Can You Grow Multiple Cannabis Strains In The Same Room?

Absolutely! You can grow multiple cannabis strains in one grow room, but don’t expect it to be a walk in the park. Different strains come with different needs — light, nutrients, and environmental conditions — so juggling them together takes some skill. 

That said, with the right approach, you can successfully manage multiple strains without sacrificing your plant health or yield. In this article, learn how to do exactly that. Let’s start. 

Why Grow Multiple Cannabis Strains Together?

Growing different strains in the same room isn’t just about having variety in your stash (though that’s definitely a bonus). There are some solid reasons why this might actually be a smart move for your garden.

1. More Variety, More Fun

One strain can only give you so much. Maybe you want something mellow for the evening and an energetic buzz for daytime use. Here, having different strains on hand means you won’t have to run to the dispensary when you’re craving a different high.

2. Better Success Rate

Growing just one strain means putting all your eggs in one basket. If pests, mold, or any other issue hits, your entire crop is at risk. But when you grow multiple strains, their genetic diversity can help protect your garden — some plants may be more resistant to specific issues than others. 

3. Level Up Your Growing Skills

Each strain has its quirks — some grow tall, some stay short, some are picky eaters, and some are practically weeds (pun intended). Learning to manage different strains at once forces you to step up your game, making you a better grower in the long run.

The Downsides of Growing Multiple Cannabis Strains in the Same Room

Of course, there’s another side to the coin. Growing different strains together can be tricky, especially if you're still finding your footing as a grower. Here’s why.

1. It’s More Challenging

If you're just getting started, managing multiple strains might feel like herding cats. Trying to balance all the various factors while you're still learning can get overwhelming — fast.

2. Space Gets Tight

Your grow room isn’t infinite. Some strains stretch tall, others stay bushy, and if they’re all crammed together, things can get really crowded. Lack of space can limit airflow, making it easier for mold and pests to take hold. If you’re working with a small setup, this could become a serious headache.

3. Light and Nutrient Imbalances

One strain might thrive under intense light, while another hates it. The same goes for nutrients — some strains need heavy feeding, while others do just fine with a lighter touch. If your lighting setup is basic or you don’t want to mix multiple nutrient solutions, one strain might end up suffering.

Factors to Consider When Growing Multiple Strains

If you’re planning to grow different cannabis strains in the same room, a little strategy goes a long way. Not all strains play nice together, so you’ll need to think ahead to avoid issues and ensure a smooth, successful harvest. Here’s what you should keep in mind.

1. Choose the Right Strains

Not all strains are built the same. Some grow tall, some stay short and while some are quick bloomers, others take their own sweet time. If you mix strains with wildly different needs, you’ll spend more time troubleshooting than actually growing.

For a better experience, you should pick strains that are similar in size, growth speed, and nutrient requirements. If your main strain is compact and flowers fast, the others should have a similar profile.

2. Growth Cycles Matter

Every strain has its own timeline. One might be ready for harvest in seven weeks, while another could take ten or more. If you don’t plan properly, you might end up with plants at completely different growth stages, making things tricky when it comes to lighting schedules and nutrients.

If you're set on mixing strains, either choose ones with similar flowering times or have a plan in place to accommodate the differences.

3. Light Requirements

Light is one of the biggest challenges when growing multiple strains. Some strains thrive under intense light, while others struggle and get burned. If one strain needs a high PPFD (light intensity), another may prefer lower levels, so you’ll need to adjust your setup to avoid issues.

4. Nutrient Management

This is another potential headache. Different strains have different appetites — some are heavy feeders, while others prefer a lighter diet.

If you’re growing multiple strains, you may need to:

• Mix separate nutrient solutions for different plants
• Use a balanced, middle-ground feeding schedule that works for most of your strains
• Monitor your plants closely and adjust feeding if you notice deficiencies or excesses

Tips for Growing Different Cannabis Strains in One Room

If you're serious about growing multiple strains in the same space, planning is only half the battle. The real work begins once your plants start growing. To help you navigate the challenge, here are some tried-and-tested tips to keep your garden thriving.

