The presence of female seeds makes it 99% certain that the plant will be female. This isn’t the case with ordinary seeds, though, and since only female weed seeds form buds, you’ll need to know how to identify them. Male plants pollinate females in order to produce seeds. This is why it is recommended to keep them away from female cannabis plants so as not to affect the cannabis yield.
What are female cannabis plants?
Female cannabis plants contain precious buds and also contain a lot of tetrahydrocannabinol(THC), the main psychoactive compound in cannabis. In contrast, male plants contain only trace amounts of THC. Female cannabis plants produce much higher yields than male plants. It is easy to identify the sex of female plants when they are fully mature. You can identify them by their large, fat, and very fragrant flowers. In the later stages of growth, especially the flowering stage, they also tend to grow taller than male cannabis plants.
What are male cannabis plants?
Male weed plants generate pollen sacs instead of buds. They use the pollen sacs to pollinate female weeds. Cannabis produced from male plants is useless because it has no buds. Nonetheless, male weed plants are crucial to breeding initiatives because they contribute half of the genetic material inherited by the seeds. Additionally, the leaves of male cannabis plants typically contain larger concentrations of cannabinoids.
Male weed plants with extremely high levels of cannabinoids in their leaves, combined with a strong root system, can be a key part of a breeding program.
Additionally, hemp fibers—particularly those used in apparel—are produced by male cannabis plants. Because it is softer than that of female plants, the hemp fiber from male plants is perfect for products like bed linens, wallpaper, and shirts. Lastly, male cannabis plants are also successful in keeping out dangerous pests.
What is hermaphroditic cannabis?
Hermaphroditic weed plants have both male and female reproductive structures. They can produce both female flowers and pollen sacs. This can lead to self-pollination. The flowers of self-pollinating cannabis plants contain seeds and have much lower concentrations of cannabinoids.
Hermaphroditism can be caused by the following reasons.
- Lighting
Plants receive 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness when they are in flower. Interrupting the 12-hour dark phase forces the cannabis plant to create male reproductive organs and starts the process of recovering vegetative hormones.
Too much light or a small amount of light leaking into the growing medium can also cause hermaphroditism.
- Stress
Various stresses can also cause your cannabis plant to become hermaphroditic, including extreme temperatures, large fluctuations in humidity, light stress, stress caused by physical damage such as pruning or topping, and exposure to chemicals in pesticides.
When can you identify whether your cannabis is male or female?
As the plant matures, the gender characteristics of male and female plants become more and more obvious, although males tend to show their gender earlier than females. There are two main ways to determine the sex of a plant.
One is to observe the plant carefully. Within a few weeks of the vegetative period, usually 3-6 weeks after seeding, your plant will begin to show signs of its gender. You need to look closely at the node of the plant where the petiole joins the stem. You may notice a small male pollen sac or pistil.
A more effective method is to induce early flowering. Of course, you don’t want to do this to the whole plant, let alone the whole garden, so you can take one or two plants from a clipping and place them in a small container with a growing medium under a 12/12 photoperiod. The plant should show its gender within 10 days.
What are the benefits of planting female seeds?
Growers prefer female seeds because they have a 99% chance of producing female flowers. This means that growers with such seeds don’t have to worry about their gardens in most cases. Another benefit of using female seeds is that you don’t waste a lot of seeds. With regular seeds, the chance of getting males in your garden is 50%, which means you have to germinate twice as many seeds to get the desired number of female plants.
What are the early signs of female plants?
The earliest sign of a female weed plant is of course the obvious white pistils. If the cannabis seeds are female, 4-6 weeks after the cannabis has germinated, the plant will display V-shaped pistils, which are long, hairy structures that grow from the calyx and look like whiskers sticking out of the plant’s nodes. As the plant ages, these pistils, which are typically pink or white, will become other colors. Furthermore, female cannabis plants typically have more branches, shorter, bushier stems, and brighter leaves.
If you allow the plant to continue to develop into the flowering stage, you will see more obvious female characteristics. For example, female plants will begin to produce large numbers of flowers. The sticky, crystalline material covering these dense, resinous buds is packed with the correct amounts of terpenes and cannabinoids.
Can you spot early signs of female plants during the vegetative stage?
The earliest female plants begin to show gender characteristics is pre- flowering. Females produce bracts from which white whiskers or hair-like structures begin to emerge. These bracts become more obvious as the plant enters the flowering stage.
What are the early signs of male weed plants?
Male cannabis plants tend to have pollen sacs or stamens early in their nodes compared to pistils. 3-4 weeks after the seeds germinate, male cannabis will have these little pollen sacs that resemble bunches of small bananas, they look like little round balls hanging from the nodes or branches of the plant. They contain pollen and are responsible for pollinating the female plants. Therefore, you can’t expect flowers to appear.
Can you spot early signs of male plants during the vegetative stage?
From seeds, the early signs should be visible by week 6, although some may show early signs of male cannabis as early as week 3, so you need to check your garden regularly during this stage. Male plants also usually show sexual characteristics earlier than female plants.
What to do if you find male cannabis plants?
This depends on how you intend to use your produce. If you are growing THC-rich buds, you should remove male plants as soon as you find them. If the female cannabis is pollinated, her energy will be diverted to seed production, which means a smaller harvest and lower THC content. When the pollen sacs of male cannabis plants open upright, they release pollen into the air, often leaving what looks like white dust on nearby leaves. By the time you discover it, it’s too late and your female cannabis plants will produce seeds, but you can still use the flowers, although you’ll find yourself picking seeds from the buds. Smoking the seeds is not recommended as they produce a very unpleasant-smelling smoke.
Conclusion
As of now, there is no reliable way to identify female cannabis seeds from an array of seeds. You have to sow the seeds and let them mature. The cannabis seeds will exhibit early sex traits as either a female or male plant once they reach the pre-flowering stage. If pistils are visible, this would be fantastic news for you. But when you find a male cannabis plant, remove it immediately.
