In this guide, you will learn how to identify male, female and hermaphrodite Cannabis plants and how to tell the difference.
Perhaps the most frequently asked questions about cannabis home growing is how to identify male or female plants and how to tell the difference. Every grower has asked these questions at some point. Luckily, each gender has unique characteristics that set them apart and help growers identify them easily.
In this guide, I’ll tell you about those features so you can easily tell if your plant is female, male or “hermie” and act accordingly.
First of all, a Marijuana plant may be either male or female (dioecious) or hermaphrodite (monoecious). Dioecious means each individual (plant) has either male or female reproductive organs. Monoecious means the plant has both the male and female reproductive organs in the same individual
What’s the difference between male and female flowers?
Female Cannabis plants
Female Cannabis plants usually start to show sex with small preflowers, around weeks 4-6 from seed. Female preflowers look like a pair of white hairs (stigma) coming out from a green, round calyx. This structure is also known as “pistils”. Many of these small preflowers growing together will become the “buds” we all know, which contain the largest cannabinoids’ concentration. Female Marijuana plants may sprout from photoperiodic, automatic or feminized seeds.
Male Cannabis Plants
Male cannabis plants produce male flowers that look like little balls and appear around weeks 3-4 from seed. Those are actually pollen sacs that contain pollen grains, but no trichomes. Males are not capable of producing buds, but they are able to pollinate the females, which results in more seeds and fewer and smaller buds.
Male preflowers develop first and very fast! Once those pollen sacs are open, they are bound to start pollinating, not only your crop but most plants 5 km around. Look for early signs of male plants: they are usually taller and less bushy than female plants. Just eradicate them, unless you want to produce seeds in a controlled environment.
Now you can identify male or female Cannabis plants! But there are other options…
What about hermaphrodite Cannabis plants?
Hermaphrodite Cannabis plants can occasionally occur. This means a plant develops both male and female flowers in the same individual. Hermies should be eliminated from your crop immediately after detecting them or else they’ll start pollinating your other plants. In fact, those seeds will produce more hermies plants. No Mercy!
In fact, there are two types of marijuana hermaphrodite plants:
“Mixed-gender plants” have yellow elongated sexual organs (anthers) resembling “bananas” or “nanners” growing from female buds. These ”bananas” produce pollen, so they may pollinate our female plants and, as a result, hermaphrodite seeds.
“True hermaphrodites” have both male and female flowers but in different parts of the plant. These are the less common but they can occur. Always continue to check your female plants after sexing them! Just in case they turn into hermies.
Notice the stipules, the small pointy leaves growing beside the male flower. They do not show plant sex!
Some factors that lead to hermaphroditism are plant stress, high temperatures, nutrient deficiencies, root rot, light leakage in dark periods and, finally bad genetics. Avoid these for a better chance to get female plants from your photoperiodic (or unknown) seeds.
Notice the stipules, the small pointy leaves growing beside the male flower. They do not show plant sex!
Do not try to cut off male or hermie flowers in an attempt to stop pollination.
It won’t work! Just kill those plants if you are not planning on producing seeds or harvesting pollen from males. Remember, a hermie plant will pollinate your female plants and those seeds will be hermies as well. Be extra careful!
Sexual reproduction in Marijuana plants
Sexual reproduction in flowering plants involves a process called “pollination”.
Pollination occurs when pollen grains from male or hermaphrodite flowers reach female inflorescences (clusters of flowers a.k.a. “buds”). When this happens, a male gametophyte (sperm cell) enters the female flower, fertilizes the egg and, long story short, a seed starts developing.
A pollinated female plant will spend most of its resources growing lots of seeds and will stop developing the buds, thus reducing your yield significantly.
Growing male and female cannabis plants together is not a good idea if you are planning on harvesting buds. But it has other uses, as collecting seeds to preserve Cannabis genetics or pollen.
Female plants that are deprived of pollen produce bigger and fatter buds with no seeds in them. These are usually called “sinsemilla” (“seedless” in Spanish). This is the best-case scenario for the majority of cannabis home growers who want to harvest their own weed.
How to tell when a marijuana plant is ready to flower
When plants are early in the vegetative stage, leaves and branches grow opposite to each other. They won’t start showing preflowers yet. Wait a few more days until your plant is sexually mature!
When plants are ready to start growing preflowers and switch to the flowering stage, they start growing alternate leaves and branches sets.
These changes in the phyllotaxy (leaves and branches growing along the main stalk) indicate sexual maturity in Cannabis plants, but they don’t show if a plant is male or female.
