Do you want to know how long can you save your cannabis seeds? We will tell you today.

There is nothing like growing your own plants. And if they’re cannabis plants, even better!

But what happens when you want to plant just a few of your Hurcann’s Blue Ridge Fog seeds? Can you store the rest of your seeds for later, or do you mandatorily have to gift or raffle them among your friends?

Today, let’s discover how long cannabis seeds last.

How long do cannabis seeds last?

Could you believe me if I told you that cannabis seeds could last up to 15 years?

Pretty impressive, huh?

But this outstanding preservation quality is not exclusive to cannabis seeds. And it is also quite hard to achieve. Low temperatures, among other factors, are required to fulfill this prowess.

Regardless of what you’ve seen on Reddit forums, it is practically impossible that you can regrow a seed recovered from the Vietnam war. Even the best quality seeds, with the best genetics, rarely last that long. And not only because they’re thrown at a planting pot really fast, but also because this type of duration is rare to find.

But don’t get blue just yet, because there is still some hope for your old seeds.

When properly stored, cannabis seeds can last up to 3 years with all their features intact. There is even anecdotal data on people growing 5-year-old seeds and harvesting high-quality, THC-loaded, big-bud plants.

And by anecdotal I mean me and some people I know.

But it is crucial to state time and time again that for this to occur all seeds must be stored appropriately and under the right conditions.

And, what are those conditions, you ask?

How to store your cannabis seeds

So, now that you know you can hold on to your seeds for quite a while, it comes very useful knowing the best practices to keep them alive and healthy for a long time.

Packaging

So, the first thing is to keep them in a proper place that will keep them from getting ruined.

The place to store your seeds is just as important as other factors, such as light, temperature, or even the seed’s quality.

So, the first step is finding the perfect container to keep them. Here in Hurcann we always recommend keeping the original package intact so you can keep them in the best conditions.

But, if the excitement for your new seed was too much and you already just ripped that bag off, do not worry there are other options you can use.

The second best place to put your seeds for storage is a Tupper container. These containers can be hermetically closed, which helps to keep all the seeds' properties longer, protecting them from external factors such as temperature or light changes.

You can also save your seeds in a ziplock bag.

Temperature

Cannabis seeds are very much alive. From the second they’re produced by the plant, they’re living beings just waiting to start growing.

In natural conditions, cannabis flowers bloom once a year around autumn. Then, they die, releasing all their seeds on the soil, and staying in latency until the cold season passes.

When it’s warmer outside, on spring, oh smart plants, they start germinating again to gift us with their beautiful, resinous, and psychotropic buds.

This gives you a clear light on the type of temperature your seeds need in every stage of the process. In your case, you’re looking to store them for as long as you can and in the best possible conditions, so you’re looking for a temperature that goes from 2ºC to no more than 4ºC to ensure the seed will stay alive without freezing.

The ideal place to find this temperature is the higher shelf of your refrigerator. Avoid placing the Tupper on the fridge’s door so the temperature stays stable. Putting your Tupper way back on the higher shelf is the best option.

Humidity

Once you get your seeds in your Tupper, it’s time to control humidity. Although humidity is needed to some degree to avoid your seeds from freezing out or getting too dry, it’s important to keep a right level to avoid rot or the appearance of fungi.

The optimum humidity level shouldn’t be higher than 8%. This can be difficult to achieve inside your fridge because at times everyone’s fridge seems to be leaking and way too cold (or is it just my old and rickety refrigerator?)

But you can help to control your stored seeds’ humidity by placing one or two silica gel bags inside your Tupper. They will absorb any humidity excess and keep your seeds healthy and happy.

If you’re feeling more natural, ditch the silica bags and replace them with a bunch of raw rice. They will do the same work and you’ll feel more organic.

Don’t just put the two things together. Make sure to separate your cannabis seeds from your rice or silica by using a paper towel between them.

Also, make sure to take a look on your seeds from time to time. If you see condensation droplets, then it’s time to change the rice or silica gel bags.

Light

Light is another aspect to consider when storing your seeds. Cannabis, just like any other seeds, are better stored when placed in a dark space. Big amounts of light could force them to start their germination process, or make them use their resources and energy, thus eliminating their potential to break loose and turn into the babies of your eyes.

So, basically, light is bad for seeds storage. This means that when storing your seeds on your fridge, you’ll need to make sure that little to no light reaches them.

To beat this inconvenient situation, make sure to place your seeds’ Tupper all the way back of your fridge’s higher shelf. Placing one or two paper towels on top will also keep them away from light. If you’re still uncertain about your seeds being dark enough, you can put your tupper inside a dark plastic or paper bag. Make sure the Tupper is perfectly sealed to avoid extra humidity.

Even though this is the ultimate, most effective way to store your seeds to use them later, this is not the only way you can do it:

Dark, warm, and dry

Not looking to go through the ackward question “Why the hell are there a bunch of strange looking seeds in my fridge”? No problem, we’ve got you covered as well.

If you can’t, or simply won’t store your seeds on the fridge, all you need is to find a corner in your closet, a drawer, or any other space that is little used, very dark, completely dry, and with little to no temperature changes.

You can use a Tupper as well, but in this case a small ziplock bag will do the trick and avoid your seeds from getting too dry. You can place a piece of clothing to ensure darkness and warmth.

This method will serve to store your seeds for a long time, but of course not as longer as inside the refrigerator.

Frozen

Have you noticed that everyone has a Tupper inside their freezer? Most of the times, it has been there for ages, and no one is really sure about what’s inside.

Well buddy, that Tupper could be yours, with your seeds on it.

Just place your seeds inside a ziplock bag. Then, put the bag inside your favorite Tupper, and place a few paper towels on top. Put rice or silica gel on top pf the paper towels, close your Tupper, and place in the back corner of your freezer. 

Seeds stored in this way can last (allegedly) up to 10 years with their marvelous features untainted. Just keep in mind once defrost you can’t re-freeze them again, so you may want to store them in batches.

Types of seeds

Now, what are the best seeds to store and use for later?

Well, sorry buddy, there is no right or wrong answer.

Regardless of the strain you decide to store, know that the bigger, chubbier seeds will always last longer than smaller ones. If you’re planning to just grow a few seeds and saving the rest for another time, store the biggest seeds and start planting the smallest ones first.

Also, take a good look of your seeds, and get rid of any ones that look broken, flaky, extremely small, or with any other bad feature.

You won’t have that problem with our Freeman Maui Grape, or any of our other strains because they’re… well, they’re the bomb, but it’s something to consider if you buy seeds in any other store.

When it comes to seeds, you can divide them into 3 groups:

Regular seeds

These are the most basic seeds. They’re just as if you’d find them in nature: each seed has a 1 on 3 chances to be male, female, or hermaphrodite.

With regular seeds, it’s a game of chances. You can get a bunch of male plants, just as you could have a bit of everything. These are the seeds that you will normally find on outdoor, natural cannabis growing.

The sex of each plant will depend on the weather, light, humidity, and other variables, that most of the time you just can’t control, which is the reason why most people rather buy seeds than just throwing a bunch of seeds on the ground and see what happens.

Feminized seeds

As their name state it, feminized cannabis plants produce only female plants, which as you know, are the plants you want if you’re looking to get high on marijuana.

To obtain feminized seeds, scientists expose the cannabis plants to gibberellic acid, a phytohormone that causes cannabis plants to produce seeds with only female cromosomes.

The result? The best and chubbiest flowers, full of cannabinoids and terpenes.

Self-flowering seeds

Self-flowering seeds are a high-technology type of seed. It’s created by combining all three cannabis varieties: Cannabis Indica, Cannabis Sativa and Cannabis Rudelaris. This process achieves a top-of-the line type of plant that doesn’t depent on any photoperiod to bloom, and that is ready to be harvested on 45 days or last.

Evidently, this is the favorite type of plant for many. Due to is lower and easiest mantainance, is a preferred by many new cannabis farmers out there.

How to grow your seeds after storage

Now that you’ve got the blueprint to a successfull cannabis seeds storage, you may want to know about how to grow them after storing them so carefully.

I mean, it would be terrible that you stored your seeds so carefully, gently, and for so long just to then ruin everything by not germinate them properly, right?

Luckily for you, we’ll tell you that, too.

This is what you have to do to plant your stored seeds:

If you kept them on the freezer

• Take your seeds out from the freezer
• Place your seeds package on a dark, warm, dry place
• Let your seed “wake up” at least 24 hours
• Next day, start your preferred germination process
• You can only freeze your seeds once

If you kept them on the refrigerator

• Take your seeds out from the fridge
• Open your package, make sure the seeds are in good state.
• Remove the silica gel or the rice
• Change your seeds paper towel
• Place the open Tupper covered with the paper in a dark, warm, dry place
• Let your seeds rest a few hours
• Germinate your seeds the way best suits you

If you kept them in a dry, dark, warm place (like the closet or a drawer)

• Remove your seeds from their storage place
• Start the germination process

Should you store your seeds or buy them right before you use them?

Seeds have been stored for ages. In ancient times, farmers would take seeds from their best harvests to regrow products with the same qualities of the ones they felt most proud of.

Having a seeds bank can be a great idea because you can still have the power to plant even if there’s no availability, the prices rise, or anything else happen.

But to ensure that you’re saving good seeds, you need to start by getting the best possible seeds in the first place.

In Hurcanne we offer high-quality seeds that are worth growing and storing.

Visit our store and check it out!