How To Tell If Your Plant Is Male Or Female Before Flowering

If you are growing cannabis and wondering whether your plant is female or male, do not fret. This guide will give a detailed explanation of how to tell if your plant is male or female before flowering. 

Cannabis plants are a form of life just like animals. Some plants have female reproductive parts, while others are male sex organs. Only in rare cases that you will find hermaphrodite plants. These are plants that develop both female and male flowers. 

Knowing the sex of a weed plant is crucial to the quality and value of the yield at the end. For instance, seedless buds are of higher quality than lower-quality cannabis strains. Female marijuana plants are the only gender capable of producing high-quality buds. On the other hand, male plant products do not provide a relaxing kind of high.

 A marijuana male plant is not that useful when grown on its own since it cannot give a high-quality end product. Besides, there is a time and place that you are supposed to use a male cannabis plant. Always keep in mind that female plants are the main source of high potent buds.     

When Can You Tell if a Cannabis Plant Is Female or Male?

If you are asking yourself: When can you tell if your plant is male or female? By week six, the pre-flowers will start revealing their gender. During this period, you’ll be able to know the sex of your cannabis plant. Once your plant goes into full flower, the difference between female and male cannabis plants will be glaringly obvious.                                                                

Signs of a Male and Female Marijuana Plant

If you are still wondering: How long to tell if your plant is male or female before flowering? You should know the gender of your plant at an early stage. Both male and female marijuana plants have distinct sex organs known as flowers. However, the flowers are different for each plant. For the male plants, they grow pollen sacks just above where the leaves connect to the plant. 

The sacks grow until the plant reaches maturity, then they burst open and release the pollen. Male plants have a small stature that you need to be keen to notice the sex at an early stage. You may opt to use a small hand-held microscope or a jeweler’s glass to tell if your plant is female or male before flowering. These tools will help you spot the sacks during the growth stage. Knowing the early signs of the female or male plant will help you choose how many male plants you want to keep. 

Male plants also tend to have a thicker stalk compared to female plants. Essentially, this is because a male plant grows to a taller height than a female plant. The tall and thick stalks help support the weight of the marijuana plant. Additionally, male plants have fewer leaves as compared to female plants.

A hermaphroditic plant has female and male sex organs. They can self-pollinate, and the result will be a marijuana plant with hermaphroditic genes. For a hermaphrodite plant, you need to check whether it is growing anthers. You should remove any hermaphrodite plants with poor genetics immediately you spot them. It is advisable to remove them with immediate effect to prevent pollination of female plants. 

Once you spot a hermaphrodite cannabis plant, you should remove them from your garden. One hermaphrodite plant can cause most of the plants to grow seeds where they are not wanted.

When you want to learn how to tell if your plant is male or female before flowering, you should keep in mind that female marijuana plants closely resemble the male plants before they start flowering. Be sure to keep an eye for little hairs. Female plants have a hairy-like characteristic and grow their sex organs at the same position as male plants.

However, one of the early signs of a female plant is that it grows bracts instead of sacs. The bracts have white hairs on them. This characteristic is the fastest way to distinguish between a male and a female plant. What’s more? A female cannabis strain is shorter, bushier, and has more leaves than a male plant. 

A female plant is known for producing high-quality nugs with enough THC content. If you are intending to plant cannabis yields smokable and sellable products, you only require the female cannabis strain. However, female plants will only produce better yields when they are not close enough to male cannabis plants. 

How To Tell When a Plant Is in the Flowering Stage

Depending on the strain you are growing, the flowering stage of cannabis plants often goes between 8 and 11 weeks. Cannabis plants usually start flower from late summer through fall. The season can even run up to mid-November in warmer regions where some cultivars are known to take a long period to mature their buds. 

One of the early signs of a female plant is that you will begin noticing little hairy pre-flowers growing near the tips after three weeks of outdoor germination. A female plant might appear to have a slightly pointed edge. Once a female plant approaches the flowering stage, you will notice the pre-flowers growing white hairs known as the pistil. The pistil is normally light-colored and appears to be fuzzy.

It is normal for the female plants to take longer than the male plants to expose their gender. Make it a habit of checking the crops regularly so that you can get better and high-quality yields. A male plant, on the other hand, will have mini pollen sacs. The little green balls will grow larger and fill up with pollen. Eventually, they burst and release pollen. 

It is advisable to distinguish the male before it spreads the pollen and fertilizes the female plants. Keep in mind that once fertilization occurs, the female buds will stop developing. Once you have distinguished a plant to be male, get rid of it before it ruins the yield of your female plants. You are not advised to remove the buds by hand, as even a few will decrease your crop yield significantly. Instead of throwing them out, you can keep a few male plants in a separate room for breeding. 

Importance of Knowing the Sex of a Marijuana Plant

When it comes to growing cannabis for use, you need to know how to tell if your plant is male or female before flowering. Over the years, weed farmers have learned that female plants that have not been pollinated will not produce high-quality yields. 

Depending on your goal for cultivating cannabis plants, you must know their gender before harvesting. Both female and male cannabis plants have their benefits. If you are growing cannabis for consumption, then a female plant is ideal. If you want to produce quality buds that are rich in cannabinoids, you must isolate the females from the males to avoid cross-pollination and seed production. 

What Are the Advantages of Planting Feminized Seeds?

Since it is not easy to determine the sex of a seed from the bag, the use of feminized seeds has been on the rise. Feminized seeds are bred to grow into high-quality female plants with high yields.

Modern technology has revolutionized the weed industry. Feminized seeds are very advantageous since they grow to become 100% female plants. You no longer have to worry about determining the sex of your cannabis plants. Lastly, feminized seeds are desired by most weed growers since they are efficient.

Characteristics of High-Quality Marijuana Seeds

Quality marijuana seeds have distinct characteristics that separate them from those of low quality. However, pointing out a high-quality marijuana seed can be quite challenging. Here are some of the features you should look out for if you want to get high-quality cannabis seeds. 

Appearance

One of the main characteristics that can help you identify a quality marijuana seed is its appearance. Watch out for small details such as the shell quality or spots.

Color

A seed that is of high quality appears to be dark. Additionally, it will have spots on the seed’s surface. You might want to avoid seeds that appear to be green or white, as they are likely to be immature and take a long time to germinate.

Coating

A good-quality marijuana seed should have a waxy coating. Hold the seed against light and look for a slight sheen.

Size and Shape

Seeds of large size and shape are ideal for growing. An underdeveloped seed, on the other hand, is likely to have a small shape.

Feel

The texture of a cannabis seed can also help you determine whether it is of high or low quality. Before purchasing any seed, inspect the shell for any presence of cracks. 

Conclusion

To sum up, we believe that you now know how to tell if your plant is male or female before flowering. Both male and female plants have their uses, and that’s why sexing is crucial. 

If you need cannabis seeds, do not hesitate to visit  ILGM. We have premium, high-quality cannabis seeds that guarantee high yields. You will find a variety of seeds to choose from, and in case of any germination failure, we offer refunds on the products purchased. We have years of experience when it comes to cannabis seeds, and our goal is 100% customer satisfaction.