Do you prefer smoking, inhaling cannabis vapor, or eating cannabis edibles? You owe a significant debt of gratitude to the female cannabis plant if you enjoy any of these options. Only females contribute to the bud containing cannabinoids such as THC that we can all enjoy. As a result, most breeders seek for feminized seeds that contain only Female genetics. Such seeds are reliable in producing only female plants.
Non-feminized cannabis seeds produce a yield in which about half of the plants are male and half are female. Male plants are advantageous for breeding. However, it’s difficult to get rid of 50% of your plants at the end! Furthermore, you’re wasting valuable time and space on plants that you’ll never need.
This comprehensive guide covers male, female, and hermaphrodite plants. It also explains how to feminize seeds and the advantages and disadvantages of doing so. Finally, it considers seven of the best alternatives on the market. Let’s get this party started!
Hermaphrodite Plants
There’s a lot of misinformation regarding feminized seeds and hermaphrodites (plants with intersexuality), which is why it’s critical to understand the facts. While most complicated organisms are male or female, marijuana is not always so. Because cannabis grows annually and has male and female blossoms on different plants, it is an uncommon plant. However, when certain criteria are satisfied, it may also produce flowers of the opposite gender.
This uncommon situation is actually a survival mechanism. It allows cannabis to grow while also being an annual growth plant that produces flowers of several genders on different plants.
A marijuana plant can become “intersexual” due to external factors such as physical damage, light cycle, and temperature changes.
Intersexity is the result of unfavorable growing conditions; in this case, the plant recognizes that it has a decreased birth rate. The chance of an entire year’s growth being completed is significantly reduced as a result of poor growing circumstances. It becomes less probable that a plant of the opposite gender will grow close enough to fertilize as a consequence of poor growing conditions.
If you have a female plant and no male, it may produce ‘staminate’ flowers to provide pollen. They can also pollinate their own female “pistil” flowers and generate seeds for the following year.
How Early Feminized Seeds Were Created
Modern growers utilize cutting-edge technology to feminize seeds and achieve a near-perfect success rate! You won’t be shocked to learn that it was a bit different at first! The use of two female plants in attempts to feminize marijuana seeds was originally used. One of them had hermaphroditic tendencies; it was a plant that produced male flowers when stressed.
The hermaphrodite was induced to be stressed through pruning or restricted light cycle exposure. The aim was to urge the plant to produce male cannabis flowers as a result of this treatment. Pollen from these flowers was sprinkled over the other female plant. The primary disadvantage of the approach is that pollen-donating female plants are frequently intersexed. This is a characteristic passed on by any feminized seeds produced using this technique.
It’s a lot easier to feminize cannabis seeds these days, as you’ll see later on. Let’s start by looking at the differences between male and female cannabis plants.
Male vs. Female Cannabis Plants
The disadvantage of marijuana plants that are naturally pollinated is that they frequently produce male and female seeds at about the same rate. As a result, if you grow a normal cannabis seed, there is only a 50% chance of getting a female plant. Finally, this implies an extremely wasteful cultivation. You must take into account the fact that half of your plants are likely to be males.
A male plant is basically useless unless you’re a breeder. Too many of them would jeopardize your efforts to grow marijuana. You can address the problem by planting twice as many seeds as usual. Because you know you’ll have to eliminate around 50% of the crop,
If you’re thinking about becoming a marijuana grower, you already know that plants go through two life stages: vegetative and flowering. You might think of the vegetative stage as a plant’s “pre-school.” It only focuses on growing larger and stronger, with no regard for gender. For six weeks, you won’t have a clue about the plant’s gender. This is when plants display “pre-flowers,” according to some sources.
As a result, you may determine a plant’s gender as early as the flowering stage if you know what to look for. Your plants will begin producing buds and pollen sacs at this point. There is a difference between the preliminary flowers created by male and female plants. You can quickly tell the difference once you become an experienced grower.
Male Plants
Female cannabis plants produce these grapes-shaped balls of pollen. You may see them within a fortnight of the budding stage beginning. If you don’t discover the male plant in time, the sacs will burst, releasing pollen over the surrounding area. The pollen will cover an area around you.
Female Plants
You should be able to notice a female plant when the flowering stage begins. They begin as wispy white hairs or two where their buds will ultimately emerge. These hairs may be seen at the junction of the main stem and nodes. If you maintain the plant in the vegetative state for a little longer, you might find this initial indication.
There are several images online that demonstrate the white pistils growing from the plant’s calyxes. Remember, female pistils are never green; they’re always white and flaky.