How to identify male and female cannabis plants
How to tell if your plant is male or female? Or hermaphrodite?? Let’s find out! Examine your plant closely! Preflowers are usually visible to the naked eye. A magnifying glass may be useful too.
| Why | To find out soon your plant gender and weed out the male and hermaphrodite plants before they start pollinating the females, especially if you don’t know where your seed comes from. | |
| Where to look | Pre-flowers start growing where the branches meet the stems, usually in the upper part of the plant, near the lights. | |
| When to look | Female pre-flowers appear: 4-6 weeks from germination. When the plant has 5 or 6 internodes. | Male pre-flowers appear: 3-4 weeks from germination When the plant has 5 or 6 internodes. |
| What to look for | Female pre-flowers look like a pair of white hairs in V form (stigma) coming out from a green calyx. This whole structure is called “pistil”. Later they form clusters of female flowers called “buds”. | Male pre-flowers look like little balls or bananas. Later they form bell-shaped clusters of male flowers. Hermies pre-flowers look like “bananas”. |
| What’s next? | To start the flowering stage, just change the photoperiod from 18L:6D* to 12L:12D*. | Kill all male and hermies plants ASAP, unless you’re planning on producing seeds. |
* 18L: 6D = 18 hours of light, 6 hours of darkness. For vegetative stage.
* 12L: 12D = 12 hours of light, 12 hours of darkness For flowering stage.
First signs of flowering stage: preflowers
If you don’t change the photoperiod to 12L: 12D, your plants won’t start the flowering stage and thus, won’t produce buds. You can let your plants vegetate and grow in size and height as long as desired before flowering. Or you can change the photoperiod before detecting pre-flowers. This will trigger the beginning of the flowering stage and your plants will show their pre-flowers soon.
Photoperiodic cannabis plants in outdoor environments should start flowering when the days grow shorter, usually in Autumn.
Tip: Preflowers are sometimes confused with stipules, which are small, modified pointy leaves that grow near the preflowers. You’re close, keep looking!
Conclusion
Now you can easily identify male or female Cannabis plants, even two types of hermaphrodites. If you are still not sure of what you are seeing, just wait another week for the plant to develop more preflowers. Send us a picture and we’ll help you! It’s better to be on the safe side, but don’t sleep on it!
When growing photoperiodic non-feminized (or unknown/random) seeds, it’s useful to set reminders to start checking every plant in your crop when the time comes! One male could pollinate all your female plants and ruin your prospects of harvesting buds, leaving you with lots of seeds, which may or may not produce female plants.
You can plan and track your crops, set reminders, take photos and more with the Grow with Jane app!
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Hi Jane
I’m about to start planting, but i’m not sure if the different colour seeds represent different gender in plants…?
If not, how do I plant them?
I’ve grown in the past, but on my own knowledge, i would love to produce a better “fruit”
Can you help me?
Kind regards….
Hi Juan! Unfortunately, the color of the seeds does not tell you anything about its gender or strain. Here’s more info about how to germinate your seeds:
Cannabis seed germination (may take 3 to 10 days)
This is how the life of the Cannabis plant begins. A viable seed looks brown with some stripes, hard to the touch and dry. If it feels weak or it’s white or light green, it’s probably an undeveloped seed and it won’t produce a healthy plant.
For germinating, Cannabis seeds need some humidity, air, and water. It’s better to keep them in a dark humid place, for example between two plates in a damped napkin. When the seed opens up and starts showing the first white tap root, it’s time to put it in its next growing medium.
Here’s more info about the seedling stage, or what happens when the seed sprouts and the plant open its first leaves:
https://growithjane.com/cannabis-seedling-grow-healthy-plants-avoid-stunted-growth/
I hope that helps, thanks for contacting us and happy growing!
I only have one plant only one out of 7 seeds germinated having trouble male female or hermi can i send photo
Hi Fred! Please upload your photos to the Grow with Jane app. Then send us an in-app message and we’ll be happy to help!
Here’s the link for downloading for free the Grow with Jane app for Ios and Android https://growithjane.com/ Make sure to take clear and close photos at the nodes, where the branches/leaves meet the main stem, and the whole plant as well. Thanks for reading and commenting! Happy growing!!
What about when I find one seed in my plant… And I can not for the life of me find ANY sign of male anywhere… Everything seems to be female. Just was one seed growing on the outside… What do I do and did it forsure Hermied or can this happen??
