How to distinguish marijuana males from females

Tim Alchimia 2022-05-30
Hi, thanks for your comment. There's no real problem with removing male flowers from the female buds, the plants shouldn't suffer from it, but it's a lot of work because presumably, they'll keep appearing as the plants mature. As long as you get them all before they open and spill pollen, there's no reason for any issues with the final product. However, with so many plants showing hermaphrodite traits, personally, I'd be looking for the root cause of the problem. The genetics are evidently prone to intersex behaviour, however, there's usually some kind of stress that provokes the appearance of male flowers, be it high temperatures, low humidity, over or under-feeding, too intense a light, or more usually, some light contamination or light leak that is interrupting the dark period needed for flowering to develop normally. Have a good look at the growing conditions and try and work out what it could be and you could save yourself a lot of time and effort spent removing male flowers and solve the problem for the future. Check out our article on hermaphrodites in cannabis for more info. I hope that helps, best wishes and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2021-10-29
Hi and thanks for your comment. Glad to hear your plants are thriving. However, unless your plan is to make seeds, you'll have no need for the male plant at all. If you're growing for the smoke, get rid of the male ASAP before he pollinates the female and your buds end up full of seeds. All the best and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2021-08-17
Hi and thanks for your question. You should pull out the male plants and destroy them unless you specifically want to make seeds. The male plants will not produce anything that's smokeable, just lots of pollen for pollinating female plants, which is great if you're a breeder but if you just want a smoke then the last thing you need is to fill your buds with seeds! I hope that's cleared up any confusion. Best wishes and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2021-07-23
Hi, yes we got the photos, thanks! I've looked at them and I'm afraid that it's still a little too early to tell which sex the plant is. Sometimes the pre-flowers can be extremely misleading. I'd give it a week or two and check again. Also, don't forget to check the nodes further up the plant, I've even been finding some plants with their pre-flowers right up at the 8th node. I hope that helps. Best wishes and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2021-05-04
Hi Nicole, thanks for your comment. What you do with a hermaphrodite plant will depend on a few different things... firstly, do you have more plants growing that could get pollinated by this plant? If you're only growing the one plant then you can relax a bit as there's not so much at stake - it's different when you have an entire room of plants that could be spoiled by just one plant. Secondly, consider the number of hermie flowers on the plant - often it's only a couple of male flowers in the lower branches that are relatively easy to remove and keep an eye on for the rest of the flowering period just in case more of them show themselves. If, however, you're seeing male flowers all over and in relatively large numbers, then maybe it's time to throw it out... I mean, you could always just pick the seeds out when you smoke the bud, but if you miss one the whole joint will taste dreadful! The resulting seeds will definitely carry the hermaphrodite trait in their genes, although that's not to say that each and every plant from them will be a hermie... but it's much more likely. You can read more about the subject and what can provoke plants to show intersex traits in our related blog post. I hope that helps, best wishes and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2021-03-29
That's a pleasure, glad you found it helpful! Best wishes and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2021-02-25
Hi Raj, how can we help you?

Tim Alchimia 2020-12-07
Hi Bryan, thanks for the email, it took a few days to find its way to my desktop but I've checked the photos and they all look like males to me, I can't see any pistils, bracts or any other evidence of female flowers, just lots of pollen sacks. Sorry if that's a disappointment to you, I hope you have better fortune next time. All the best and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2020-11-30
Hi, thanks for your comment. You can send photos to info@alchimiaweb.com for the attention of Tim. Make sure that they are clear, well-lit and focussed pictures of the flower area, please. All the best and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2020-09-18
Hi Diane, thanks for your comment. You can send some photos (for the attention of Tim) to info@alchimiaweb.com and I'll do my best to help you identify the sex of your plants. Best wishes and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2020-07-27
Hi and thanks for the question. The female is the one with all the psychoactive properties and the one we harvest for use. I hope that helps, best wishes and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2020-06-02
Hi Kevin, thanks so much for your kind words, they really do mean a lot to us. Best wishes and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2020-05-05
Hey, thanks for your comment, don't worry, it can be very confusing at first and some pre-flowers can be very confusing. In some cases what I thought were male flowers turned out to be a new branch sprouting from the node! Send pics to tim@alchimiaweb.com and I'll do what I can to help you out. Best wishes and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2020-04-28
Hi T, thanks for your question! Firstly, yes, you should definitely separate the plants and put each one in its own container with some fresh soil. Do this carefully to avoid damaging the roots, which may be quite intermingled among themselves right now. As for sexing the plants, you'll need to keep an eye out for any pre-flowers appearing at the nodes, the points where the leaves and branches join the main stem. These flowers tend to first appear anywhere between the 3rd and 5th or 6th nodes. Male flowers are shaped like a ball on a stick, protruding from the node. Once ready, the ball opens to reveal the stamen and anthers, yellow with pollen, hence the nickname "bananas". Female pre-flowers are somewhat teardrop-shaped and sprout directly from the node itself. They'll usually have a white hair or two (pistils) sticking out from the pointy end of the flower. The pictures in this article should be some help in that department. All the best with your plants, happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2020-04-24
Hi Kevin, thanks for your comment. I can't really be sure what's happening here. Male flowers look like a ball on a stick, but they can sometimes have a teardrop shape to them. For them to produce pollen, however, this ball would need to open to expose the stamens and anthers, also known as "bananas" among weed-growers, from which the pollen falls. It's not so easy to describe these things in words as it is to see them in pictures, so if you can, send me a clear, close-up photo of the suspicious flower to tim@alchimiaweb.com and I'll probably be able to help you out. All the best and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2020-04-20
Hi Ronnie, thanks for your comment and question. I'm glad to hear your plants are growing healthy and strong, however, I strongly recommend that you carefully split them up into their own separate pots before they get too big, if that's possible. They'll do a lot better if they aren't sharing the same root space and competing with each other for root space and nutrients. As for their sex, it could be that they haven't expressed it yet, keep a look out for a teardrop-shaped flower bract growing from the4th, 5th or 6th node from the base of the plant, with a white pistillate hair protruding from the pointy end of it. That's a female pre-flower. I hope that helps, best wishes and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2020-04-14
Hi, thanks for your comment. Here on this page, you have a selection of photographs to help you distinguish between male and female flowers. They're quite different and easy to tell apart if you take time to observe reasonably closely. However, if there's something specific you're unsure about I'll be happy to help! Plants will show sex once they move from the seedling stage to the adult plant phase, this can vary depending on the genetics and the lighting schedule, but most plants will begin to show some pre-flowers at the 4th or 5th node around 6 weeks after germination. To break it down in the most simple terms, a male flower is a ball on a stick while a female flower is a teardrop shape with a white hair (pistil) protruding from the end. I hope that helps for now. Best wishes and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2020-04-03
Hi, thanks for your comment. You can send a photo to tim@alchimiaweb.com and I'll try and help. All the best!

