Sexing Marijuana Plants – Male and Female Comparison

There are important things that we must learn for us to become a successful cannabis grower. It’s recommended that we get to know the nature of these incredible herbs. Studying different characteristics of different cannabis makes us become a better grower, and it helps us enjoy the whole process of cultivation.

If you’re one of those individuals who want to become knowledgeable when it comes to growing marijuana, then this article is written just for you. This article will focus more on sexing marijuana plants. Every grower must learn how to identify a male cannabis plant from the female. By doing this, you’ll be able to reproduce your plants successfully.

Some might think that sexing marijuana plants is hard, but the truth is, it’s fairly easy. Luckily, we wrote this article to provide you useful tips and information on how you can start identifying male and female marijuana.

Understanding Marijuana Plants

Marijuana plants are considered dioecious, which means that the reproductive organs of males and females appear differently. Distinguishing the male and female plants is important. Growers need to isolate the females away from the females. If you want to be able to reproduce these plants, then you must introduce male into your garden. This can cause your female plants to create seeds, a process called pollination.

One of the importance of sexing marijuana plants is that it helps in developing new genetics. This is why you’ll find a lot of cannabis strains that are being sold in the market today. Different strains come from different parents, thus, different genes. If you want to be able to produce high-quality genes, then one of the first steps that you need to do is to determine the sex of your cannabis plants.

Sexing marijuana plants also help in gathering seeds and growing sinsemilla. You must know how to separate the male from the female. You want your garden to be orderly as much as possible to ensure that the plants can reproduce successfully.

Sexing Marijuana Plants

Many people thought that you couldn’t determine the plant’s sex or gender, not until the flowering stage. This is incorrect since, even during the pre-flowering stage, the plant can reveal its sex. Yes, during the vegetative stage, you can already determine the sex of the plants. You can determine its sex as soon as 3 to 4 weeks after the germination of male plants. Meanwhile, you can determine the sex of the female from 4 to 6 weeks.

But why is this important?

You want to identify the sex of the plants because you want to separate or get rid of the male marijuana plants from your garden or grow room. As much as possible, you should be able to identify male cannabis plants at the soonest time. This is because you want to preserve female plants since they are the ones that produce potent buds or flowers. And we’re not saying that male marijuana plants are useless since they are very important in the reproduction process. However, male plants produce non-potent pollen sacs. It’s recommended that you avoid male plants from pollinating female plants if you want to be able to produce superior quality crops.

Chemical Leaf Tests

One of the most effective and easiest methods to determine the sex of marijuana plants is through chemical leaf tests. The advantage of this method is it does not only determine the sex of the plants, but it also helps in determine their potency. Thankfully, these tests are becoming more and more affordable. Some believe that this is the future for sexing marijuana plants and measuring their potency.

All you have to do is a tiny amount of plant tissue that is punch-out from the marijuana leaf. You can also use a single cotyledon leaf. You can do the tests as early as 1 to 3 weeks. However, you have to keep in mind that although you can start conducting the test as early as the first week, it’s recommended that you wait until the 3rd week to increase accuracy.

Male and Female Comparison

Aside from chemical leaf testing, there are other ways or methods you can employ to determine the sex of your plants. For beginners, it can be quite tricky and often a daunting task, but once you already gain more experience, things should become a lot easier.

As stated earlier, you must know how to determine the sex of the plants because you want to avoid male plants fertilizing the females. Bear in mind that female plants that don’t have sinsemilla or seeds contain higher levels of THC. Meanwhile, male plants do not contain a significant amount of this psychoactive compound.

Male Plants

One of the easiest ways to know whether or not the plant is male is to check the rate of its maturity. Male marijuana plants naturally have rapid maturity. This means that they grow, develop, or mature faster than female plants. They grow quickly and become taller within 2 weeks only. Compared to female plants, males develop fast, ready to drop pollens on female plants.

Male marijuana plants also tend to grow straighter. And as you will notice, they don’t develop as many flowers as the female marijuana plants. Aside from having a rapid maturity rate, their flowers bloom naturally at the top portion of the plant. When it comes to the appearance of their flowers, male plants usually appear as tight green clusters.

You should also be able to notice a petal-shaped object on the central portion of the male flower. They are easy to spot as they look much like a little banana bunch. Many growers call the flowers of the male “false buds.” Because they are not technically flowers but pollen sacs. As the male plants get ready to pollinate the female plants, their clusters begin to open. This is when a stamen starts to appear. Also, try to check their stalk or stem, if you see any raised calyx, then most probably it’s a male plant. But if the calyx isn’t raised, then it’s safe to say that it’s a female marijuana plant. Finding these features may be difficult if you’re a beginner, but over time, it gets easier.

Female Plants

Female marijuana plants are easier to identify compared to male plants. Bear in mind that both males and females can produce flowers. However, the flowers of your female plants bloom only after the flowers if your male plants start blooming. You’ll also notice that the flowers of the female plants will look like sacs; the only difference is that they have 2 stigmas, which appear to be like feathers.

When it comes to physical features, the flowers of the female plants are usually colored white, yellow, or cream. They are also hairy, and you’ll see whitish pistils that are trap pollen from your male marijuana plants. Compared to male plants, females take a bit longer to reach their sexual maturity. Try to look for 1 or 2 wispy white hairs when looking for female plants. These hairs should be noticeable if you focus on the main stem, where the nodes and branches connect. If you see any hairs, then most likely, it’s a female plant.

Hermaphrodites

We’ll also include hermaphrodites in our article. What’s interesting about these plants is that, sometimes, they find unique ways to just reproduce, and this is through pollination by hermaphrodites. Marijuana plants can change their sex to ensure that they can reproduce. Scientists believe that this intersexual ability of the marijuana plant is an evolutionary train.

Hermaphrodite plants feature both male and female characteristics. It’s very much possible that your plant changes its sex if it is grown in a stressful environment. If the plants detect that the growing conditions are not optimal for reproduction, then this is when they change their sex. For this reason, you must provide them the best conditions as much as possible.

To avoid this problem, growers must be able to provide the right amount of light and temperature. Proper feeding of nutrients is also required, as well as adequate water. It’s also very important that you check the pH levels regularly and be sure that you set the light and dark schedule correctly.

Buying Cannabis Seeds

To ensure that you get the right seeds, you must always check the reputation of the marijuana dispensary or seller. Try to check whether or not they have received countless positive reviews from their customers. Reputable companies can provide you the best high-quality seeds out there. Also, they can deliver the right product to you. If you are ordering male seeds from them, then you should expect male seeds and not female ones. Be careful when choosing a store or company since not all of them are particular in providing excellent quality customer care service.

Conclusion

Finally, don’t forget to also ask for tips and pieces of advice from the experts when it comes to sexing marijuana plants. Perhaps you have a friend, family, or fellow cannabis enthusiast who can help you determine male from female plants. Again, conduct online research and watch videos if you have time. This should help you become a better grower and a successful cannabis cultivator. Enjoy and remember to keep in learning.