Hi Scub, growing seeds is normal for a female cannabis plant that received the pollen of a male cannabis plant growing nearby. Perhaps someone in your neighborhood or area has a male or hermie plant and that pollen reached your female plant. Cannabis pollen can travel up to 3 miles by wind dispersion so maybe you’ll never know where it came from. If you’ve found only one seed means that the male plant it’s not so nearby, or else the female plant would have received loads of pollen grains and hence have lots of seeds growing, not just one. You can let the seed grow and germinate next year or just throw it away. Don’t worry, it’s just nature doing its thing! Happy growing!
Pollen from male Cannabis plants can travel great distances, especially if it’s really windy. Even male Hemp can pollinate homegrown females so that could also be a possibility if it’s grown in your region. Some farmers have hemp contracts where I live so no more outdoor summer crops around here anymore!
I’m trying to figure this out. I though my plants had hermed 3 weeks into flower but now I’m seeing pistols coming out of what look like pollen sacs. Am i just wrong and i have a full fledged female? Why do my pistols and calixes look so much like seeds? Or did I somehow reverse herm them when I quarantined them from the group? I have everyone telling me to get rid of her but I’m not convinced. please help. Don’t know what to do. I can send photos if someone wants to help.
Hi! Not all hermies look the same. Once they’ve shown hermaphrodite preflowers, they won’t turn into female plants. To get further help, you can take some close photos of the nodes (where the branches meet the stem), upload them to the Grow with Jane app and we’ll be happy to take a look.
Here’s the link for downloading for free the Grow with Jane app for Ios and Android https://growithjane.com/
I hope this helps!
I have a similar problem.I see flowers that I do not recognize.do not want to kill.who will look at my pictures?
Hi Marc, to get free personalized advice, download the growing app from http://www.growithjane.com and contact us via an in-app message, then you can send us pics of your plants along with any questions. Our Grower Support Team will be happy to help. Thanks for reading and commenting, happy growing!
Me and my husband will look at your plants
Hi Tzion! Thanks for reading and commenting! Happy growing!
There is no such thing as “reverse herm” or reversing hermaphrodite plants. If they are hermies, they stay hermies, plain and simple.
Also, you can quarantine the hermie but what’s the point? If you get get the hermie’s pollen on you then go see all of your females, with the same pollinated clothes on, well, you just successfully pollinated you crop! Your friends are right, get rid of it, it’s not worth keeping around and jeopardizing total contamination and all of your time wasted.
Hi I am new to growing and am using coco mix i just finished week 4 and for a week or so now i noticed tiny calls growing on the side branches not the main stem of one my plants been watching closely now at the top they are look almost more like a female calyx…and in last day or 2 I have noticed preflowers appearing on more of my plants side branches…I fimmed 3 plants and topped 3..I havent purchased another light yet for flowering or my flowering chemicals yet that will still b 2 more weeks…how soon before they start showing either there pistols or is they grow more sacs? Any suggestions would be awesome…I’ve also tried different training techniques with some so I feel like some look great and others are falling behind because i trimmed to much or dobt have the right room….so i need get rid males asap any help would b greatly appreciated…and also with any other suggestions…
Hi! I’d get rid of the plants that had already shown male or hermaphrodite preflowers NOW because they will soon start to pollinate your female plants, end up with lots of seeds and few buds.
If you need further help, please upload your photos to the Grow with Jane app,send us an in-app message and we’ll be happy to take a look!
Here’s the link for downloading for free the Grow with Jane app for Ios and Android https://growithjane.com/
Growing lights and nutrients are very important for the development of the plant in the flowering stage and of course, to fatten the buds. It also depends on your environment and container sizes. However, the triggering of the flowering stage does not depend on these factors: the change in the photoperiod is what determines when the plants start growing more and more pistils (or pollen sacs).
Here’s an article I wrote recently about the flowering stage. It explains all you need to know about the photoperiod and what does the plant need at this stage. I hope it helps!
https://growithjane.com/flowering-stage-cannabis-plants/
Thanks for contacting us.
Have a nice week and happy growing!
Hi I’m trying to sex my plains so I know before putting them out if they are male or female and I was wondering if I see little ball sacks with no hairs, that is for sure a male plaint or am I needing to wait a day or two to see if any hairs come out?
Hi! A pollen or “ball” sack is different from the female preflowers. You can wait a few days to check again but not too long!
If you need further help, take some close photos of the nodes (where the branches meet the stem), upload them to the Grow with Jane app and I’ll be happy to take a look.
I hope this helps!
