Bryce Jardine - Nov 15, 2022
Cannabis Gender: Male Vs Female Weed
Male vs female weed: what is the difference between the two?
Cannabis is a dioecious plant, which means that it has two distinct sexes, creating male plants and female plants from seed. A male cannabis plant’s pollen must fertilize the female flower’s reproductive organs for seed production to occur. Male cannabis plants create pollen sacs while female plants produce flowers (buds). The female flowers are high in THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. Male cannabis flowers have an anther and stamen which produce pollen, while female flowers have a stigma. The stigma functions to trap pollen from air in order to begin seed production in the ovule.
Seeds and Cannabis Gender
A young seedling will need time to reach sexual maturity before a determination by the naked eye can be made as to whether a cannabis plant is male or female. Those growing from clones taken from a female mother plant needn’t worry about gender identification because the cutting will be an exact genetic copy of the mother plant.
For those growing from seed, it is a little trickier. Regular seed will produce female cannabis plants roughly 50% of the time, while feminized seed is bred to exclusively produce female plants. This is done by chemically inducing a female plant to become hermaphroditic. The plant is then able to then pollinate itself and the resulting seed is then genetically predisposed to be female.
Does the gender of cannabis plants matter?
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Yes! Female cannabis plants will create seeds when a male plant pollinates them. This requires more energy reserves within the plant to be designated towards seed production, reducing the yield and potency of your bud. Only female cannabis plants produce buds!
Quick Tip: Flower production requires higher concentrations of phosphorus and potassium during flowering, in comparison to nitrogen. Flower production can be enhanced with phosphorus and potassium boosters like Ton-O-Bud and Bud Boom!
Click here to learn more about the Holland Secret 3-Part Cannabis Fertilizer
When do cannabis plants show gender?
Cannabis “pre-flowers” are the key to identifying cannabis gender, developing at about 3-6 weeks after germination. The male cannabis pre-flowers can show up on male plants as early as 3-4 weeks from germination. Female pre-flowers begin to develop a little slower, at about 4-6 weeks from germination. Some will strains reach sexual maturity faster than others.
What do Cannabis pre-flowers look like?
Cannabis pre-flower development can be observed at the nodes, which are the intersections on the plant where branching occurs and flower production originates.
Male cannabis preflowers will form tiny round pollen sacs at the nodes. The pollen sacs will become clusters that resemble bunches of bananas. The pollen sacs will begin to burst at about 4 weeks into flowering, pollinating nearby female cannabis plants to begin seed production.
Male and female cannabis plants must be separated unless you want to produce seeds!
What’s wrong with seeded buds?
Today’s growers have become accustomed to the high THC levels that come from seedless buds (sensimilla), which is why a male plant left to mature in a crop is a cannabis grower’s worst nightmare. Should you find pollen sacs on any of your plants, remove the plant immediately, preventing the spread of pollen in the process by covering the plant with a garbage bag. Seeded buds can be airy, burn poorly, lack potency and flavor. Not-to-mention the constant hassle of picking seeds out of your bud every time you roll a joint.
FUN FACT: A cannabis plant can be induced into becoming hermaphroditic when sprayed with a silver nitrate dilution. If a hermaphroditic plant pollinates itself, the resulting seed will produce female plants. This is how feminized seed is created.
Things to look for when determining cannabis gender
First and foremost, pollen sacs! If you see pollen sacs in your garden, remove the plant ASAP!
Male plants are normally taller.
Male plants tend to have wider internodal spacing, meaning that the intersections of branching up the main stem are farther apart.
Female plants generally tend to grow stout and bushy in early vegetative growth with tighter internodal spacing
The calyx (center part of flower) on female plants will be large and have white hair. On male plants it will be small with no hair.
Remember, You can guarantee females by getting feminized seeds or female clones!
What do I do with hermaphroditic plants?
Some cannabis plants can be hermaphrodites. This is when the female plant will develop both the male and female sex organs! A hermaphroditic plant can result in the plant pollinating itself and your entire crop in the process. This most often occurs when your plant is stressed out. Monitor the temperature, humidity, and pH closely! And always look out for pests, pathogens, diseases, and other factors that may cause your plant stress. Super B+ is a vitamin b1 and sea kelp formula, specifically designed to help fortify a plant’s immune system and aid in the recovery of environmental stressors.
How does a cannabis plant become hermaphroditic?
Research shows that the most common cause is due to plant stress. If cannabis is subjected to extreme environmental stressors like drought or extreme temperatures, it can trigger a chemical survival response resulting in a plant with female AND male flowers. The plant is thus able to pollinate itself, creating seed to procreate before presumably succumbing to the elements. Growers have also long attributed this phenomenon to the unstable genetics that result from poor cross-breeding practices.
What to do when you get a male cannabis plant?
Most growers find and terminate all male cannabis plants in their grow. This is understandable if you want to ensure no female plants get pollinated. However, male plants are still of value. If you want to continue to grow your male plants we recommend growing them in a separate room from the females to discourage pollination. Male cannabis plants can be used for breeding, concentrates, hemp, and more.
When a male and a female cannabis plant are bred, the male provides 50% of the genetics. This can be helpful in breeding strains that are mold resistant, have more resin, higher THC content, etc.
While male plants often contain less THC than female plants, you can still find cannabinoids in the leaves, stems, and flowers. You can extract resin from male plants to create concentrates like hash, oil, and wax. Even the pollen contains THC! Male plants produce copious amounts of pollen, which can be collected, pressed, and consumed to give you an adequate high.
When a male and a female cannabis plant are bred, the male provides 50% of the genetics. This can be helpful in breeding strains that are mold resistant, have more resin, higher THC content, etc.
Article credit:Bryce Jardine