You should also be aware that hermaphrodite plants are possible, which will have both sex organs. You must eliminate such plants as they will pollinate your crop and ruin it. When you discover male and hermresprodendent plants, it is preferable to get rid of them rather than attempting to remove the buds by hand. Maintain a few males for breeding purposes; otherwise, get rid of them!
Why You Should Grow from Feminized Seeds
The most apparent incentive to utilize feminized cannabis seeds is to remove the element of surprise from the process. If you grow normal seeds, approximately half will be male plants that must be destroyed. You can plan for a complete and productive garden when you feminize cannabis seeds.
Remember, even if marijuana is legal to produce in your state, you are limited to a specific number of plants. In California, for example, all adults aged 21 and older can grow up to six plants per household. If you use typical seeds, there’s a good chance three or four of your plants will be males (if you’re unfortunate).
When utilizing normal seeds, you won’t be able to discern a plant’s gender for weeks. As a result, you’ll need to grow them until you can determine the gender of your plants. By the time the blooming period begins, most plants have already been determined.
How to Feminize Cannabis Seeds
Feminized cannabis seeds can be found from reliable breeders. However, if you don’t live in a place where there are any, or if you want a difficulty, you may attempt to make them yourself. When attempting DIY feminization, there is some luck involved. As a result, don’t expect an exceptionally high success rate. Let’s take a look at some of the most commonly used feminization techniques.
Rodelization
Although it is a more accessible treatment, it is by no means the most powerful. It’s a natural cure, but you’re completely reliant on the marijuana plant to perform. The goal is to maintain the female plant in bloom for far beyond its recommended harvest date. As a result of this, the plant grows anxious and produces pollen sacs. You may collect the pollen once the sacs have formed.
It isn’t a particularly dependable technique, as you might guess. When cannabis plants are subjected to stress, they respond differently. While certain strains consistently produce pollen sacs under pressure, others do not. Rodelization is most effective when you use a marijuana strain that reliably forms the sacs. The other issue is that you’re choosing plants that are naturally hermaphrodite in order to rodelize them. As a result, the seeds generated might also be Hermaphrodites
Colloidal Silver
Colloidal silver is a type of silver that causes female cannabis plants to produce male pollen sacs, which is far more dependable than rodelization. You can buy colloidal silver or attempt to create it yourself by mixing:
- A soldering iron
- Alligator chips
- A 9-volt battery and a connector
- Pure silver; you can use a coin or some wire, for example
- Distilled water
It’s difficult to find 99.9% silver in the DIY method. As a result, it’s preferable to purchase a colloidal silver solution from a trustworthy vendor. The next step is to choose a female marijuana plant, whether you buy or make the solution. When it blooms, continue to mist it with silver every day. Continue this procedure until male pollen sacs begin to form, which can take anything from 10 to 14 days depending on the type of cannabis and how much light your terrarium receives.
Once it’s time to harvest, the pollen sacs will expand and begin to split open. Spray the bud sites on a daily basis until the sacs are ready to burst. When the sacs start to split, collect the feminized pollen. Use it to fertilize a female plant that has been in flower for at least two weeks
Approximately six weeks after pollination, the female plant’s calyxes will develop plump and fat. This is an indication that the seeds should be gathered when they begin to emerge. You’ve done it! You’ve created feminized seeds.
Other Methods
Cloning a female marijuana plant is an inexpensive and effective method of reproduction. You don’t technically feminize seeds, but you do get females and buds. Cloning is quite useful, yet it just allows you to create one strain over and over. If you enjoy the type, this is great news, but it prevents you from experimenting.
If you choose to purchase feminized seeds, you’ll be able to learn more about an ever-expanding field of cannabis strains.
Final Thoughts
In several United States states, growing cannabis at home is permitted. However, for further information, please consult your state’s legislation. Even in these places, you can only grow a limited number of plants in your house. As a result, don’t squander your seed supply and garden area by experimenting with
Colloidal silver kills male plants, making it ideal for producing feminized marijuana seeds. Colloidal silver may be used to create feminized cannabis seeds. All you have to do now is wait a little longer and you could end up with a garden full of female plants.
You’ll end up with a garden that’s half-filled with plants you won’t use if you don’t utilize feminized strains in your crop.
Don’t have the know-how, time, resources, or wherewithal to create feminized seeds? You may simply purchase them from a reputable provider such as Kannabia if this is the case. To virtually assure feminized seeds, they utilize top of the line technology. The brand has created an exceptional collection of feminized strains with award-winning genetics.
If you don’t utilize feminized strains in your garden, you’re growing a crop that’s half-filled with plants that you won’t use. That is a significant waste of time, effort, and space.