My plants are 15 days old and on their 5th set of leaves , should I top them now or wait a little longer ? Thanks , Gary
Hello Gary! Topping very young/small plants may result in stunted growth or failure to recover, especially if this is your first time pruning. For better results, wait until they are 25-30 days old and wait 1-2 weeks before topping again. Don’t forget to track your results!
I hope this helps! Have a nice day!
Great substance regarding the topic. I was very happy to learn so much in just a few minutes. Thanks
Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
Happy growing!!
Hello,
This is my first time growing and one of my plants has signs of becoming male in the form of 1 ball on it’s 5th node on each side, but only one ball not a uster. I’m wondering if It might be an hermaphrodite plant as that’s what the seed came from. Would the genetics push it towards being hermaphrodite? Also if I want to keep growing the male how long can it be left with my other plants? It’s around 1 month old.
Thanks
Jack
Hi Jack, I hope it’s not too late for this! Yes, it might be hermie due to genetics and/or environmental stress. Both male and hermaphrodite plants produce pollen sacs that open within a few weeks and start pollinating the females and the hermies as well. If you want to keep your crop “sinsemilla” (no seeds, only buds), it’s better to grow only females and weed out both male and hermie plants. Thanks and have a nice day!
Iam growing Taomatic from last years seeds. I want to get rid of males early. I have one plant that started to bud on top but I think it’s a herme. I like to send you a pic for your opinion.
Please upload your photos to the Grow with Jane app. Then send us an in-app message and we’ll be happy to take a look!
Here’s the link for downloading for free the Grow with Jane app for Ios and Android https://growithjane.com/
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Happy growing!
Great info thank you
Thank you for reading! Happy growing!
Hi Jane!
Also a first time grower and not sure if the following method should or not be done? I have 4 plants in containers outside to grow. They are about 4 weeks old and are in small pots. Is it alright to transfer to 5 gallon pots now? I haven’t been able to confirm the sex as of yet. Is it taking longer because of weather changes?
Another question; Is it OK to move the pots around the perimeter of my house following the sun?
Thanks
n
Hi Vic! Sorry for de delayed response! There’s no problem with moving around those pots as long as the plants receive enough sunlight and are not damaged. Yes, repoting your plants will help them to grow more vigorously and strongly. The bigger the pot, the taller the plant.
Some strains take more time to show sex than others and some environmental factors can delay that too.
Are they showing preflowers now? I hope you find the article useful. If you need further help, please download our app to share your Growlog with me and I’ll be happy to help you determine their gender.
Thanks for reading and commenting. Happy growing!!
Thanx for all info, im growing mobi dick, and lemon diesel, big plants is south africa, how do i now when to top or prune.
Hi Dniel! You are welcome and thanks for reading!
A healthy plant 30 days into the vegetative stage may be ready for topping. I suggest starting topping only after your plant has developed between 4–5 nodes.
If you are planning on topping/pruning several times, wait at least 1 week between toppings and always watch for progress and track changes.
Don’t try topping seedlings or plants with nutrient deficiencies, this may cause stunted growth!
Happy growing!
Hello Jane,
My plant is in flower phase and something tragic happened, it appears to be falling and dead suddenly. Although, I didn’t water it for one day or something. I usually spray the water on the plant and on the soil till it’s moist and now the plant looks in a very bad state. Can you help me please?
Hello, watering requirements change along the stages and as the plant grows. If the pot is too small for the plant it may experience root problems, check if your plant needs repoting.
Also, for a flowering plant, I do not recommend spraying it with water, as it may cause mold and fungi to grow on the buds. Use a watering can instead to water only the soil. The amount of water depends on the size of the pot and the environmental conditions. Water until a little water runs off the drainage holes. Let the first inch of the soil dry before watering again. If your plant is already flowering, make sure to stick to a nutrient schedule for flowering.
Here’s an article about how to take care of flowering plants and the different stages within flowering. https://growithjane.com/flowering-stage-cannabis-plants/
I hope your plant bounces back soon and continues to grow healthy.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
A of mine told me you can ‘change the sex’ of a plant by pinching off the little balls of a male plant. Is this true? I’ve never heard of that before…
Hello, this is not true. A male plant won’t turn into female even if you strip it down of all preflowers. Just get rid of the whole plant if you are not planning on harvesting seeds or pollen. Thanks!
Hello
This is my first time growing. I have plants in their second week of flowering, about 8 weeks since germination. I am seeing small balls on several locations. They are pointy on the top. Just wondering how long I should wait before seeing white hairs? And how long might I have before they would be able to pollinate if they were males or hermie
Hi! If they are undeveloped female preflowers, soon they’ll show the pistils (hairs). If they turn out to be male or hermie preflowers, pollen sacs may open and pollinate female plants within a week or two. Check every day for a week, but no more than that.
