Male and Female Cannabis Plants
MSNL Team
Did you know that cannabis plants produce both male and female offspring? Growers are able to identify female and male plants once the plants are about 6 weeks old. Male plants begin to grow pollen sacs, sometimes also referred to as false buds. Female plants grow wispy looking hairs called Pistils. Pistils grow out of the Calyx, the Calyx becomes the bud.
FEMALE PLANTS PRODUCT THE BUDS THAT WE SMOKE. MALE PLANTS PRODUCT POLLEN INSTEAD OF BUDS.
It is important for growers to keep their male and female plants away from each other as soon as they are able to identify them.
When males produce pollen and female plants catch pollen, they spend all their energy trying to create seeds and stop putting that energy into growing the buds that we smoke.
Cannbis Bud
Cannabis Pollen
Male plants are often tossed once they have been identified in order to ensure that female plants can continue to grow buds uninterrupted. When a female plant releases seeds, it is often a a 50/50 split of male and female seeds.
An alternative to growing seeds and waiting a few weeks to see is acquiring feminized seeds or clones of the plant.
Cannabis Seeds
HERMAPHRODITE PLANTS
Female plants can develop both male + female parts. Both the pollen sacs and the Pistils. This is usually a result of the plant becoming stressed. Cannabis plants can be stressed out by
- Nutrient Deficiencies
- Poor Weather
- Damage to the Plant
- Plant Diseases
Hermaphrodite plants are also removed from cannabis gardens as they too have now gained the ability to pollinate the rest of the garden which could impact your harvest! Making sure to take care of the plants and reduce any potential stressors is important to make sure that females don’t turn and potentially pollinate the rest of the garden!
MALE PLANTS STILL DO HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY!
Male plants are still important to anyone looking to create their own strains. New strains are created from both male and female plants.
