The difference between male and female marijuana plants

Even if you purchase exclusively feminized seeds, it is still necessary to figure out how to distinguish a female marijuana plant from a male one. Often, due to grower's mistakes and the resulting stresses, the plants show signs of both sexes, which nullifies the grower's efforts. As a result, instead of a generous THC harvest, you can only get seeds for the next harvest. Coffeeshop® has collected information to help new breeders and growers understand how to determine the sex of cannabis and get a decent harvest (in countries where the cultivation and use of marijuana is legal).

How cannabis reproduces - general information

Cannabis is dioecious, meaning it has males and females, and is propagated by cross-pollination. Male plants form pollen sacs during growth, while female plants form pistillate flowers. Hemp in nature grows in open areas where the winds roam freely. After the pollen matures, air currents carry it and fertilize the females.

Why It's Important to Get Rid of Male Cannabis Plants

The highest content of THC is produced by female unpollinated individuals. When pollen hits a female plant, hemp quickly passes from the phase of flower formation to the phase of seed maturation and devotes all its strength to the production of future offspring. If the pollination process is stopped, then instead of seeds, the plant will form buds with a high content of cannabinoids necessary for the grower.

Cross-pollination of cannabis is a great success for the grower. It allows you to minimize the risk of self-pollination, which means you get a rich harvest of strong and generous THC plants without surprises. One male plant is able to pollinate an entire greenhouse and spoil the entire crop, so it is imperative to monitor the plants.

What do dergans look like - male cannabis plants

Due to the fact that males have to "hope" on the strength and direction of the wind in order to pollinate female plants, they grow taller and have a thicker stem. Accordingly, if you see that in the greenhouse several bushes stand out strongly in growth, take a closer look at them.

Pollen sacs are formed in the internodes of the plant (between the lateral processes and the stem). Because they need access to air and light, male plants are not as bushy, especially at the top. They have fewer leaves, and the internodes themselves are located at a great distance from each other.

The surest way to understand how to determine the sex of cannabis is the structure of the seed sacs. On male plants, they are oblong and smooth, reminiscent of a banana. Female plants also have similar processes - these are future flowers. In shape, they look like a drop, from which soft translucent processes extend.

The first sexual characteristics of the plant appear after the fourth week. When grown incorrectly or if there is a genetic predisposition to change sex, cannabis shows signs of a hermaphrodite. They form both male and female genital organs. If you notice that both variants of the shoots are present on the plant, it should be treated as a male.

How to protect the crop from the appearance of male plants

In order for the harvest to please you with an abundance of cones, we offer the following options:

• Buy seeds only from reputable seed banks. It is better to buy seeds of autoflowering cannabis varieties, in which only females are selected - they are called feminized. Autofems give the best results. The Coffeeshop® online store cooperates only with trusted seed suppliers. Buying from us, you get a femme with a guarantee - no boys, only top beauties with chic rasta potential.
• Monitor temperature, indoor humidity and soil acidity. Any deviation from the norm for the plant is stress, namely, it provokes the appearance of hermaphrodites.

Remember that a grower's careful attention to plants is the surest way to determine the sex of marijuana at an early stage: whether male or female, or bisexual plants.

It remains to understand what to do with male marijuana. Experienced growers recommend simply throwing the plant away before it robs you of your crop. If you feel sorry for the money and effort spent, you can try yourself as a breeder and grow the next hemp crop from your own seeds.

• Without waiting for the pollen sacs to mature, move the male plant to a separate room along with a few female plants.
• Place them in an airtight space and grow in the traditional pattern.

At the last stage, males will fertilize females, and they will give you a considerable amount of seeds ready for planting. Remember that some of these plants will definitely be "born" as boys.