When to Sex Pot Plants

If you are growing cannabis for the first time, you may wonder when your plants will start showing signs of gender. It is important to sex cannabis plants to ensure that only female plants grow, as males do not produce buds and can prevent females from doing so as well. Let's dive into when to sex pot plants.

What are the Signs of Male and Female Cannabis Plants?

Before we delve into when to sex pot plants, we must know the signs of male and female cannabis plants. Male plants have small round balls called pollen sacs that hang down from the nodes, while female plants have pistils that grow from the calyxes. Pistils are hair-like structures that are white or light in color and grow in pairs. As the plant matures, the pistils will turn orange or red and eventually wither away, making way for the buds to grow.

When Do Cannabis Plants Show Gender?

Cannabis plants typically start showing gender between four and six weeks after they start growing from a seed or clone. If you are growing autoflowering strains, gender determination may happen earlier, usually around two to three weeks, due to their shorter growth cycle. Until your plants show their gender, you will not know which ones to keep for bud production and which ones to remove. Therefore, it is essential to keep a close eye out for any signs of gender.

How to Sex Cannabis Plants?

One way to sex cannabis plants is to wait until they show the pre-flowers. Pre-flowers are small versions of the male or female reproductive parts that will later grow into pollen sacs or pistils. The pre-flowers can be found at the nodes where the branches emerge from the main stem. Male pre-flowers look like small green balls, while female pre-flowers look like a pair of white hairs protruding from a small bud.

Another way to sex cannabis plants is to induce flowering. When you switch the light cycle to 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness, the plants will start to mature and produce buds. The pre-flowers will become more apparent, and you should be able to sex the plants more easily. However, this method will delay the growth of your plants, and you may lose some yield.

Why Sexing Cannabis Plants is Important?

As mentioned earlier, sexing cannabis plants is crucial to ensure that only female plants are grown for bud production. If a male plant is present, it will produce pollen that can fertilize female plants, resulting in seeds instead of buds. While some growers may want seeds for breeding purposes, most growers prefer seedless buds known as sinsemilla. Therefore, it is essential to sex your plants early on to avoid any chances of pollination that could ruin your entire crop.

Conclusion

Knowing when to sex pot plants is essential for any cannabis grower. By identifying the male and female plants, you can remove males to prevent pollination and focus on growing healthy females for bud production. Keep an eye out for the pre-flowers or induce flowering to identify the gender of your plants, and always be vigilant to avoid any surprises later on in the growing cycle.