When growing cannabis, it is essential to distinguish male plants from female plants. It helps to preserve the quality of the crop. Female plants have resinous cones that are high in cannabinoids such as THC and CBD, which are the main components of interest to growers. Male plants, unlike female plants, do not have these resinous cones and are low in cannabinoids. Also, if male and female plants grow side by side, the former can pollinate the latter. In this case, the quality and quantity of the harvest are less. Marijuana concentrates on producing seeds instead of giving gardeners the rich buds that a garden or windowsill plant is for.
Is it possible to find out which seeds you got before planting in pots?
There are no external signs to distinguish between male and female cannabis seeds. The only way to be sure which seed is female is to grow the plant and wait. But if you don’t want to risk it, you can buy female seeds from the Herbies online catalog. It is especially convenient for small farms or beginners. However, if you like to experiment and are ready to learn to distinguish between male and female plants, then the common varieties are also available in the catalog.
Myths that do not stand up to criticism
There are many myths about how to tell the difference between male and female cannabis seeds, but they are all false, including
- Female seeds are often said to have round craters, but this is not true, as crater depressions can form on any seed.
- It is also believed that the size and shape of the seed will help distinguish the sex of the plant, but in fact, it does not matter at all.
There are no other methods to accurately determine the gender of hemp seed, so just ignore tables with such advice. It helps to avoid spending time and effort on unnecessary cultivation and pollination of your crops.
Is there no effective way to determine the sex of a plant?
The only reliable way to determine the gender of your cannabis seed is to plant it, grow it, and observe it. Most female varieties begin to show their gender after 4 weeks, closer to the beginning of flowering.
It is necessary to wait for the vegetative stage, when pistils, which look like hair, will appear on the stems. This is confirmation that the plant is female.
On the contrary, the signs of male plants appear much faster. Their stems contain pollen sacs. As soon as you notice them, you need to remove the plant to avoid pollination. Male plants usually take 2 weeks to grow, so you will have more than enough time to react.
There are also scientific methods of sex determination in advanced botanical facilities. To receive the test results, you will first have to send the samples to the laboratory. Few gardeners are ready for this, especially since it does not bring any practical benefit.
How to prevent accidental pollination?
Several techniques can be used to determine the sex of a plant in advance. Instead of waiting and carefully inspecting all the seedlings, you can put an opaque black or paper bag over the top of the plant during its growing season. Keep the package for 12 hours a day. This trick means manipulating the light cycle and forcing plants to start flowering earlier. This gives you more time to avoid accidental pollination.
We wish you rich harvests! And as soon as you want to have more interesting experiences and try new varieties, turn to Herbies: there is everything for the enthusiastic gardener and even for professional use.