How To Tell If Pot Plant Is Female

Cannabis plants can be either male or female. While male plants produce pollen for fertilization, female plants are the ones that produce the much-coveted flowers with high levels of THC or CBD. For this reason, if you're growing cannabis, it's important to know how to tell if your plants are female. In this article, we provide you with a guide on how to do just that.

Visual Cues

One of the easiest ways to tell if your cannabis plant is female is by looking at its visual cues. Female cannabis plants generally have a fuller and bushier appearance. The stems of the plant are also more robust and have a thicker structure than those of male cannabis plants. A closer look at the nodes where leaves meet the stem can also give you an idea of the sex of the plant. Female cannabis plants have small, white hairs that eventually grow into buds or flowers. These hairs are called pistils. Male cannabis plants, on the other hand, produce pollen sacs that look like tiny balls and don't have pistils.

Pre-Flowering

Once your cannabis plant has moved into the pre-flowering stage, you can get a clearer indication of its gender. During this stage, pre-flowers emerge at the nodes of the stem. Female cannabis plants have a small, translucent hair-like growth at the base of their pre-flowers. The shape of the pre-flower itself can also be used to identify the sex of the plant. Female pre-flowers are more oval or teardrop-shaped, while male pre-flowers are more round.

Flowering Stage

In the flowering stage, it's easy to tell which plants are female and which are male. Female cannabis plants develop buds that are more aromatic and have a higher concentration of THC or CBD when compared to the non-flowering stage. Additionally, female buds also have pistils that are white, long, and thin. As the buds mature, the pistils will darken and curl inwards. Male cannabis plants, on the other hand, continue to produce pollen sacs, which are small, round balls. These balls eventually open up, releasing pollen into the air to fertilize female cannabis plants.

Final Thoughts

If you're interested in growing cannabis, it's important to know how to tell if your plants are female. This allows you to remove male plants from the group, resulting in a higher yield of high-quality buds from your female plants. Whether you're a novice or an experienced grower, using the visual and pre-flowering cues mentioned in this article can help you identify the sex of your cannabis plants, giving you the best possible outcome from your growing experience.