To get further help, you can take some close photos of the nodes (where the branches meet the stem), upload them to the Grow with Jane app and we’ll be happy to take a look.
Have a nice day!
Are these preflowers?
Hi, sorry I can’t see any images. Where you trying to share one?
If I didn’t get your question correctly, please ask again.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Hello,
I have a plant in flower , week 6. I noticed a cpl of buds are growing seeds. Looks like she may have been pollinated by a plant from the previous harvest.
Will this plant produce pollen and pollinate others in my grow room?
Hello James! If your plant is a female plant that has been pollinated by a male or hermie plant it will produce seeds along with the buds.
If the plant is a hermie that has been pollinated and also it’s growing its own pollen sacs (the ones that look like bananas) in the same buds, it will pollinate other female and hermie plants.
Pollen only comes from pollen sacs, which are found exclusively in male and hermaphrodite plants. Female plants grow seeds because they receive pollen grains in their female organs, but cannot produce pollen on their own as they lack pollen sacs.
I hope this is clarifying. Thanks for reading and commenting!
Hey friends from Maine
Hi! Thanks for reading and commenting!
Have a nice day and happy growing!!
Question: at what point in the growth cycle can the females be pollinated? Do they need to be in Bud/flower? I have some males for a seed project so I want to be sure to keep them away from the females but I need to know how long I have with out danger of pollination.thx
Hello Liz! Females may start to be pollinated when they’ve been in the flowering stage for about 2-3 weeks.
Be extra careful if you are growing male plants near them, better keep them separated to avoid accidents.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
Have a great grow and congratulations on your seed project!
Hi!
Thank you for the article!
A friend of mine have me a plant as a present not knowing if it was going to be a male or female. Since I love plants and I don’t have any females, I was happy either way.
We discovered then, sadly that is a male plant, but I wanted to keep it because I still like it.
Other friends came home saying I’m still need to kill it because it would pollinated hypothetical plants that people around me would have.
Do I really have to kill my plant?
Thanks in advance
Hello Barbara! Sadly, that’s true. A male plant can pollinate any female plants 5 km (more than 3 miles) around. Cannabis pollen is disseminated by wind mainly, but you can also carry it in your clothes (same for your friends visiting). It also may cause allergies as other types of airborne pollen.
If you are not planning on harvesting that pollen in a closed environment, I’m afraid the best solution is to kill the plant.
I hope you have another chance of growing this wonderful plant at home. Thanks for reading and commenting!
Have a nice day!
Hi There. Newbie here!
I was told years ago that a way to sex your plants early was as follows…
Female plants will have their branches alternating off the main stalk.
Male plants will have their branches going directly opposite each other off the stalk.
Is this true?
My clone has alternating branches.
Every one of my plants from seeds, have their branches directly opposite each other. (bummed)
I am finding it very hard to tell the sex by the ball, and hair method. Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers
Hello! That statement is not true. Changes in the phyllotaxy (leaves growing along the stalk) indicate sexual maturity in Cannabis plants, but it doesn’t show if a plant is male or female.
When plants are early in the veg stage, leaves and branches grow opposite to each other.
When plants are ready to start growing preflowers and switch to the flowering stage, they start growing alternate leaves and branches sets.
Those plants growing branches directly opposite to each other are not ready to show, so wait a few more days and start looking for preflowers in the nodes again.
Probably, your clone already has its branches growing opposite because a clone has the same age as the “mother plant” where it was taken from, despite its size. It already has the ability to grow preflowers but it won’t start the flowering stage until you change the photoperiod to 12/12, but that’s ok because it needs a few days of veg growth. A clone taken from a female plant will be female as well.
You can continue to grow both your clone and your plants from seed until every plant has shown sex by growing preflowers or had changed its branches’ disposition. Then switch to 12/12 and start the flowering stage.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Hi I have a question I’m a new grower and at first I had two plants and come to find out one was a male I noticed on one of them they had the white hairs that you were talking about so I knew that one was a female I got rid of the male but I think that it may have rubbed off on the female because now I don’t see the white hairs anymore and I’m hoping that it’s not turned it into a hermaphrodite if it has turned into a hermaphrodite plant will it still produce buds
Hi Sharon, yes hermaphrodite plants still produce buds, maybe less potent than females but they have cannabinoids and terpenes. Female plants do not turn into hermies after being in contact with male plants, what could have happened is that your female plant got pollinated by the male and now started to produce seeds. Female plants growing seeds also produce buds, again maybe less potent than “sinsemilla” (no seeds) but still good. I hope you get to harvest buds whatever had happened. If you need personalized advice, please send us a message via the Grow with Jane app and we’ll be happy to take a look! Happy growing!
