Are the grower cultivation marijuana at at-home, but aren’t certain if your plants are staminate alternatively female? Then you’ve come to the right spot! This article remains going toward display you how to tell the distinction around staminate and pistillate marijuana plants toward correctly sex them.

In specific, I PERSONALLY want toward display you how we determine the sex of our marijuana crops while they are yet fairly new. It gets significantly more obvious as the crops start to fully developed as well as bloom. Upon the other hand, it can be a bit more tricky to sex marijuana crops in the initial early-flower stage, yet it remains definitely practical! We all’ll also talk one bit about why it remains key to determine the plant sex from cannabis crops, the distinction between standard and feminized seeds, how we treat our plants up up to the period we all know the growers' sex, and what toward do with unwanted male crops.

If you’re new toward Homestead as well as Chill, https://nativesusa.com/ (https://eeshop-online.com) be certain toward review out our additional cannabis-related articles! We primarily cultivate outdoors, 100% natural, and aim toward offer useful details that is easy toward follow –  the two for use by fresh as well as experienced cultivators alike. Like one disclaimer, this article is intended for use by those who can lawfully cultivate cannabis around at-home.

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Feminized vs Regular Cannabis Beans

If the grower are cultivation from feminized seeds, the grower shouldn’t require to worry about sexing your marijuana plants every that much. While not 100% guaranteed, there remains only a very slim likelihood that a feminized seed can create one staminate crop. About 1% inside fact. Inside all from our years growing, we have do not held a cannabis plant cultivated from female-only bean turn out toward be one male – though we only grow a handful from crops per year. Folks who cultivate hundreds of plants could potentially end with a rare staminate now and then.

Female-only beans are highly desirable to most cultivators. They’re efficient. It remains almost sure-fire that the grower’re spending your vigor as well as resources raising ladies. Still, some cultivators accept or even prefer regular (unsexed) beans! We grow one small from both.

Why grow standard cannabis beans? Well, perhaps one specific geneticist or strain the grower want toward try only carries standard seeds. Some growers feel that the feminization procedure is unnatural, as well as prefer toward kick it aged school by cultivation regular seeds only. Some enjoy the gamble as well as challenge. Whatever the reason, when you cultivate cannabis from standard seeds, the odds from getting all lady crops are not in your favor. You will end up with some males. Therefore, the grower require to learn toward sex your cannabis plants! Also, we all consistently start multiple additional "standard" beans – assuming a 50/50 chance that some can be culled since they are staminate.  

How are feminized marijuana beans made?

Curious about how female-only seeds are made? In one nutshell: most female-only seeds come from marijuana crops that contain been treated as well as altered in one manner that inhibits male chromosomes. The most common approach remains toward spray the plant repetitively (daily or more) with colloidal Ag. Other chemicals and compounds can be used too, but are far lower accessible. Colloidal Ag remains technically "non-toxic", but the grower do indeed not prefer to smoke the plant! Thus, the plant is sacrificial – used for the production from male pollen as well as seeds only.

Repeated colloidal silver treatments cause repression from the crop’s ethylene, which is the stuff that creates male flowers. Instead, the treated pistillate plant can cultivate male pollen sacks full of PISTILLATE pollen (XX rather than XY). Then breeders use the pistillate pollen to fertilize pistillate blooms, resulting in the development of all-female beans. 

One more way toward create feminized cannabis beans remains called rodelization. The plant remains one more organic yet unreliable method, as well as lower frequently used by breeders. Near the end from a growing season, one un-pollinated pistillate cannabis plant will at times create male pollen sacks inside a desperate attempt toward pollinate herself. That pollen may be used toward try to create feminized beans, but since ethylene hasn’t been repressed⁠, may also outcome in staminate seeds.

Okay, back to sexing marijuana. 

Why Sex Cannabis Crops? The Role of Staminate and Female Plants

For use by the most portion, the typical at-home cultivator wants pistillate cannabis crops. The ladies are the ones⁠ that create the fattest, most resinous as well as most potent blooms – also called flowers. Male cannabis plants are only desirable when someone wants toward breed cannabis as well as preserve seeds (which remains one whole additional topic for use by another date). Even then, the cultivator can want to spot the difference around the staminate and female crops as well as separate them early on, unless the plants want unbound cross-breeding as well as fertilization around numerous kinds of strains. 

