How to determine the gender of a cannabis plant?

The most important task for the novice grower is to understand how to determine the gender of the cannabis plant and at what stage of bush development to track the relevant signs. For a quality, killer harvest, it is necessary to understand how to minimize the likelihood of getting male plants. Feminized cannabis seeds can help solve the problem, but are not a panacea, “fem” can grow into hermaphroditic plants in the presence of severe stress, improper care.

First it is worthwhile to understand what exactly the difference between female and male bushes, and why most growers need exactly the first. Depending on the gender, plants differ in appearance, chemical composition. Any grower planning a generous harvest needs to understand the differences.

How can I visually identify the gender of cannabis?

When the plants are mature, the most obvious sign of a female plant is its smaller size. This is especially evident when plants of the same variety are planted in the same conditions. “Boys” will be noticeably taller, the foliage cover is sparse, the internodes are elongated. The height helps to spread pollen. In addition, the central trunk will be stronger, thicker to resist the powerful wind.

It is necessary to know how to avoid male plants by not allowing female plants to fertilize. Unfertilized inflorescences, also known as sensimilla, have the highest concentration of cannabinoids in the resin. Let's set aside the philosophical arguments about which gender of marijuana is better, because without one, the other is impossible. But 95% of growers expect to get female plants, male plants are mostly only needed by seed producers and breeders creating new and unique strains.

Male and female gender characteristics at early stages

The gender of the bush can be clearly understood when the pre-flowers appear - the visual gender differences, the “blanks” for the future cannabis inflorescences. At first, the flower rudiments may seem similar, but upon closer examination, the difference is obvious.

Female and male sexes are distinguished by the following:

• Shape. The male preflower is smooth, rounded, slightly elongated. In fact - the future stamen flower, producing pollen for fertilization. Female preflorescence is drop-shaped, strongly elongated, topped with a fine hair designed to trap pollen.
• Inflorescence emergence stage. Male inflorescences appear 3-4 weeks into the vegetative stage, while female inflorescences appear two to three weeks later.

Thanks to the above differences, it is possible to isolate the “girls” in time, before puberty occurs, resulting in a powerful, fragrant sensimile. The earlier male cannabis plants are discovered, the better. Cannabis is very resilient and reproduction is easy and effortless. Partial fertilization of outdoors planters that had been cleared of male plants beforehand was not uncommon. It is not clear where the pollen could have come from, some of the collected buds subsequently contained seeds.

Figuring out the gender of marijuana in advance

Theoretically, there are ways to determine the gender of the plant in advance, before the first pre-flowers appear. Chemical analysis of tissues will help to determine the final gender, the genetic potential of the bush. The procedure is quite expensive, the effectiveness of the analysis is directly related to the degree of maturation of the plant.

After a week of vegetation, chemical analysis can err with a considerable probability. After 3 weeks of the vegetative phase, the analysis will show a 100% result, approximately at this time, male plants begin to independently form characteristic pre-flowers.

Some growers claim: the future sexual identity of the bush can be determined by studying the seed material. In general, the grower community believes that there is no basis to support this opinion. Trying to determine the gender of a cannabis plant by looking at the size and shape of the seeds is more of an omen, superstition or fortune-telling than a real working method.

How do I get female plants almost 100 percent of the time?

There are ways to increase the probability of “girls” from the starting 50/50, the risk of growing a male plant will remain. Planting a few dozen bushes, you will have to take a risk, but insignificantly. Let half after a few weeks “show eggs”, after flowering there will be an excellent harvest. What to do in the indoor, planting 1-2 plants?

To avoid the lottery effect, it is worth choosing feminized cannabis seeds. The probability of female plants with feminized seeds is about 95-97%. If you provide the plant with quality conditions and no serious stress, the probability of getting the desired sex is close to one hundred percent.