Average outdoor yield per plant
An outdoor cannabis plant yields 1 oz to 3 lb (28 g to 1.4 kg) of dry flower. The middle of that range for a home grower is 4 to 8 oz (112 to 227 g) per plant. Sun-grown field plants in California and Oregon reach 2 to 5 lb per plant when the season runs long. All numbers here are dry weight, after trimming and curing.
expected yield for a single weed plant in soil
Yield by plant type and pot size
- Autoflower, 3 to 5 gal pot, short season: 1 to 3 oz (28 to 85 g)
- Photoperiod, 15 to 30 gal pot, 4 weeks of veg: 3 to 6 oz (85 to 170 g)
- Photoperiod, 50 to 100 gal pot, 8 or more weeks of veg, full sun: 8 oz to 2 lb (227 to 907 g)
- Field plant, 100+ gal root zone, warm climate, long season: 2 to 5 lb (907 g to 2.3 kg)
- Contest and record plants: 10 lb and above. Real, but not a planning figure.
Sun hours
Six hours of direct light is the floor for a plant that finishes. Eight to 10 hours of direct summer sun adds yield. Shade from a wall, a fence, or a tree cuts the number fast. A plant that gets 4 hours of sun yields half of the same clone in the open.
best nutrients for high yielding cannabis plants
Root volume
Pot size caps plant size. Roots run out of room before genetics do in most home gardens. A 5 gal pot holds a 2 oz plant. A 100 gal bed holds a 1 lb plant. Doubling root volume does not double yield, but it raises the ceiling.
how many plants to get one pound of weed
Veg time
Outdoor plants flower on the sun's schedule. In the US, that shift starts in late July to mid August as nights pass 10 hours. A clone set out in June gets 8 to 10 weeks of veg and more bud sites. A clone set out in July gets less. Each week of veg adds nodes, and nodes carry flower.
How Many Plants to Get One Pound of Weed
Strain
Fast-finishing indicas and autoflowers yield less per plant but finish before frost. Sativa-leaning plants and long-flowering hybrids yield more where the season allows 10 or more weeks of flower. Seed bank yield claims assume ideal conditions. Treat them as a ceiling.
Dry weight math
Fresh flower loses 75 to 80 percent of its mass during drying. A branch that hangs at 2 lb fresh weighs 6 to 8 oz dry. Weigh after a 10 to 14 day dry and a cure. Wet weight guesses run high.
US latitude and season length
Southern states give a longer frost-free window and later harvest. The northern tier faces frost in late September and early October, which pushes growers toward autoflowers and fast photoperiods. A short season costs yield per plant, not yield per dollar.
Convenience versus yield
Convenience costs yield. A plant in a 5 gal pot on a patio needs water and little else and gives 1 to 3 oz. A plant in a 100 gal bed in full sun needs trellis, weekly pest checks, and 10 to 20 gal of water a week and gives 10 times the flower. Growers who pick the small pot accept the lower number. The gap between the two is the single largest factor in outdoor yield after sun hours.
How to estimate your own harvest
- Count top colas at week 4 of flower.
- Assume 3 to 7 g dry per cola on a plant in a 15 to 30 gal pot.
- Add lower buds at 1 to 2 g each.
- Cut the total by 15 percent for loss to mold, pests, and trim.