Tim Alchimia 2020-02-24
Sure, send a pic to tim@alchimiaweb.com and I'll see if I can help out. Best wishes.

Tim Alchimia 2020-02-21
Hi, thanks for your question. Your plant is probably a bit weak just because it hasn't been exposed to any wind or breeze, which would naturally strengthen the stems, so giving it some support as you have done is the best thing to do right now. You might have to use something a bit bigger than a pencil as it grows, but you've got the basic idea! Hopefully, this will be a good introduction to growing your own, enjoy it! Best wishes and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2019-08-19
Hi Kristin, thanks for your comment. Yes, it'd be very nice to be able to post pics here as well, who knows, maybe in the future? In the meantime, if there's something you need to ask and you really need to send pictures, try tim@alchimiaweb.com and I'll see how I can help. All the best and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2019-08-02
Hi Ray, thanks for your question. Occasionally I'll get a plant that takes ages to show sex, I don't know if it's indicative of any real problem or issue with the genetics though, just that some plants are slower than others. I've also seen the new growth start from where you'd expect to see the pre-flowers too, as you describe. It sounds like the plant may have a slight mutation in this respect, but again, I doubt it's anything to worry about, certainly not a sign it will be a herm (although I can't guarantee it won't). Have you taken clones from this plant? If so then you could try some stress-testing on a clone and see if it reacts by popping out some pollen sacks. Otherwise, it'll be a case of waiting and keeping a close eye on the plant throughout the rest of the flowering period. Often it's the most unique plants that are the ones worth keeping, so don't give up on this "freak" as it may well be a great plant! All the best and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2019-07-22
Hi Chuck, thanks for your comment and question. I've heard of people claiming to be able to identify female seeds and distinguish them from male seeds, but I've also heard that this theory was roundly debunked and that there's no way to tell the difference, but I've never tried it for myself so I can't say with certainty either way. Your grow could be a useful experiment to see if there's any truth in these claims. Unfortunately, at this stage, there's really not much you can do apart from wait. Keep checking the branch nodes for any sign of flowers or pre-flowers. While it may be a little early for plants to begin flowering, at this time of year we can usually find a couple of these pre-flowers at the 5th node or above, although you may need a magnifying glass to see them properly. Another option, but it's maybe too late for this season, would be to take clones from the outdoor plants and flower them indoors to check their sex. At this stage of the year though, your outdoor plants will have shown their sex before the clones have rooted, so this would ideally need to be done as soon as the plants are large enough to take clones from. I hope that's helped somewhat, and do please let us know how you get on, I'm fascinated to find out how accurate the visual sexing of seeds can be. All the best and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2019-06-25
Hi John, thanks for your comment and question. Sorry to hear about that hermie plant, but at least you found it relatively quickly. May I ask what the variety is? I wouldn't trash everything yet though, often these male flowers turn out to be infertile and are unable to pollinate the female flowers. In your shoes, I would keep a keen eye out for more male flowers while paying close attention to the pistillate hairs/pistils of the female flowers, which when pollinated will turn brown and shrivel up. If you don't see a whole load of brown pistils after a week or so then you'll probably be fine. If, however, all the pistils have turned brown then yes, maybe it's time to trash everything, but if it's just a few then I'd carry on to the end of flowering. I hope that helps, all the best and happy flowering! To avoid any more male flowers appearing in the other 3 plants, I'd prune out any lower flowers that aren't getting full light. This is a great trick for varieties that may be prone to intersex characteristics that reduces the chances of any male flowers appearing.