1. Train Your Plants

Different strains grow at different rates — some shoot up like bamboo, while others stay short and bushy. Without proper training, you'll end up with an uneven canopy, leading to light distribution issues and potential overcrowding.

To keep things under control, you can use training techniques like:

• Low-Stress Training (LST): Gently bend and tie branches to create a more even canopy
• Screen of Green (ScrOG): Use a net to guide plant growth horizontally for better light exposure
• Topping: Cut the main stem to encourage more lateral growth and keep plants from getting too tall

2. Optimize Light for Every Strain

Light is a major factor in cannabis growth, and when you're working with multiple strains, it can get tricky. So, how do you make sure every strain gets what it needs?

Here are a few strategies:

• Place high-PPFD strains in the center, where the light is strongest, and keep light-sensitive strains around the edges
• Adjustable LED panels let you control intensity for different areas of your grow room, so invest in those
• Experiment with Training; techniques like LST and ScrOG can help ensure that every plant gets its fair share of light

If you have a wide range of light requirements, you might have to find a compromise — setting the light intensity at a level that works for most strains, even if it’s not 100% optimal for all.

3. Manage Nutrient Needs Carefully

When you grow multiple strains in one room, nutrient management becomes difficult. This is because some strains require high levels of nutrients while other strains are light feeders that will burn easily. Balancing their needs is essential for successful cultivation. 

Here's how to balance different nutrient needs:

• Begin with a balanced base nutrient mix

Use a balanced nutrient solution containing macronutrients NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) and micronutrients (Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Zinc, etc.) as a starting point. To start, use a mild-strength mix and slowly increase each plant based on the reaction.

• Use Separate Feeding Schedules

If it’s possible, prepare customized nutrient solutions for different strains. Then, keep your heavy feeders and light feeders in separate pots so you can feed them individually and not all in one go. To make it easier, try to keep strains that feed similarly as close as possible. 

• Check for Inadequate and Toxic Conditions

Check for yellowing leaves and stunted growth to spot deficiencies, as well as burnt tips and dark colors to see toxicity. Also, change nutrient levels slowly; do not shock your plants by making overnight changes. To know if the nutrients present in the water are within a safe range for all strains, you must use a TDS/EC meter.

Don’t forget to adjust the pH levels to ensure optimum uptake since an imbalance in the pH levels can cause deficiencies even if the nutrients are present in the soil. 

Many different strains have slightly different optimum pH levels they prefer. However, keeping a general medium of 6.0-7.0 in soil and 5.5–6.5 in hydro ensures maximum absorption. Thus, regularly monitor pH with a pH meter to avoid nutrient lockout.

• Consider Organic Super Soil

Using living soil or super soil will reduce your need to add any synthetic nutrients into the soil. This is because those soils provide their own slow-release nutrients throughout the life cycle of the plant. 

If use super soil, grow a mix of different strains as they will absorb what they need naturally and won't get overfed.

• Use Supplements Wisely

Some strains can benefit from extra supplements like silica for sturdier stems, amino acids for growth, or mycorrhizae for roots. However, if you’re unsure, go lighter on nutes. Remember that adding too much nutrients becomes hard to reverse but adding less is fine. If the plants are overfed, flush with pH-balanced water and start again. 

4. Plan for Different Flowering Times

It’s crucial to consider flowering times when growing multiple strains in a room. Some strains finish quickly in 7–8 weeks, while other sativas or long-flowering hybrids can take 10–12 weeks or longer. If you are not careful about it, this difference can cause uneven harvesting and chaos will follow. 

Here are a few tips to handle staggered harvests:

Get Ready for Different Harvest Times

• If one strain finishes maturing before the others, be ready to harvest, dry, and cure that strain while the others are still growing. 
• On harvest day, you don’t want to be running around trying to get your drying area set up, so make sure you have everything ready. 
• Keep the harvested plants separate from the ones that still are growing. Otherwise, their humidity will rise and may affect growth.

