Autoflower.org
presents
"Meet the Breeders" Series
with Thomas Wisniewski from T-Dubs Shrubs
[Thomas Wisniewski]
With a passion rooted in stability, vigor and fragrance, Thomas has carved out a reputation by meticulously developing autoflowering genetics that deliver bold terpene profiles, resilient phenotypes and crowd-winning performance. At T-Dubs Shrubs, he blends hands-on experience with a breeder’s eye for detail — offering growers reliable, punchy selections built to impress.
Join us as we peel back the curtain on Thomas’s breeding philosophy, his most beloved crosses and how he’s shaping the next generation of autoflower excellence!
[Wild Rapids autoflower line, air-cube run, T-Dubs Shrubs, courtesy of Thomas Wisniewski]
You’ve been described as a “passionate craft grower” for nearly two decades. What key moments or mentors shaped your love for cannabis and autoflowers?
I've always been passionate about growing we always had a garden when I was growing up and I was always involved whether it be pulling weeds rototilling planting. When I turned 18 I started smoking and it was something that my brain was missing at the time I could finally find focus and calm in any turmoil at that point.
At 24 years old I was diagnosed with stage 4 congestive heart failure and it really puts the dose of reality in your psyche. I found peace in growing my own medicine after I was put through a quick learning course by Mike Donato. He was definitely a great head start to growing even before we had access to any of this social media freedom. I liked it so much that I moved two states away so I could grow legally without any hassles at the time.
Since that time I have had to move back to have open heart surgery in 2014 and have an Lvad implanted to support my heart, then a replacement in 2023. But no matter what when I was in the hospital pretty much the only thing that was on my mind was my plants.
How did the name T-Dubs Shrubs come about and what does it represent to you?
The name T-dubs Shrubs goes back when I was a kid not too many people could pronounce my last name for some odd reason so most people just called me "T-dub." But the "Shrubs" came in when I started cutting grass and doing lawn care when I was about 9 years old. And when it came to name my seed company it was almost a no-brainer it went hand in hand with what I was doing.
What drew you from general cannabis growing into small-batch feminized autoflowers for home growers and connoisseurs?
I think it comes down to the fact that I breed for myself first not anybody else, so if I'm not happy with it it's not going out my door.
Space is probably the biggest limiting factor and plant count but I still would prefer quality over quantity any day. Autoflowers offer more than what I think people give them credit for and I just want to be part of that because I see the potential.
Your site invites people into “the world of three-letter vitamins and terpenes.” Can you explain this phrase and how it reflects your approach to plant health and flavor?
The phrase three letter vitamins is just a play on THC, CBD, CBG, etc. I just don't look for THC value there's more to marijuana than just that.
Terpenes on the other hand, there's just so much variation out there and I try to play a little mismatch sometimes to get things that you wouldn't normally find. I look for those unique raunchy punch you in the face terps while I'm breeding. The first two senses you get to use when you encounter any of this medicine is your eyes and nose and I want every sense to be satisfied in the end.
When it comes to health of a plant I tend to stress them to test the resiliency an awful lot. Whether it be running them starting in April outdoors here in Chicago or bending and twisting these plants into pretzels to get the best canopy out of them. I also implement topping, lolli-popping ,super cropping ,complete defoliations multiple times during a grow just so many things I pretty much treat them as photos.
How do you define small craft premium genetics and what does that mean for a grower choosing your seeds?
I would describe "small craft premium genetics" as I'm breeding usually only one keeper plant from any session. It's hard to pick sometimes but you just know it when you see them. I tend to grow a lot of plants just to get a few great ones but that's the name of the game!
So the small craft premium genetics is basically the number of any given cultivar I have; it's limited to usually just one mother plant and one father plant or completely selfed from one plant. I breed for myself first and foremost if I don't like it and I don't want it in my jar or in my bowl it's not going out the door (it'll end up in the fire pit.)
The premium part is I'm not using any inferior genetics. I'm looking for the best out of every plant I grow. I'll take a little bit from here I'll take a little bit from there, then make them my own, then use those to start building my Frankenstein's Monster. It's a never-ending journey!
What guiding principles or quality checks make a cultivar “ready” to carry the T-Dubs Shrubs label?
Anything getting the T-Dubs Shrubs logo and going out my door is passing high scrutiny every step of the way. The plant in general has to be able to hold its own and work for my daily medication everyday.
I make FECO out of most of my material for my own personal use, so if it doesn't do me right it ain't going out the door. I can tell the quality by the amount of oil I have to consume to get the desired results and I make my candy the same every time 1 g of oil to 100 g of taffy. It's a very tried and true method for me and it holds up.
[RSO-infused taffy, courtesy Thomas Wisniewski]
Germination rates have to be 90%+.
As I said before I'm not too worried about THC percentage it's nice to be there but there's plenty of other things going on to get that entourage effect.
Flavor is my number goal for most breeding projects. I usually breed with a theme there'll be a couple different flavor profiles because everybody has different preferences so there's going to be at least one or all that you'll like from my bundles I put together.
For a grower new to your work, which three autoflower cultivars best capture your style and why?
