Do Male and Female Pot Plants Bud?

When it comes to growing cannabis, one of the most common questions asked by newbie growers is whether male and female pot plants flower or bud. The answer is yes, both male and female marijuana plants bloom, but there’s a critical difference in their flowers.

Male Cannabis Plants & Buds

Male cannabis plants develop small, round calyxes that appear as pale green balls located near the base of the male plant's internodes. These calyxes do not produce the potent flowers associated with female cannabis; instead, they produce pollen sacs that contain millions of male gametes. It’s crucial to remove male cannabis plants from the garden because they do not produce usable buds, and they will pollinate female cannabis plants, causing them to produce less potent and less valuable flowers.

Female Cannabis Plants & Buds

On the other hand, female cannabis plants produce the desirable buds. The plant's reproductive organs are the pistil and the calyx, and they develop in different ways depending on the plant's genetics or strain. Pistils, which have two hair-like structures, grow out of the bulbous calyx that contains the plant's reproductive organ. When the female plant matures, the pistils grow long and golden, producing the plant's resin-covered flowers. These buds contain high levels of THC, the cannabinoid responsible for the plant's therapeutic and recreational effects.

How to Identify Male and Female Cannabis Plants

It's relatively easy to distinguish between male and female cannabis plants. In the vegetative stage, plants do not show their sex, but when they move to the flowering phase, the plants show their reproductive organs.

Male plants develop grape-like clusters of pollen sacs, whereas female plants develop wispy, hair-like pistils. A magnifying glass or microscope can be used to identify the sex of a cannabis plant.

The Importance of Knowing Your Cannabis Plant's Sex

As a grower, knowing your cannabis plant's sex is critical. If you want to cultivate herb for smoke, then it's important to remove the male plants before they begin pollinating the female plants. This stops the female's bud production, but once pollinated, the plant will move its energy to seed production, drastically lowering its flower quality and potency. If you're cultivating for seed production, then male plants are essential in the garden, and they need to be allowed to fully mature, flower, and pollinate the females.

Conclusion

While both male and female cannabis plants bud, it's the female plants that produce the potent and desirable buds that cannabis users seek. Male plants, on the other hand, do not develop the resiny buds sought after by smokers and growers, but rather, they produce pollen sacs. If you're growing cannabis for smoking, you need to remove male plants before they pollinate female plants. Ensure you know your plant’s sex, so you don't make costly mistakes during the cultivation process.