Never only are the males lower desirable, yet staminate cannabis crops interfere with the standard and production from your female crop. Male plants cultivate male pollen sacks, and create male pollen. Once a female cannabis plant turns fertilized from a nearby staminate, her vigor shifts inside creating seeds.

Similar to most things in nature, female cannabis plants contain a natural drive toward reproduce. After the deed has⁠ been done, she will sit back as well as relax. As one pollinated pistillate cannabis plant WILL still form decent size buds, the plants are typically lower quality as well as include lower THC as well as additional desirable cannabinoids. Not toward mention, they’ll be full from beans. When left un-pollinated, one female marijuana plant’s blooms (buds) can continue toward swell, develop more trichomes and become increasingly resinous. She is trying to get like sticky as well as large like practical toward catch pollen in the airflow. That resinous seedless flower – also called unfertilized, seed-free marijuana.

Swollen, sticky sinsemilla

When to Sex Marijuana Crops

Our goal in this guide today remains to learn how to tell the distinction between staminate as well as female cannabis crops initial on, so you may get the male plants away from the females as soon as practical! The plant will help protect your lady crops – but also spare the grower the wasted period, references, as well as vigor of tending toward male plants that the grower do not’t intend to maintain.  

Maintaining inside mind that every strain as well as cultivate set-up (e.g. inside, outdoors, daylight hours) makes varying circumstances, most marijuana crops begin toward pre-flower as initial like 4 periods after germination. By week 6, the pre-flowers start to reveal their gender as well as the grower should be capable toward identify the sex using the tips toward follow. Once the crops go into full flower (8 toward 10 weeks upon average, for use by one natural outdoor cultivate) the differences between male and female plants will be glaringly obvious. We’ll speak more about exactly what each sex looks similar to in a moment. 

Up to we all may tell the sex for certain, we all keep going toward treat the plants equally. We start our seeds inside little 4-inch nursery pots. About two weeks after sprouting, we all pot the seedlings up inside one approximately two-gallon (exchange size) "sexing pot" similar to those BPA-free nursery pots. The current enables everyone to continue toward grow in one happy and healthy manner for use by multiple more periods*. Then, after we all may surely tell the difference around the male and pistillate marijuana plants, only the ladies move inside the growers' forever home – 15 toward 25 gallon cultivate bags full from recycled natural living soil. To learn more about our medium recipe as well as how we all maintain the plant, see this article.

*Remember that our feminized seedlings go from one 4" pot to an 8" container, and then more fast inside big grow containers, using lower medium inside the potting-up procedure.

This small girl (or boy) remains far also young toward tell, but needs toward be potted up soon. The two in poly wrap pots in the background were determined to be staminate as well as culled the next date. The two upon the left in grow containers are definite female plants (one from female-only seed, as well as one we sexed from standard seed).

How toward Tell the Difference Between Staminate as well as Female Marijuana Crops in Pre-flower

Inside order toward correctly sex cannabis plants, you’ll require toward turn familiar with their anatomy in general. Both males as well as female plants create pre-flowers and blooms inside the junctions between stems or stems. The very first pre-flowers show up in the crook around the primary crop stalk and a fan leaf shoot (petiole), usually near the top from the plant. The solid news is, the males usually begin toward develop and display sooner than females. I PERSONALLY guess the idea remains that the dudes prefer to have their male pollen ready and waiting for use by when the ladies join the party?

Cannabis anatomy, courtesy of the Colorado Marijuana School

Appear for use by crop pre-flowers around the higher stalk/stem junctions, as described above. If needed, use one jeweler’s loupe to get a stronger look! That is the same magnifying tool commonly used to examine trichomes and determine crop readiness for use by harvest. Then, locate the stipule, which⁠ remains a leafy pointed flap that protrudes from the junction. Don't’t confuse that for use by a pre-flower! The cannabis plant sex sections are located just behind the stipule. Beneath the early-flower sex sections, taller development tips can emerge – future auxiliary branches that create buds.