I would say the cultivars that I've made that capture my style would have to be: Intergalactic Spacefuck, Sleepy Joe, and Beaver Skin Canoe.
Intergalactic Spacefuck because the overall aura of this plant is out of this world she's now used in a few of my breeding projects now and sadly I lost almost every one of those seeds to the wind here in Chicago one day last year, but she lives on in the Beaver Skin Canoe.
Sleepy Joe is a great mix of OG and my Pepe Le Pez she really brings out the funk and chunky buds definitely a night time cultivar.
Beaver Skin Canoe because she's a labor of love; a result of five different breeding sessions combined into one great plant that pretty much has a little bit of everything (I call her my "everything bagel.")
Some tips I can give would be feed these things like they're photos, don't be afraid to train to make a nice canopy, and you will be rewarded with a lush happy little bush!
Sweet Hairy Cheese auto has gained strong community traction. What makes it special and do you have any lab data or COA's to share?
What doesn't make Sweet Hairy Cheese special should be the real question! She has one of the best overall feelings and a flavor that is unmatched. It brings me right back into that happy euphoric feeling that the old brick weed used to give you; it's a very nice social smoke. But that's about the only thing it has in common with brick weed, because when it comes to flavor and smell and overall size-potential, there's been multiple 1 1/4 plus pound plants grown with this cultivar!
[Sweet Hairy Cheese autoflower, T-Dubs Shrubs, courtesy of Facebook groups Happy Little Bushes & TheHomegrowersCrew]
I call it my giggle weed it always makes any mood better. I've had it tested for THC content and it was in the low 20's on percentage, but haven't sent it out to get a full spectrum analysis of it yet but will be in the near future.
We’ve seen Double Berry Jack described as Blueberry × Jack Herer × Pez Dispenser. Can you confirm the lineage and what traits you focused on stabilizing?
Double Berry Jack was an auto created by using this I Love Growing Marijuana cultivar called Blueberry Jack Herer Auto that I was growing for a couple years that I've came to enjoy quite a bit. When I came across Brother Mendel's Selections "Pez Dispenser," in my head they made a perfect match to be spliced together.
[Double Berry Jack autoflower, T-Dubs Shrubs, courtesy of Facebook groups Happy Little Bushes & TheHomegrowersCrew]
I found the fermented berry flavor in the Blueberry Jack Herer quite pungent yet appealing and crossing it with the candy citrus berry of the Pez Dispenser just spiked my interest and she hasn't disappointed.
Skywalker OG Auto is another name that pops up often — what’s its backstory and role in your catalog?
What can I say about Skywalker OG auto that I probably haven't said a million times to people; it's just one of those cultivars that no matter what it works for me so it's always going to be part of my daily use cultivars.
[Skywalker OG autoflower, T-Dubs Shrubs, courtesy of Facebook groups Happy Little Bushes & TheHomegrowersCrew]
I've grown well over 50 of these Barney's farms Skywalker OG autos just for personal consumption before I even thought about breeding itself. When I stumbled across the lone purple phenotype of this I knew I had to preserve it and she's been an integral part of a lot of my genetics for the last few years. It's a nice sedative high that helps you relax after a long day, great flavor and definitely makes some superior hash and concentrates.
Could you briefly introduce your popular seed bundles (e.g., Breeder Choice 3-Pack, Ultimate Bundle) and what kind of grower each suits best?
My bundles are basically each breeding project I've done consisting of five to six different cultivars that all have some similarities but there's a wide spectrum of terps that separates them from each other.
Each one is good on its own but when you blend them all together into one oil or make some hash with them that's when things get ridiculous.
What germination rates and typical harvest timelines should customers expect from your current autoflower releases?
Although I would like to tell you every seed is going to make it, but it's all dependent on lots of circumstances now before I let seeds out of my possession.
I like seeing over 90% germination rate meaning out of 100 seeds of that I put on a piece of paper towel I want to see at least 90 of them tail out.
[Germination of various autoflower cultivars in rockwool slabs, courtesy Thomas Wisniewski]
I do take it on a grower-by-grower basis when there's any kind of germination problem; I have no problem answering questions or trying to figure out the problem through communication.
Most of my genetics are ready to be harvested between 75 to 90 days some may go a little (like the Sweet Hairy Cheese and Pepe Le Pez may go beyond 100 days if they are extremely big; some of them can stay happy in veg for 7 weeks easily). But I've never heard anybody complain that they had to grow a plant over a hundred days that they got over a pound out of!
Do you primarily offer regular or feminized autoflowers? If feminized, what is your preferred method for producing stable, high-quality feminized seeds?
I offer feminized autoflowers.
If I want pollen in my room I create it and it goes where I want. I make my own STS fluid. You've got to take care of your plants to get high quality results; if you take shortcuts on anything it'll only f*** you in the end. Your timing better be impeccable when spraying because you need a good amount of time to get some viable beautiful seeds to make the next generation.
Stability comes from using quality genetics from the get-go and looking for cultivars to play together, then selfing my favorite phenotypes to ensure only the best one gets out to the masses.
