Strains & products

Best autoflower seeds for an epic 2022 garden

Published on May 11, 2022 · Last updated May 12, 2022
C.R.E.A.M.: Caramel Cream Autos rule everything around me. (Courtesy Humboldt Seed Company)
Caramel Cream Auto (Courtesy Humboldt Seed Company).

Late to starting that pot garden for ‘22? You’re right on time for 2022’s hottest in autoflower seeds.

Aspiring pot gardeners and even aficionados have found out that now’s the best time ever to grow autoflower weed. Autos grow easier than regular seeds and there are more, better, tastier ones than ever.

You can buy them online or in stores, plant ‘em indoors or out and you’re going to get a crop by Halloween. This year, expect strong, heady smoke from D.C. Seed Exchange, Mephisto Genetics, Humboldt Seed Company, Fast Buds, Gas Reaper Genetics, and more.

Autoflowers breeders have dialed in new, bold colors, mold and mite resistance, heavy hash production, sick yields, and of course hearty buds that deliver a pirate’s booty of biomass at your disposal.

We spoke with several popular seed banks to analyze sales data, trends, and popularity to determine which seeds to sprout in your soil in 2022. From there, interviews with several top breeders in the auto game gave us further insights into the cultivars, terpene profiles, and unique traits they worked for their favorite auto creations as of late.

Mephisto Monday seed drops go off

“We sell a lot of autos,” said D.C. Seed Exchange’s owner Paul N. Chucker in a recent conversation with Leafly. “A big reason why is because the average homegrower isn’t looking to take on another job in order to cultivate, such as with photoperiod seeds.”

Mango Smile by breeder Mephisto Genetics. (Courtesy Mephisto)
Mango Smile by breeder Mephisto Genetics. (Courtesy Mephisto)

Check out Mephisto Mondays for a hot seed drop like their sick Stomper crosses Mango Smile, or Strawberry Nuggets. The equally popular Mephisto off-shoot, Night Owl Seeds also does public and exclusive drops like super-sweet auto Mango Isle F2. It’s got melon and citrus flavor and sativa-dominant effects.

Autoflowers for dessert from Humboldt Seed Company and more

Not your Dad's autoflower seeds: Mint Jelly Auto. (Courtesy Humboldt Seed Company)
Not your Dad’s autoflower seeds: Mint Jelly Auto. (Courtesy Humboldt Seed Company)

Humboldt Seed Company’s newer auto Mint Jelly grows hearty and hits hard. The high-THC, peppermint icing cake pop strain crosses Sour Apple and photoperiod powerhouse “Hella Jelly”–one of “Leafly’s 10 trending cannabis cultivars of 22.”

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“For this one, I think that peppermint is just such a unique terpene profile and the appearance takes on the look of Humboldt Pound Cake, but with even bigger, kushier buds,” said Nat Pennington, founder of HSC.

Pennington and the team also bring the ruckus here in the baked goods aisle with their Pineapple Muffin Auto—a balanced hybrid with a skunky, pineapple upside-down cake flavor. Also check out Caramel Cream Auto, which has a smell “like a Gelato, but gassier, more offensive, and super-seductive.”

Nat Pennington talks autos in 2022 (44:00)

Mephisto Forum Stomper keeps stomping the competition as one of the top auto cookies cultivars despite years on the market. This young lady brings dank, minty funk wherever she grows, and extractors love how much she produces.

Fast Buds produces high-yielding and resilient dessert strains as part of their popular wheelhouse – including Wedding Cheesecake Auto, Gelato Auto, and top-selling Gorilla Cookies Auto.

See also: Magic Strains Nite Blood with its strawberry cheesecake earthiness, Gas Reaper Genetics Bessie Cake; Barney’s Farm Blue Gelato 41 Auto; and Twenty20 Mendocino’s CBD/THC balanced Vidamints.

Runtz autos from Gas Reaper and more

Gas Reaper Genetics sells several Runtz crosses with the familiar hues and sour candy terpenes that made it Leafly Strain of the Year. These include DeezRuntz, Frozen Runtz Auto, and MacaRuntz Auto.

If you wanna talk purple and autos we’re gonna have to mention Dan Jimmie of Gnome Automatics (formerly Mandalorian). Dan’s currently breeding his Anvil F8 and soon-to-be-released Mothman strain to a deep, consistent glowing purple.

See also: Night Owl Seeds quick-finishing Blue Microverse, Ethos Banana Daddy & Forbidden Zkittlez; Twenty20 Mendocinos’ gassy candy, Whisky Zulu; Indica-dominant/CBD flower Alpen Gleux from High Alpine Genetics, Humboldt Seed Company’s classic PPD now in autoflower; and the very salivary Nurple from Binary Selections.

Autoflower grapes and gas from North Atlantic

Crem De La Chem by breeder Mephisto Genetics. (Courtesy Mephisto)
Crem De La Chem by breeder Mephisto Genetics. (Courtesy Mephisto)

Auto growers want the same trendy fruit and fuel flavors as regular growers, said Beth Mathieu of North Atlantic Seed Co. “As with photoperiods, the terp hype seems to be the same with autoflower—grape and gas and fruit all day long!”

Night Owl Seeds rolls out some amazing Bruce Banner auto crosses in their arsenal like the sativa-dominant gas of Queens Banner and the grape gas of the more indica-leaning Star Spangled Banner 3.

Not to be outdone, Creme de la Chem by Mephisto has a floral gasoline so intense that your neighbors will think you are about to torch it for the insurance money.

See also: Ethos sweet diesel, Pluto Cut Autoflower RF3; Mosca Seeds Kushy Chem Auto,West Coast OG Auto, Frosted Guava Auto, Frosted Watermelon Auto; and Purple City Genetics Autofuel.

Night Owl Seeds' 'exotic birdseed'—Star Spangled Banner 3. Get it! Banner! (Courtesy Night Owl Seeds)
Night Owl Seeds’ ‘exotic birdseed’—Star Spangled Banner 3. Get it! Banner! (Courtesy Night Owl Seeds)

Check in with these top breeders or any favorites we couldn’t cover here for new drops and releases in ’22.

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Anthony DiMeo
Anthony DiMeo
Anthony DiMeo is a cannabis advocate and journalist who still believes countercultural evolution is possible. His work and advocacy has been featured in DOPE, Extraction Magazine, Terpenes & Testing Magazine, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
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