Thank you Alicia, for your reply. Love your site. It’s most informative for newbies like me! Glad I didn’t yank them out yet! Cheers!
Hi Jane. I have a very big plant (almost a tree) that I think is male. Can I send a picture to [email protected] for an opinion? Thanks
Hi Dan! Yes, you can! For better assistance, take some close photos of the nodes (where the branches meet the stem) where you find preflowers.
Upload them to the Grow with Jane app. I’ll take a look and help you determine their gender.
To share your Growlog:
– In the Grow with Jane app, select your Plant
– Tap on the Tree icon and select Share
– Copy the link and send it to me by email
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Great Stuff on here!
I am first time grower too.
After finding a “bag seed”(don’t know strain- but I always get premium to shelf) I ended up with a nice 2x3x6 tent and the works…
The seed produced just under an ounce harvest. However, I pinched a bud during curing and it had 4 seeds in it…the flowers are still curing…since then I have done several quality checks(LoL) and have not ran into any other seeds YET.
Apparently somehow the mystery strain while it showed 100% female traits, large nice buds, great smell and taste…and the effects where pretty good; it produced seeds! From what I gather it self pollenated(Hermie ?!?)…
My issue is…
I put this mystery strain to flower on 5/23…along came into flower were two clones(Jack Herer and Colombian Gold). These clones went into flower 7/6 and 7/10 respectively.
What are the chances the other two plants that entered WEEKS later into flower also turn out to be hermies? Both are twice as large as the mystery strain turned out to be.
I see no signs of male traits anywhere(bananas or pollen sacs..or seeds)…yet I never saw signs of male parts on the mystery either….as a first time grower, I have been spending LOTS of time examining the plants. I have hundreds of photos throughout their stages….with microscope too. I have been examining the photos and never saw anywhere any male traits.
So I’m baffled…any input on how this might have occurred, and the impact on the rest of the plants…
FYI: since I discovered the seeds about a week into drying I have wiped from top to bottom the tent, intake, exhaust, fan blades etc…I have also misted the rest of the plants with clean water as according to some forums it sterilizes the pollen(which i don’t get, would rainforests not exist if this is true?)
Thank I’m advance 🙂
Hello Kris! Cannabis pollen is transported via wind, airborne Cannabis pollen may travel up to 5 km around just to find a suitable female flower to pollinate. So, maybe you did everything right and still, some male or hermie plant is growing somewhere in your area and that’s how you got your seeds. There’s always the possibility that you might have just missed one or two pollen sacs or bananas and those have enough pollen grains to pollinate your plants, but when female plants are indoors along with male pollen they usually grow a lot more than 4 seeds.
The cleaning is always useful, but be careful not to mist too much your plants if they are flowering, as this may cause fungi to thrive and it’s not a proven sterilizing method. Now let them dry and keep an eye for new seeds.
Thanks for reading and commenting! Happy growing!
Thanks Alicia 🙂
I did forget to mention that mystery seed went through a lot of stress. Started in a space bucket before the indoor tent setup, it was practically dead after germination. Then came to life. Spent at least 6 weeks in Veg stage in spacebucket. Also had Temps reaching 90s sometimes…and humidity to low 30s other times. This was all until I figured out the airflow etc…
So I gather chances are that the other plants that were literally at some point touching each other.
But again…The rest of the plants went in flowering stage weeks after the mystery seed started to flower.
Hey hi you guys,
I’ve got a quick question my plants are outside and they are descent size but they are not budding I see preflower I believe (first timer)?but no buds !!!??should they have pre buds already?? they have been growing since May??
Hi! Some strains take more time to develop buds, especially outdoors and spend months of vegetative growth with just a few female preflowers (hairs) here and there. That depends mainly on the strain, the photoperiod (hours of light/darkness) and interruptions of said dark hours. For example, if the plant grows under a very potent street light during the “night time”, that may delay flowering too. Same for indoor crops.
If you need further help, please upload your photos to the Grow with Jane app. Then send us an in-app message and we’ll be happy to take a look!
Here’s the link for downloading for free the Grow with Jane app for Ios and Android https://growithjane.com/
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Happy growing!
Can male plants pollinate any female plants, or does it have to be the same type?