Opt for Drying Tents or Other Places

• Whenever it’s possible, dry your early harvests in a separate area so as not to interfere with the light, humidity, or airflow of the rest.
• If you're going to dry the plants in the same room, use a drying tent and a carbon filter to mask the odor.

Extend The Vegetative Phase For Slower Strains

• If you are aware of the prolonged flowering period of a particular strain, you can give it more time in veg before switching the light to 12/12. It helps to time the harvests as slower strains have time to bulk up before 12/12.

​Use Selective Harvesting for Staggered Ripeness

• Sometimes, the upper parts of the plant ripen quickly whereas the lower parts take some more time. In such cases, harvest only the ripeest buds. This method, known as partial harvesting, is helpful for sativas and larger plants, as their buds will not ripen all at once.

Consider Uniform Strain Selection

• If staggered harvests seem overly complicated, opt for strains that share similar flowering times.
• Some breeders offer ‘multi-strain packs’ that are different strains with similar growth cycles to make growing them easier and you can choose such seeds. 

Make plans for storing and curing harvested crops

• If you dry multiple strains at once, label and track them separately, as their curing times and flavors may vary.
• Some strains need to be cured for longer while others can be ready to smoke sooner so be patient!

5. Stay on Top of Pest and Disease Prevention

Some varieties are resilient against pests and diseases while others may be susceptible, especially when growing various strains in the same place. Thanks to this imbalance, it’s best to take preventative measures, as one infested or infected plant can cause issues with the rest of your grow.

How to Prevent Issues:

Always Keep Your Growing Space Clean

• Cleaning and sterilizing pots, tools, trays, and surfaces on a regular basis prevents pathogens that can harm plant growth.
• Don’t let dead leaves and plant material pile up as this attracts pests and creates a breeding ground for mold.
• Keep the area dry so there is no mold, mildew, or fungal growth.

Frequently Examine and Rotate Plants

• Check for signs of pests (such as small holes in the leaves or webbing) or diseases (such as discoloration, wilting, or powdery mildew) on your plants daily. 
• If required, rotate the plants within the space to equalize exposure to light and airflow, and reduce potential weak spots for pests. 
• If one strain has weak resistance, isolate it or place it in a less likely area to be contaminated.

Use Companion Planting to Repel Pests

Some plants repel pests and make soil better when keeping them nearby. Consider placing companion plants like:

• Basil – Repels aphids, spider mites, and whiteflies.
• Marigolds – Deter nematodes and certain fungi.
• Lavender – Naturally wards off moths and mosquitoes.
• Mint – Discourages ants, aphids, and spider mites.
• If you have limited space, essential oil sprays from these plants can help keep the pests away.

Ensure Proper Air Circulation And Humidity Control

• You should use oscillating fans to keep the air moving to avoid stagnant areas where mold and pests can develop. 
• Adjust humidity levels according to the most sensitive strain as some strains do well with slightly moist conditions and others require drier air to prevent problems like bud rot or powdery mildew.
• Do not overcrowd the plants as a thick canopy may trap moisture and promote fungus growth. Trim the leaves to improve airflow.

Quarantine sick plants before introducing them to healthy plants 

• If you see any signs of infestation or disease in a plant, move it away from the other plants and treat the plant separately.
• To treat fungi, you can try organic fungicides that are sulfur-based sprays or diluted hydrogen peroxide.
• If your plant is severely infected, you may go for insecticidal soap or some organic pesticide treatment but keep the treatments as strain-friendly as possible.

Certain strains are more prone to some pests than others. If you’re growing such strains, give them a little more care when it comes to pest management. From increasing the ventilation to spraying it with preventative sprays, there’s a lot you use to ensure they thrive despite being sensitive. 

6. Label Everything and Keep Detailed Notes

When growing more than one strain in the same space, it is important to be organized and ensure each plant gets what it needs. Don't forget to label everything and make notes! When growing multiple strains, keeping everything organized avoids giving them the wrong care.