Do you have general environment or lighting tips (e.g., ideal hours of light) for first-time autoflower growers starting with your seeds?
I do have my preferences; 24/7 lights-on is easiest to keep your VPD in range at all times; there's very little fluctuation at that point plus you don't have to run your lights as hard to get the same DLI needed to sustain a happy little bush. I do tend to run mine a little higher on DLI cuz I like them squat and you can kind of control the height if you're not making them reach for the light.
How do you store and handle seed lots to maintain freshness from your facility to the grower’s door?
Once I go through and hand-sort and hand-select the seeds that I'm keeping, I store them in airtight containers with silica gel packs in a wine fridge at 50° F (10° C) at all times.
I pack all seeds to order so nothing is sitting around in packs just waiting to be sold; they're all in their bulk container until an order is placed.
T-Dubs Shrubs has hosted grow-offs and shared reels of your pollination process. What role does community feedback play in your breeding work?
I'm like a sponge; I like to learn something new everyday and I'm always open for a different outlook on something.
Sometimes I see different plants that peak my interest that are just grown in the community; something we wouldn't have seen almost 20 years ago when we were just growing without all this internet s***. That instant gratification of being able to talk to somebody that's growing in the moment has brought this into a whole other level.
I take in all the feedback whether it be positive or negative to maybe tweak my approach at how I do things. If anything doing these grow-offs have just blown me away. It's definitely been a wild couple years interacting with people all over the world from New Zealand to Germany to Ireland all across this wonderful country of ours.
I look forward to many many more as long as this ticker and turbocharger allow!
What’s the best way for growers to share their grows or reach you with questions or stories?
Best way for growers to get in contact with me is either through my Facebook page "T-Dubs Shrubs," my Facebook group: "Happy Little Bushes," or shoot me a private message (e-mail is also on my T-Dubs Shrubs Facebook page.) I might not get to it right away but I will get to it!
Which community-run grow or customer success has made you especially proud?
I honestly can't say that one event makes me the proudest. I just feel like I'm the luckiest guy in the world every time I wake up. I know there's people growing things that I created with my own hands and time in their homes and enjoying it it doesn't get much better than that. The people that I've met over the last handful of years and all these groups and in person have really made an impact in my life and I hope to do the same.
What exciting traits or projects—like unique terpenes, faster outdoor finishers, or new cannabinoid profiles—are you exploring next?
I really want to make some fast finishing photos for this next summer in the greenhouse just out of personal reasons, so that's where I'll be focusing on my energy into some great hash making cultivars that I've acquired (using my autoflower genetics to make them fast photos.)
Keep a lookout for that Fast Purple Moose Knuckle photo pack coming to a town near you!
Where do you see autoflower breeding heading in the next three years and how is T-Dubs Shrubs preparing for that future?
I'm hoping that I'll still be here in 3 years in all honesty but what I'm going to be doing will be testing these autos outdoors more and more because I know there's more potential to open up.
[Thomas Wisniewski]
I want to find those right genetics that are hardy enough to hold up to the weather in Chicago here without drastic precautions taken. If you can make a great plant outdoors it will make an exceptional plant indoors. It does not work the other way around.
If one of your cultivars were a movie character, who would play the lead role?
Oh that's an easy answer; it's going to be Sweet Hairy Cheese all the way. It's got the most potential for yield it's got such a great euphoric feeling that just leaves anybody who smokes it in a better mood. The flavor is phenomenal and the lingering smoke that a joint leaves behind is just impeccable. I can smell it and pick it out from any other smoke.
[Sweet Hairy Cheese, T-Dubs Shrubs, courtesy of Facebook groups Happy Little Bushes & TheHomegrowersCrew]
If you could collaborate with any other breeder (living or historical,) who would it be and what would you create together?
That would definitely be DJ Short. We would be working on something that had to do with his F-13 cultivar. There was something special about that plant that left the hole in my heart when I lost it after I got sick in 2013. I'm still searching for that flavor nothing has approached it at all.
Which cultivar would make the best houseplant purely for looks and aroma, even if never smoked?
I would have to say the best looking house plant just from pure aesthetics and aroma alone would be "Trippy Hippie" from the "Wild Rapids Bundle." She has some outrageous purple hues and wicked structure. Her aroma is sweet pungent floral and woodsy making for a mouth watering sensation.
In Conclusion
That wraps up our interview with Thomas Wisniewski, grower and breeder of T-Dubs Shrubs. We want to personally thank you for all the time you've put into this interview, into your efforts as a breeder, and being a advocate in the cannabis community for good genetics and love of the plant.
On a personal note as the author of this article, I want to say thank you Thomas, sincerely. You've been a great friend and I'm honored to call you that! - Jordan
If you're interested in T-Dubs Shrubs genetics, check out his website for a full listing of his autoflower genetics and his socials for updates and news on grow-offs with his genetics!
T-Dubs Shrubs on the Web
T-Dubs Shrubs Page on Facebook
T-Dubs Shrubs Happy Little Bushes Group on Facebook
T-Dubs Shrubs on Instagram
