The amount of usable flower a single cannabis plant produces, known as its yield, is not a fixed number. Production varies dramatically based on the environment, the genetic makeup of the plant, and the cultivation practices used. The final yield is always measured by the weight of the dried, cured flower, which is the final consumable product.
Typical Yield Ranges
The expected harvest from one plant depends almost entirely on the cultivation setting, with indoor growers often measuring efficiency by total space rather than per plant. In a small indoor tent setup, a single plant typically yields between 50 and 450 grams of dried flower. Autoflowering strains, which have a shorter lifecycle, generally produce smaller amounts, often falling within the 75 to 150-gram range per plant.
Commercial indoor facilities often focus on metrics like yield per square foot or yield per watt of lighting to maximize efficiency across the entire space. A well-managed indoor canopy typically achieves a yield of 35 to 75 grams of dry flower per square foot of growing area. Another common benchmark is the “gram per watt” ratio, where a skilled grower aims to harvest one gram of dried product for every watt of light energy supplied to the canopy.
Outdoor plants, benefiting from the full spectrum and intensity of natural sunlight, can grow to a much larger size. A single outdoor plant, given a long growing season and ideal conditions, can produce between 400 and 750 grams of dried flower. Exceptional outdoor harvests from massive, well-maintained plants can sometimes exceed 1,000 grams, or one kilogram, per plant.
Primary Determinants of Plant Size and Output
The genetic blueprint of the strain sets the ultimate ceiling for how much a plant can produce. Traditional Cannabis sativa varieties, which tend to grow tall and lanky, often take longer to mature but can achieve very high yields outdoors due to their sheer size. Cannabis indica varieties are generally shorter and bushier with denser flowers, sometimes resulting in a higher weight-per-volume indoors.
Light intensity is the single most influential factor a grower can control, as it directly powers photosynthesis and the formation of flower mass. Indoor growers use metrics like Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density (PPFD), aiming for 600 to 1,000 micromoles per square meter per second during the flowering phase. The total amount of light a plant receives over a 24-hour period, known as the Daily Light Integral, dictates the maximum potential size and density of the final flowers.
Proper nutrient management is also necessary to support the plant’s high metabolic demands during flowering. Cannabis requires different ratios of macronutrients, specifically Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K), during its life cycle. Phosphorus and Potassium are particularly important during the bloom phase to support the formation of large, dense flower clusters.
Cultivation techniques allow growers to manipulate the plant’s structure to maximize light exposure and create more flowering sites. Methods like topping, which removes the main growth tip, forces the plant to distribute energy laterally, creating multiple main colas instead of just one. Low Stress Training (LST) and Screen of Green (SCROG) involve bending and weaving branches to form a flat, uniform canopy, ensuring that all flowers receive optimal light energy.
Understanding Final Weight Calculation
Converting a fresh harvest into a usable final product involves a significant loss of mass. When cannabis is first harvested, it is referred to as “wet weight” because the plant material is saturated with water. Freshly cut buds are composed of approximately 75% to 80% water.
During the subsequent drying and curing process, most of this moisture evaporates, resulting in a substantial weight reduction. The final “dry weight” that is ready for consumption is typically only 20% to 30% of the initial wet weight. For example, a plant yielding one pound of wet, untrimmed flower will likely result in only 3 to 4 ounces of dried bud.
Further weight loss occurs during the trimming stage, where excess sugar leaves and stems are removed to prepare the final manicured flower. Commercial cultivators and home growers often use different metrics to gauge success. Home growers typically focus on grams per plant, while commercial operations use grams per square foot or grams per watt to measure efficiency.