Plant physiology: The Don Carlos cultivar generally grows tall with sturdy stalks, making trellising fairly easy. Depending on conditions, it is usually recommended to top Don Carlos one to two times while in its first month of vegetative growth. Flowering comes fast once lighting changes. Buds develop quickly into very dense, trichome-covered, golf ball sized flowers that are convenient for trimming.
Yield: Overall, Don Carlos is an average to high yielding plant that will work for any style of cultivation thanks to its strong structure and familiar growth habits. Often fetching cultivators over three pounds per light with traditional lighting, Don Carlos seems to be performing well in LED grows with its dense flowers counteracting the sometimes-loose flowers seen in LED grows. Outdoors, Don Carlos is a monster plant.
Flowering time: Don Carlos is a fast-flowering cultivar. Expect to flower Don Carlos for 55 days indoors and harvest around the 1st-5th of October in outdoor gardens grown in the continental U.S. Don Carlos does work in more equatorial climates like Jamaica, but flowering is simply based on the timing of planting or if light hours are added in vegetative growth, then 55 days after field planting.
Ideal lighting: Don Carlos wants high light intensity regardless of whether it’s grown indoors or outside. When using LED fixtures, make sure that light intensity is high. When using HPS lights, make sure ventilation is good, because the first two weeks of the flowering stage can be slightly more sensitive. Be sure that Don Carlos has as much sun as possible when cultivating outdoors.
Ideal temperature: Don Carlos doesn’t mind the heat but responds best when temps are between 75-80 °F indoors and 75-100 °F outdoors. Ventilation and access to water in the root zone is key.
Ideal humidity: Humidity between 50%-90% is acceptable during vegetative growth, but the lower, the better. During flower, like any cannabis cultivar, it’s wise to try to keep humidity low.
Water needs: Don Carlos is a fairly demanding cultivar if you want it to reach its full potential, but can weather times of low water well.
Nutrient needs: When growing indoors, we suggest heavy feeding for Don Carlos during the vegetative stage and starting to infuse phosphorous early before switching the plant to flower. For outdoor or greenhouse grows, Don Carlos wants to have all its needs mixed into the soil, although it will benefit from fertigation with NPK throughout veg and shifting to primarily PK for the early stages of flower.
Susceptibility to disease: Don Carlos has shown resistance to many of the common cannabis pathogens, particularly when grown from seed. Humboldt Seed Co. tests all its seed for Hop Latent Viroid (HpLVd) and other viruses known to affect cannabis plants. While not particularly susceptible to mold and mildew, like any cannabis plant, Don Carlos can get moldy if humidity is too high or if foreign material or waste is found in the flower’s formation.
Cannabinoid profile: THC average 20%-25%, CBD average < 1%
Terpene profile: The dominant terpenes are pinene, myrcene, and caryophyllene.