Why Labeling Helps:

Prevents Confusion

• In the beginning, some strains look similar and mix up easily. Therefore, label each pot (or attach colored tags) to help you remember each plant’s feeding, lighting, and training needs.
• If growing both indica and sativa, you want to know which is which so you can expect height, stretch, and flower time differences.

Helps with Future Grows

• Taking thorough notes helps you learn which strains do well together and which ones need extra attention.
• If you see that some strains work well in some conditions, repeat it for the next grow or plants.
• You can keep records of things like which strains needed more nutrients, which resisted pests better, and which produced the best yield.

Aids in Troubleshooting Issues

• If a plant starts showing signs of nutrient deficiency, pest invasion, or slow growth, and if you have noted down everything related to its feeding, it will be easier to find out exactly what went wrong.
• Some strains react negatively when exposed to stress, while others cope well — having records helps you adjust their care accordingly.
• If you see a strain has problems more than once, you can skip growing it again or change how you do things. 

Label Every Pot Clearly

• Make use of waterproof plant tags or any long-lasting labels that won’t fade due to watering or humidity.
• You can label and code your strains with colors that will help you remember their feeding needs (heavy feeders (add color) light feeder (add color) etc.).
• Label each strain with its name, the seed bank from which it came (if applicable), and any special care notes.

Keep a Digital or Physical Grow Journal

• You can document your grow using Growdiaries or spreadsheets and keep track of watering, nutrients, and the environment. It's also useful to take photos at different points in time. You can do this with all different types of plants to compare their growth to help you understand how differently they grow.

Track Key Information

• Germination Date: Helps in determining the age of each plant and its estimated harvest window.
• Keep a record of feeding amounts and any adjustments. This can help improve the strategies used for growing in the future.
• Track temperature, humidity, and anything else you change that impacts your plants. 

Best Cannabis Strains to Grow Together

With thousands of cannabis strains available, picking the right ones to grow together can be overwhelming. However, the key to a successful multi-strain grow lies in understanding how strains differ in growth patterns, flowering times, and overall care requirements.

To make things easier, here are some strain groupings that thrive well together in the same grow room.

• Strains with Similar Heights

One of the simplest ways to pair strains is by choosing ones with similar heights and flowering times. This prevents uneven canopy growth and makes light distribution more efficient.

Here are some strains that grow well together based on height and bloom cycles:

• Gorilla Glue Auto
• Amnesia Mac Ganja
• Green Gelato
• Royal Medic
• Royal THCV
• Sherbet Queen

• Long-Flowering Cannabis Strains

If you have patience and don’t mind waiting a bit longer for your harvest, long-flowering strains are a great choice. These strains usually take 9 to 11 weeks to bloom but can reward you with high yields and potent effects.

• Haze berry (9 to 11 weeks)
• Chocolate Haze (9 to 11 weeks)
• Hulkberry (9 to 11 weeks)

• Fast-Flowering Cannabis Strains

For those who want a quicker turnaround, fast-flowering strains are ideal. These strains don’t necessarily have to be autoflowers — they simply have a shorter flowering cycle, allowing you to harvest sooner.

• Gorilla Zkittlez Auto (9 to 10 weeks)
• Green Poison (8 to 10 weeks)
• Easy Bud (9 to 10 weeks)
• Special Kush #1 (7 to 8 weeks)
• Quick One (9 to 10 weeks)

• Autoflowering Strains

If speed is your main concern, autoflowering strains are your best bet. These strains don’t rely on light cycles to flower, making them low-maintenance and perfect for growing together.

• Cookies Gelato Auto (8 to 9 weeks)
• Gorilla Glue Auto (6 to 8 weeks)
• North Thunderf*ck Auto (8 to 9 weeks)
• Solomatic Auto (7 to 8 weeks)

Can you Grow Photoperiods and Autoflowers Together? 

Yes, you do it if you do it correctly. In fact, growing autoflowers and photoperiods together can yield great results and be very rewarding. They require different light cycles, grow differently, and prefer different nutrients, so you’ll need to find the right balance to keep both happy.  

