiles from indicas, making for a unique cannabis experience.
  • Sativas are super fun to watch grow! Thanks to their high stress tolerance, sativas can be a real treat for growers who like experimenting with different training techniques.

The Best Sativas to Grow Indoors

Ready to kickstart your indoor sativa grow? Below you'll find a hand-picked selection of our favourite sativas that, with a little dose of TLC and the tips we mentioned above, produce spectacular results in rooms and tents!

1. Chocolate Haze

Chocolate Haze

With a motivating and creative cerebral effect, delicious chocolate aromas and flavours, and 95% sativa genes, Chocolate Haze is a favourite among our customers. Use the tips in this article to control her vigorous growth, and this offspring of Chocolate Thai and Cannalope Haze will grow to 90–160cm, which is manageable in most tents/rooms. After 9–11 weeks, get ready to harvest up to 500g/m² of top-shelf sativa flowers.

Chocolate Haze
23_genetic background_1 OG Chocolate Thai x Cannalope Haze
33_Yield indoors_1 475 - 525 gr/m2
31_plant height outdoor_1 90 - 160 cm
25_flowering time_1 9 - 11 weeks
29_THC_1 THC: 20%
28_Type Blend_1 Sativa 95% Indica 5%
34_yield outdoor_1 450 - 500 gr/plant
32_plant height outdoors_1 150 - 200 cm
27_harvest period_1 Late October
22_Effect_1 Heavy

Buy Chocolate Haze

2. AMG (Amnesia Mac Ganja)

AMG Genetics

Amnesia Mac Ganja descends from Amnesia and Mexican Haze and boasts beautiful foxtail flowers, 22% THC, and a supercharged cerebral high. AMG is 80% sativa dominant and has a flowering time of 10–11 weeks. Thanks to the efforts of our breeders, this high-energy sativa grows into fairly compact plants, reaching just 80–120cm indoors. Come harvest time, this beautiful strain will reward you with yields of up to 500g/m².

AMG - Amnesia Mac Ganja
23_genetic background_1 Amnesia x Mexican Haze
33_Yield indoors_1 450 - 500 gr/m2
31_plant height outdoor_1 80 - 120 cm
25_flowering time_1 10 - 11 weeks
29_THC_1 THC: 22%
28_Type Blend_1 Sativa 80% Indica 20%
34_yield outdoor_1 550 - 600 gr/plant
32_plant height outdoors_1 140 - 200 cm
27_harvest period_1 October
22_Effect_1 Balanced, Clear, Stoned

Buy AMG - Amnesia Mac Ganja

3. Shining Silver Haze

Shining Silver Haze

As the result of a cross of Haze, Skunk, and Northern Light, our Shining Silver Haze descends from a long line of greats. This unique combination of genetics has made for a 75% sativa-dominant strain that grows to 80–120cm tall and takes roughly 11 weeks to flower indoors, at which point she'll be laden up to 650g/m² of buds boasting delicious aromas and a strong cerebral high.

Shining Silver Haze
23_genetic background_1 Haze x (Skunk x Northern Light)
33_Yield indoors_1 600 - 650 gr/m2
31_plant height outdoor_1 80 - 120 cm
25_flowering time_1 9 - 11 weeks
29_THC_1 THC: 21%
28_Type Blend_1 Sativa 75% Indica 25%
34_yield outdoor_1 600 - 650 gr/plant
32_plant height outdoors_1 180 - 220 cm
27_harvest period_1 Late October
22_Effect_1 Heavy

Buy Shining Silver Haze

4. Bubblegum XL

Bubblegum XL

Our Bubblegum XL takes classic Dutch genetics and revives them into a delicious, high-yielding, well-balanced hybrid. Exploding with candy-sweet aromas and 19% THC, this cross of Power Plant and Santa Maria perfectly balances sativa and indica genetics, offering a manageable stature (80–140cm) and an 8–9-week flowering time that's perfect for growers cultivating in small rooms/tents. Gear up for yields of up to 500g/m².

Bubblegum XL
23_genetic background_1 Power Plant x Santa Maria
33_Yield indoors_1 450 - 500 gr/m2
31_plant height outdoor_1 80 - 140 cm
25_flowering time_1 8 - 9 weeks
29_THC_1 THC: 19%
28_Type Blend_1 Sativa 50% Indica 50%
34_yield outdoor_1 400 - 450 gr/plant
32_plant height outdoors_1 160 - 200 cm
27_harvest period_1 October
22_Effect_1 Calming, Uplifting

Buy Bubblegum XL

5. Amnesia Haze

Amnesia Haze

Amnesia Haze is one of the most famous sativas of the last decades. A long-time coffeeshop favourite, this 70% sativa-dominant strain boasts an almost psychedelic high, delicious Haze aromas and flavours, and, best of all, grow traits that perfectly suit indoor growers—she grows to 80–140cm and is ready after 11 weeks of bloom!

Amnesia Haze
23_genetic background_1 Original Amnesia Haze
33_Yield indoors_1 600 - 650 gr/m2
31_plant height outdoor_1 80 - 140 cm
25_flowering time_1 10 - 11 weeks
29_THC_1 THC: 22%
28_Type Blend_1 Sativa 70% Indica 30%
34_yield outdoor_1 650 - 700 gr/plant
32_plant height outdoors_1 175 - 210 cm
27_harvest period_1 Late October
22_Effect_1 Long Lasting , Physically Relaxing, Powerful

Buy Amnesia Haze

Growing Sativas Indoors Is Possible!

As you can see, growing sativas indoors is challenging, but rewarding. It’s certainly achievable, but it pays dividends to choose genetics that are more primed to flourish under grow lights and spatial limitations. With a little care and upkeep, satisfying yields of quality sativa buds are yours!

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Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

SECTION 4 – HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR DATA?

At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

SECTION 5 – COOKIES

Cookies are small information files that notify your computer of previous interactions with our website. These cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our website. Essentially, when you use our website, your computer displays its cookies to us, informing our site that you have visited before. This allows our website to function more quickly and remember aspects related to your previous visits (such as your username), making your experience more convenient. At Royal Queen Seeds, we use two types of cookies: functional and analytical.

5.1 Functional Cookies

Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

5.2 Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

SECTION 5 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

SECTION 6 – SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: