The origins of autoflowering cannabis are still debatable. The strain Lowryder by breeder The Joint Doctor was the original large scale marketed autoflower. Lowryder contains Cannabis ruderalis genetics from a Mexican strain that was referred to as Mexican Rudy and is believed to be created from a cross between a Mexican sativa and a Russian ruderalis. Another theory is that the early genetics came from the first oilseed hemp variety called Finola, which was developed from Russian stock in Finland during 1995. These early hybrids with large amounts of ruderalis genes were lacking some of the finer qualities of high grade cannabis strains available.

Further hybrids from these ruderalis dominant strains were created using some of the more popular and standard photo-period sensitive strains. Since the first mass market autoflower, Lowryder, many improvements have been made by breeders. The genetics behind these new autoflowering strains that breeders are producing are generally not shared or if so only in very vague terms. This secrecy is done to keep others from producing knock offs of the strains, and more often, to obscure revealing that new strains are, more often than not, descended from the original Lowryder, which is often criticized as a substandard strain of low potency.