Here are a few tips to do it: 

1. Use an 18/6 Light Cycle

The easiest way to grow the photoperiod and autoflower strains together is to keep the grow light on an 18/6 schedule (18 hours on, 6 hours off).

The good news is that since autoflowers don’t require a change to start flowering, they will thrive under 18/6. Therefore, you can grow both photoperiod and autoflower plants together, as they won’t affect each other. You can prolong the veg stage of photoperiod plants and train them while harvesting autoflowers at different intervals. 

Are 20/4 or 24/0 acceptable lighting conditions?

• Autoflowers can handle 20/4 or 24/0, but this will keep photoperiods in veg indefinitely — which may not be ideal if you eventually want them to flower in the same room. 18/6 is the best compromise for growing both together long-term.
• You will want to change your plant’s light schedule to 12/12 eventually so that it starts flowering.

One challenge is that if you’re going to switch to 12/12 for your photoperiod plants, then these autoflowers will get less light and that can mean less yield.

To prevent this, put autoflowers in another space under 18/6 in separate pots so you can move them. If your growing space is limited to a single grow space, autos will still flower under 12/12, but the yields are likely to be less. To make up for that, use high-efficiency LEDs to get maximum intensity during 12 hours. 

To reap harvests on a regular basis, set up a veg tent (18/6) to grow your autos and a flowering tent (12/12) for your photoperiod.

2. Train your Photoperiod Plants

Growing autos and photoperiods together presents some of the biggest challenges of size management. When growing them both together, be mindful of the sizes, although you can train your plants. Also, photoperiod plants overshadow autoflowers, negatively affecting their light exposure, so you’ll definitely have to train them. 

To do so, manage large growing cannabis plants with LST methods to achieve manageable height along with better light penetration.

ScrOG is a technique that uses a trellis net for uniform canopy growth, preventing tall photoperiods from blocking light to smaller autos. Also, training techniques like Topping and Fimming will also help in preventing excessive stretching of the plants. 

That said, try not to train the autos using high-stress techniques. If you have previous experience, go ahead and do it, but since they don’t have much time to recover from heavy pruning or topping, it’s best not to do it, especially if you haven’t trained autos before. Instead, use LST (bending and tying down branches) to get the biggest yield.

3. Arrange Plants According to the Growth Stages

Placing the plants strategically in your grow tent can improve light distribution and airflow.

Here are a few strategies to get the best layout:

• Place taller photo-period plants in the center of your grow space so they receive the strongest light. At the same time, the side plants will still get decent light.
• Place shorter autoflowers at the edges to make sure they get good light to them.
• If photoperiod plants continue to veg while autos start flowering, you can raise the lights to a height that’ll work for them both.
• To guarantee uniform light coverage, it’s best to utilize adjustable LED panels or side lighting.

4. Use Separate Nutrient Schedules

Feeding both at the same time can create problems because autoflowers and photoperiod strains tend to have different requirements.

For instance, autoflowers like fewer nutrients as they can burn quite easily. On the other hand, photoperiod plants can tolerate much higher nutrient levels, especially during veg and flowering.

Here are a few tips to manage these differences: 

• Begin with a balanced base nutrient mix and adapt it as needed according to the plant response.
• If you are growing in soil, you might want to consider organic super soil which has slow release and requires fewer adjustments. 
• If it's a hydro grow, however, you may want to use separate reservoirs if possible. One for the light-feeding autos, and one for the photoperiods.

Keep an eye on your plants — as soon as one strain shows deficiency or toxicity, adjust the feed. If you're not sure about how much to feed autos, half-strength versus photoperiods is a safe bet.

5. Think About a Perpetual Harvest Setup

Growing photoperiods and autos together have one of the biggest advantages: the ability to continuously harvest.

Here are a few tips to create a perpetual harvest:

• Keep your photoperiod plants under an 18/6 light cycle while the autoflowers complete their life cycle.
• Begin new autoflowers every 2-4 weeks to stagger harvests.
• After harvesting many autos, put your photoperiod plants to flower on 12/12. 
• If you can, keep a separate veg tent for starting new autoflowers while your photoperiod plants are flowering.
• This technique guarantees that there is always a plant growing, flowering, or being harvested.

Prop tip: Try growing fast autoflowers (8-9 weeks) with longer photoperiods.

Potential Challenges & Workarounds

Growing photoperiod species and autoflowers together can be an exciting and productive way to maximize your harvest, but it has its own challenges. It is important to know these potential problems and workarounds to have a smooth grow.  Here are a few things you should know:

1. Autoflowers produce lower yields under 12/12

When you switch photoperiod plants to 12/12 for flowering, autos will still flower, but they will have less light which lowers yields. Autoflowers typically do well with long light periods (18+ hours of light) and the switch to 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark may hinder growth.

Solution:

• If you have an extra tent, put your autos in an area with 18/6 light.
• If you can’t relocate your autos to another part of the grow space, supplement with side lights or vertical lighting. Adding extra light can help promote the growth of autos, especially during the flowering stage of your photoperiod plants. This extra lighting can increase the intensity for the autos while the photoperiod plants are in their flowering stage.
• Choose full-spectrum LED lights with adjustable intensity to give autos and photoperiods the right light, without affecting either of their spectrums and growth. Keep light intensity strong for autos and lower it for photoperiods during their flowering stage.

2. Overcrowding and Different Growth Rates

Autoflowers are typically shorter and bushier with faster growth cycles compared to photoperiods, which tend to be taller and take a longer time to flower. If you’re not paying attention, the faster autos can be crowded by photoperiods or the other way around, especially in the same space. Light competition, lack of air movement, and more pests and diseases are some of the problems you will encounter in such cases.

Solution:

• Begin LST or topping and ScrOG early in the veg stage of photoperiod plants to prevent crowding. These methods help control the vertical growth to maintain a manageable canopy that won’t shade smaller autos.
• Plant autos at the periphery of your grow space where they’ll receive side lighting so they can thrive.
• Put your photoperiods in the middle of the space as they will need more light or direct light (especially in flowering). It reduces the risk of being blocked or overcrowded.
• To keep away light blockages and overcrowding, stagger your planting schedules so you’re not growing autos and photoperiods at the same time in their final stages. Plant new autos after a few weeks of planting photoperiods, so they don’t reach peak size at the same time.

3. Nutrient Differences: Autos Prefer Lighter Feeding

Autoflowers usually require smaller doses of nutrients than photoperiods. Because they are smaller and grow faster, they usually get burnt more easily. Photoperiod plants, on the other hand, are stronger than autoflowers, can tolerate heavy feeding, and require more nutrients in the flowering stage.

Solution:

• When using nutrients on autoflowers, it is best to begin with a mild mix or start at half-strength and increase as needed. 
• Feed autos and photoperiods separately as much as possible. If growing hydroponically or in a shared reservoir, a low-strength base nutrient should be used and you might want to add supplements (like cal-mag, phosphorus, or potassium) to fix certain issues without overfeeding your plants.
• Try using organic super soils or compost-based nutrients for your autoflowers as these are slow-release and will help reduce over-feeding. This can be very useful if you’re growing in soil and want a low-maintenance, nutrient-efficient way to feed them.
• Increase nutrient quantity for photoperiods since they can withstand larger doses of nutrients, and more importantly, can flourish with it, especially in the flowering phase when they require lots of phosphorus and potassium for bud development. Therefore, begin with a stronger base mix for photoperiods and modify it when required for autos. 

Summary: Can You Grow Multiple Cannabis Strains In The Same Room?

So, is it worth growing different cannabis strains in the same room? Absolutely — but only if you're willing to put in the extra effort. Growing multiple strains comes with its challenges, but with proper planning and execution, you can achieve a thriving and diverse garden.

That said, planning is everything. Don’t just throw random strains together and hope for the best. Instead, choose compatible strains, manage their light and nutrient needs carefully, and use training techniques to keep everything in check.

And if you're wondering whether you can grow multiple strains in the same tent instead of a full room — yes, you can! It just requires even more careful planning and a well-thought-out setup.