Hi Alexa! Any Cannabis male plant can (and will) pollinate any female Cannabis plant around, no matter the strain or type. That’s how Cross-Breeding happens and how breeders create new strains. Also, there may be cross-pollination between cannabis plants and hemp plants, especially in outdoor crops and most of the time with undesired results for farmers.
Cannabis pollen is carried by the wind (airborne) and maybe disseminated up to 5 km around and pollinate female and hermaphrodite plants as well.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Hi, first just want to say this is a great site!!! I’m a first time grower and I just found 3 males and a hermie mixed in with my females. My question is, if the pollen sacs haven’t opened and I don’t see any white stuff on the leaves, could my females still be saved?
Hello Julie! Thanks for reading and commenting such kind words! Congratulations on spotting those males and hermies on time, if the male flowers (pollen sacs) haven’t opened yet you can still save your female plants from unwanted pollination. Just eliminate those plants from your crop and you’ll soon be seeing buds forming on your female plants.
A change from green to yellow in the male flowers indicate they are about to burst open and release pollen. If one or two of them have already opened, don’t panic. Maybe you’ll get a few seeds and nothing more, but don’t wait too long or it will be all seeds and almost no buds.
Have a nice day and happy growing!
hi jane my one plant is about 2 meters high and only now starting to show it is a HERMAPHODITE MUST I CHOP IT — SHIT MAN thanks
Hi Gerhardt! I’m sorry to hear this! It’s a very personal decision, a hermie may give you some smokable flowers, or none, but there’s still a high risk of pollination all over the place. Also, those resulting seeds might be hermies as well. It’s recommended to chop hermies off, even if it breaks our hearts every time.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Hi…I harvested my plant late Oct. Cured it and am enjoying it now. My question is, I have gotten about a dozen seeds from the plant. Is there any way of telling the gender of the seeds? The plant I harvested was not fertilized. Thanks Alicia.
Hi Steve! Congratulations on your harvest! Sadly, there’s no way to know the gender of a Cannabis seed, not only these seeds but any Cannabis seed. I suggest keeping those seeds stashed in a sealed bag or similar, and inside the fridge. This would mimic the winter season and in a few months, you can take them to put to germinate. This process is known to improve germination rates.
Here’s an article about seed germination, with some tips and pics. https://growithjane.com/how-to-germinate-cannabis-seeds/
Thanks for reading and commenting, happy growing!!
I need help. I thought I was positive that my 3 plants were all female. Now I’m confused. They might hermies.
Hi Jen! Sorry for the delay. We have a Growing Community where you can post pics, ask questions and share your experiences https://social.growithjane.com/ You are welcome to join!
To get personalized and private Grower Support, send your question as an in-app message in the Grow with Jane app. There you can add your pics so we can take a look and give you private feedback. If you’ve already been using the app we can see your Growlog and give you better diagnostics based on your tracked actions and photos!
Download for free at https://growithjane.com/ and contact us, we’ll be happy to help!
Have a nice day and happy growing!
I have a plant I started to flower, could you give me your opinion on its sex? Thank you. What link should I send pic if so?
Hi Alan! We have a Growing Community where you can post pics, ask questions and share your experiences https://social.growithjane.com/ You are welcome to join!
To get personalized and private Grower Support, send your question as an in-app message in the Grow with Jane app. There you can add your pics so we can take a look and give you private feedback. If you’ve already been using the app we can see your Growlog and give you better diagnostics based on your tracked actions and photos!
Download for free at https://growithjane.com/ and contact us, we’ll be happy to help!
Have a nice day and happy growing!
Loved the site. Great “for” info!
Thank you for reading and commenting Jaci! Happy growing!
I have a female in Vegetation but some how another seed dropped in with her and growing as well what do I do should I separate or leave it be.
Hi Sherry! If they are in a container or pot, it’s better to carefully separate them as soon as possible to give both of them a better chance of growing. Plants growing in the same pot compete for light and nutrients, so it’s better to grow them in different pots.
Thanks for reading and commenting, happy growing!
Great site!
I’m a first time grower, and my plants are about 6-7 weeks old. 2 plants I can see any indication of what they are but one shows elongated balls, but no hairs. Not sure if I can post a pic but I’ll try and hopefully you can help me out.
Thank you in advance!!
PS. Guess I can’t upload a pic.
Hi Bear! If you see many of these elongated balls and no “hair”, they are probably male plants. For personalized advice, download for free the growing app from http://www.growithjane.com and contact us via an in-app message. We’ll be happy to help and then you can send us pics of your plants. Thanks for reading and commenting, happy growing!