Identifying one Male Marijuana Plant

Very early, the male pre-flower (early pollen sacs) simply looks like a more round version than the female early-flower part. The plant is frequently referred to as a "spade", like the spade suit in cards – squatty with a bulbous bottom and very slight point. As the plant becomes a little larger, the male early-flower resembles a ball around the end of a stick. The male early-flower is known as a staminate. Then, the staminate eventually develops inside one long hanging sack of baby bananas – the male pollen sacs. Hopefully the grower may ID and cull the males before they get to this phase.

ONE 4-5 week old staminate cannabis crop inside our grow area, showing his stick as well as ball. Remember that this is one really initial and obvious example. Most of the other males in the current age group display a round ball, but protruding lower and more nestled flat against the stalk.


ONE more advanced staminate early-flower, courtesy of Dr. Weedly (We never let our males get this far toward photograph)


Did someone order a banana hammock? The male flowers are about toward open as well as shed pollen, if the plants haven’t already. Photo from Green Cultured

Identifying a Female Cannabis Plant

Inside contrast, the very early female marijuana pre-flowers are more ovate in form: pear-like, yet with one more extended slender pointed tip. That is called her calyx. Extending from the⁠ tip from the calyx may be a pair from white hairs, alternatively pale hair-like protrusions. However, please note that never every pistillate cannabis plant inside early-flower produces pistils. 

One of our fine new ladies from the 2020 season.

When you are still unsure from the sex from your marijuana crop, wait toward make any drastic decisions! Yet if the grower’re fairly certain, consider some from these other typical differences around staminate as well as female plants. Perhaps the plant will help the grower more confidently create one decision.

Additional Typical Differences Around Staminate and Pistillate Cannabis Crops

Aside from the clear-cut flower differences, there are a several (possible) trending characteristics between staminate and female marijuana crops. Inside many cases, staminate marijuana plants tend toward be more gangly. The plants may be high, narrow, contain fewer fan foliage, as well as longer spacing around branches – also referred to like greater inter-nodal spacing. On the flip side, pistillate cannabis plants are usually more compact as well as bushy than male plants. 

Please maintain inside mind that those features are not guaranteed, and shouldn’t be the only method toward plant sex cannabis plants! Variations among strains as well as phenotypes may lead to all sorts from crazy things. The general crop structure just may help give you a clue if the grower’re upon the fence.

My Cannabis Plant remains Male! Now What?

I hope you began one several extra seeds, as well as contain plenty of ladies left to grow! Once you determine that the grower have a staminate marijuana crop, get rid of the plant. Again, unless the grower want pollination as well as beans, the plant is top to cull the male plants as early as possible. Just separating the plants isn’t enough. Even if the grower relocate the male plant toward one more part of your yard, the pollen may carry inside the airflow. There are stories of pistillate cannabis plants becoming fertilized from neighbors growing multiple blocks aside. 

Still, the culled male plants don't’t need to go to waste! One choice is toward chop up the staminate crop and use the plant toward mulch other crops – much similar to we all do indeed with borage, fava bean greens⁠, yarrow, as well as comfrey. The grower could too juice the leaves, which are full of feed. Heck, the grower could even steep the plant material in water toward create one organic fertilizer like we all do indeed with stinging nettle. Finally, I PERSONALLY’m certain your compost pile can welcome the staminate plant with open arms. Or would that be… with open⁠ worms? 

Who knew mulch could be⁠ so sexy?


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And that is how you determine the sex of cannabis crops.

In closing, I hope the current article is interesting and helpful inside your the grow guide adventures. Please feel free to ask queries inside the comments underneath, as well as spread the cannabis sex love from sharing the current article. Even if the grower similar to toward cultivate mostly feminized beans, do not’t the grower find this stuff fascinating? I certain do. Thanks for use by tuning inside and nerding out with me a bit. Best of luck this cultivation season!

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