Sexing Marijuana Plants

Marijuana plants are dioecious, as they can either be male or female. Sexing marijuana plants means finding out whether they are female or male.

The male and female reproductive organs are different for each sex. For example, female plants produce a flower that grows into smokable buds with high THC content. The female plants are also called sinsemilla; this means seedless. You can use the male plants to make hashish and for cross-breeding purposes. 

Sexing marijuana plants early has its benefits. You will be able to know the sex before the plants mature and save your yields. 

However, it is not easy to identify the sex of a cannabis plant until they mature or start to flower. Waiting until your plant becomes fully grown to know its sex is risky. 

If you plan to start growing cannabis at home, you should know the difference between a male and a female cannabis plant. This guide will explain to you how to determine whether your cannabis plant is female or male. You’ll also learn the importance of sexing your marijuana plant before flowering. 

Sexing Young Marijuana Plants

Growers need to know the differences between male and female plants to avoid growing them in the same room. If you are wondering: Why is sexing marijuana plants important? Females are known to produce THC. 

However, male cannabis plants can interfere with the THC-making process by pollinating the female plants. As such, it is crucial to remove the male plants before they fertilize the female plants. Essentially, this is the best way to ensure that you get quality buds with high THC.

Marijuana plants begin showing their gender once they start approaching maturity, and they have revealed 12 hours of darkness daily. With that in mind, here are some things that you should keep in mind when sexing marijuana plants to find out whether they are male or female.

Know What To Look for

It is possible to tell the difference between a female and male marijuana plant once it is about 4 to 6 weeks old. When sexing young marijuana plants, you should know the differences between a female and a male plant. 

Female Cannabis Plant

The difference between males and females is quite visible. They both form flowers, but the male marijuana plants bloom early. The flowers of a female marijuana plant look like sacs that have white hairs growing on them. The wispy white hairs appear only where the buds will grow on the plant stalk.

 As the plant approaches the vegetative stage, you will notice the first sign of one or two hairs even before the plant reaches the flowering stage. The plant enters the flowering stage once you change the light schedule. 

Other features include the female cannabis pre-flowers having an ovate shape with a long slender pointed tip called the calyx. The pistils grow from the tip of the calyx.

The female plants are shorter when compared to the male plants. They have thick stalks to support the plant once the buds get bigger and heavier. The stigmas are located in a node region of the stalk. Lastly, the female plants open to form little yellow, cream, or white flowers once they approach the flowering stage. 

Male Cannabis Plant

One of the quickest ways to identify a male marijuana plant is by the fast rate of maturity. Usually, male marijuana plants are known for maturing early. 

One of the characteristics of male plants is that they grow straight. They also have fewer flowers than female plants. The flowers are found at the plant’s shoot. Male flowers are green, unlike female flowers, which are colored due to the white pistils. 

They grow taller and flower two weeks earlier than female cannabis plants. There is a reason why male plants grow taller than females: When the sacs break open and start scattering the pollen, they will sprinkle them on the females and pollinate them. This rapid growth occurs towards the end of the vegetative stage. 

After fertilization, the female plants will produce seeds instead of buds. It is advisable to separate the female from male plants before they mature to prevent cross-pollination. It’s, therefore, imperative to separate the females from the male marijuana plants. 

The best time to do this is just before you spot sacs or pistils. Just like the female marijuana plants, the male cannabis plants also have their uses. If you want to grow marijuana for sale or consumption, the female plants are ideal. You can use male plants for breeding cannabis, creating hemp fiber, among other reasons. 

Hermaphrodite Cannabis Plants

Hermaphrodite cannabis plants are known for exhibiting both female and male sex organs. That means that they can self-pollinate. The result is positive: The plants will create buds with seeds and pass on the hermaphroditic genes to other plants. Hermaphrodite plants develop as a result of stress. Some of the factors that can cause stress to your plant are:

• Plant damage
• Bad weather condition
• Disease outbreak
• Light leaks
• Nutrient deficiencies
• Indoor high temperature

Hermaphrodite plants exist in two species:

• One species develops anthers with a ”banana-like” feature.
• The other will develop both buds and pollen sacs.