Hello, i have reached my harvest time and i noticed my buds have some seeds inside. She totally looks like a female, big, strong buds, no signs of crops, nothing to determine they were hermie.
Will the buds still be ok?
Thanks for helping!
Hi Maria! Female flowers or buds have the ability to make seeds when a grain of male pollen reaches the flower. Finding seeds is not a sign of that plant being hermie. What usually happens is that a grain of pollen from a male or hermie plant in the surroundings reaches the female plant and pollinates it. Cannabis pollen is microscopic, travels with the wind, and may travel 3 miles (5 km) or even more until it reaches a female plant. If there are a few seeds in the buds, that’s fine. It means the male plant is not so near to yours so don’t worry. Your buds will be fine! Thanks for reading and commenting!
Can you take a look at mine and determine my sex please?
Hi Logan!Send the plants’ pics and questions through the Grow with Jane app and our Grower Support Team will take a look! You can also join our Community via the app to share with other growers worldwide.
Download free at https://growithjane.com/
My plant is at least 1 1/2 feet tall and I can’t detect any sign of being a female or male Thank you
Hi Dave! You can download the Grow with Jane app for free at http://www.growithjane.com to show us your plants or join the community, share photos and get personalized advice. Thanks for reading and commenting, happy growing!
I was given seeds and now have several plants. I tried to figure out what sex the plants are but do not see the same thing in your pictures on my plants. How do I figure this out? The plants are about 3 ft tall now. Help!
Hi Emil! Maybe your plants aren’t flowering yet. Wait a few more days and examine the nodes and the base of the leaves for first signs of flowering. You can download the Grow with Jane app for free at http://www.growithjane.com to show us your plants and get personalized advice. Thanks for reading and commenting, happy growing!
Hi Jane,
A plant appeared in my garden this spring and it looked like a marijuana plant. I have looked on your website and my plant doesn’t seem to fit in as hemp, marijuana (male or female).
My plant is 5 feet 10 inches tall.
At the junction of a branch with the trunk, I don’t see anything resembling seeds with or without hairs. Nor are there flowers as of yet. What I see at all junctions is one (1) stem with 7 leaves at the end of the stem.
What is that plant? Can I send you a picture, please?
Hi Pierre, for sharing pictures you can download our free growing app at https://growithjane.com/ and share your pics from there with the Grow with Jane team and the community as well. We’ll be happy to help! Thanks for reading and commenting!
High there, I just wanted to comment on one question I read about telling seed sex back in the 80’s I ran across an ask Ed article in high times magazine where although not 100% coming In at a strong 98% accuracy the rounder the seed the more likely it will be female and if the seed in question is more oval or elongated it’s more likely to be male now like I said this has shown itself to be only 98% accurate but those are good odds in my opinion and so far worked out well I have seen a male yet but could be dumb luck feel free to test this theory yourself have a wonderful day ps.love the Website lots of good reading
Hi Charles, thanks for reading and commenting! Happy growing!
Herow Jane so i must admit I’m a “by accident” mother to what i think i was lucky enough to be a female. I consider myself a gardner but because I’m not experienced in growing my blessing i really feel horrible because i really have messed up somewhere along the line. I’m just worried I’m not understanding the growing tips I’ve received , it’s all just too confusing for me. . First of all my big mistake was not “topping” from my understanding it’s too late. So i’m struggling whether or not my plant is a true female but now i think i see that it may be manifesting into a hermi! I’m so scared of hurting her by picking them off. I’m not the best descriptive writer plus I haven’t memorized terminology for the plant parts. So I’m not sure how to explain why i think it’s a hermi. I kindly request for you to send my photos for your review and assiatance ? I trimmed a few fan leaves and that even felt forrible as if i was doing damage. My email is [email protected] if you have time to hit me up and maybe take a look? I really don’t mind if anybody wants to help feel free to email me. Thank you kindly and much gratitude for time and willingness to help me. Peace
On top of the plant ‘m starting to see these green little balls forming on the top branch in between a stem so it’s kinda in the middle it does have two hair coming out
Hi Luna, thanks for sharing your case. Don’t worry about “not topping” a plant as it is not something essential for plant development and certaintly not recommended for beginners as you have many other things to figure out before starting with pruning. It’s possible that you have a hermaphrodite plant but photos will be more useful. You can share your case with photos and questions on our Community forum, we’ll be happy to help. Access our forum via the Grow with Jane app, completely free! Download at http://www.growithjane.com
Thanks for reading and commenting, happy growing!