One of the primary causes of hermaphrodite plants is genetics. Make sure you remove plants with a history of hermaphroditic development or with poor genetics.

Also, you might want to look out for any pollen sacs or anthers. Be sure to remove the plants from your garden before any pollination occurs. The other reason could be due to exposure to stressors. Lastly, a snapped branch can grow into a hermaphrodite marijuana plant once it is repaired.

Should I Buy Feminized Seeds?

Most people ask themselves: Are feminized seeds worthwhile? Feminized seeds are scientifically bred to grow into female plants; this is possible through slight modification of the seeds’ genes. The end result is likely to be a female plant that produces buds with high THC content.

Some of the benefits of growing feminized seeds include:

• Feminized seeds eradicate all the chances that the plant will grow into a male or hermaphrodite marijuana plant.
• Feminized seeds are guaranteed to provide you with high-quality yields.
• There is no need to sex your marijuana plants. With feminized plants, you don’t have to worry about identifying the plants’ sex. Therefore, this gives you an easy time maintaining your garden. 
•  Feminized seeds are ideal for home growers since they can thrive and in an area with limited space. As long as you grow them in the right growth condition, you will get large amounts of buds with high THC content.

Uses of the Male Marijuana Plants

When you notice a male plant in the room you are cultivating female plants, do not think about tossing it. While male cannabis plants cannot produce the high-quality and smokable buds that every smoker or farmer desires, they still have several uses. They include:

Making Hash

Male marijuana plants have THC content but not in high quantities. As a result, this makes it uneasy to smoke them since they are not as potent as the female marijuana plants. For this reason, they are ideal for making hash and other concentrates that have low THC and CBD content. 

Making Hemp Fiber

Hemp made from a male cannabis plant is softer and more suitable for making items, such as blankets, tablecloths, and clothing accessories. On the other hand, the female cannabis plants produce hemp with a coarser feeling that you can use to make rope. For that reason, it is not advisable to throw a male marijuana plant once you discover it in your garden.

Help Secure Your Garden

You can use male marijuana plants to protect your garden because they have terpenes. Terpenes are essential when it comes to controlling pests and diseases. Furthermore, you can use them to make terpene oils. What’s more? Male plants do not produce too much aroma that can attract the attention of nosy and judgemental neighbors in your hood.

Cross-Breeding

For cross-breeding to happen, you need a male cannabis plant. Most people prefer clones. Clones are not a bad idea since you can clone a mother plant and still get good results. Cloning can get boring after some time. 

Most farmers prefer and enjoy growing and breeding marijuana plants. A male cannabis plant with good genes can pass them to its offspring. Also, they produce seeds that you can use for breeding purposes.

Can You Identify the Sex of Marijuana Seeds?

If you do not want to spend too much time in the cloning process, we have discovered a method that you can use to determine the sex of marijuana seeds. It’s still not yet scientifically proven, and the results are not 100 percent guaranteed.

You can determine the sex of marijuana seeds during the germination stage. As soon as the seed begins sprouting, check where the sprout is coming from to know whether it’s male or female. If the sprout appears either at the bottom or top of the seed, it will likely grow into a female cannabis plant.

However, if the sprout is from the side of the seed, the plant is likely to be male. Keep in mind that this method does not give you the exact sex of your plant. It only allows you to know what to expect and prepares you in advance.

Although sexing marijuana plants seems to be a long process, it is imperative if you plan to grow weed for sale or personal use. 

Conclusion

We believe that you are now aware of the benefits of sexing marijuana plants before flowering. The differences highlighted in the article are easy to spot. Growers need both male and female cannabis plants. Female plants produce the fattest, most potent, and most resinous flowers or buds. 

Are you interested in growing high-quality marijuana at home or outdoors? Why not visit ILGM.com? We are one of the best seed banks in the industry with years of experience. We have high-quality cannabis seeds and offer refunds for any defects in the products that we sell.