Tim Alchimia 2019-04-15
Hi Meridee, thanks for the question. What kind of variety are you growing? If it's an Indica-dominant or pure Indica strain then we don't recommend pinching them out as they aren't hugely vigorous and can often take a while to recover and begin to grow again. However, if it's a hybrid or a sativa variety, then yes, it's often a great idea to top them and let them form bushy and highly productive plants indeed! Just be sure to stop any pruning or pinching at least a couple of weeks before you plan to start flowering to allow them to recover and re-grow. Hope that's helped a bit, all the best and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2018-12-10
Hi Derek, thanks for your question. To make seeds you'll have to use the pollen from the male flowers to pollinate a female cannabis plant. The best time to do it is around 3-4 weeks into flowering, depending on the variety this will allow 4-5 weeks for the seeds to mature fully. If it's an early finishing variety then you'll need to either pollinate earlier on in the flower period, or allow the plant to mature long past its normal maturity point. For seeds to be valid it's important that they have enough time to fully ripen and become dark coloured with "Tiger stripes" rather than be a pale, greenish colour. I hope that clears up any confusion, feel free to ask any further questions on the subject. Happy pollinating!

Tim Alchimia 2018-09-10
Hi Jon, I'm glad the plants are doing well! Yes, a male plant can most definitely pollinate your girls from 30 ft away! Pollen can be carried for many miles on the wind, you'd better ask your neighbour to kindly chop that male down ASAP! All the best, fingers crossed for a sensimilla crop! Happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2018-08-31
Hi Jack, to be honest it sounds like they're male flowers, just from the fact that they're growing in clusters at the nodes. However, the teardrop shape sounds more like a female flower. Are they on little stalks, set away from the stem slightly? If so, then they're definitely males. If in doubt, wait a little longer, you're bound to see a pistil soon if it's a female. Some plants can be really difficult to sex, be patient. Hope that helps, all the best and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2018-08-27
Hi there Jon, the best way to understand the flowering process is to read our article here on the blog that deals with the subject in detail, explaining the changing nutritional needs of the plant. We aways stock a wide range of different fertilisers formulated specifically for flowering in our nutrient catalogue. All the best and happy growing!!!!

Tim Alchimia 2018-08-14
Hi Jon, thanks for your question. If your plants are outdoors in the northern hemisphere then they'll soon start too flower and you'll be able to differentiate them around the end of August. Hope that reassures you, happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2018-08-10
Hi jr, no, I don't know what you mean, please give more details, I'm intrigued...

Tim Alchimia 2018-04-10
Hi Brandon, thanks for your question. If you have pollen on the leaves then it sounds like you have some male flowers in there somewhere. When you say "little white flowers" are you referring to the white hairs of the female flower (pistils or more correctly stigma)? Or are you seeing little yellowy banana-like stamen of male flowers? You say the buds have got seeds in them? in that case it's probably too late to worry about the male flowers, they've already done their damage! If your buds are seeded then you can smoke them, you'll just need to be extra careful to remove all the seeds before you do, otherwise they'll taste awful. Also remember that a seeded bud will not be as potent as sensimilla, as its energies will have been directed towards seed production instead of resin production. So you can either make some kind of resin extraction with the buds, or remove the seeds and smoke it, but next time you'll need to be more vigilant and remove any male flowers earlier in the flowering process. If you're repeatedly getting seeded buds then I'd recommend looking at your grow parameters, checking for light leaks and also growing seeds from a reputable breeder with a proven track record for stable genetics. All the best, happy smoking!

Tim Alchimia 2018-03-29
Hi Brandon, thanks for your question. Firstly 65% Nitrogen sounds very strong, maybe I didn't understand fully but you planted in a soil that's 65% N and 35% compost? Small seedlings don't need strong fertilisers, they'll do really well in a lightly manured substrate, if the soil has too much fertiliser the plants will not grow properly and have many problems. Secondly, it's not too unusual to see two plants emerging from one seed case. I've seen it a few times in my garden and frequently see people post photos online of this phenomenon, so it's just possible that two of the four seeds you planted are twins, although it seems unlikely that two out of four seeds would show this characteristic. Is it possible that the other plants are something else? Are you using commercially bought compost or home-produced soil from the garden? If it has't been sterilised it may well contain seeds of weeds and wild plants. All the best, happy growing!

Dani Alchimia 2017-08-10
Hi benny, Sorry for that, you can send the pics to dani@alchimiaweb.com ;)

Dani Alchimia 2017-08-08
Hi benny, Sometimes, plants only develop pollen sacks on the lower parts, or just in some branches. If that's the case, simply remove any part of the plant with sacks and continue checking for new ones regularly. Best!

Dani Alchimia 2017-08-07
Hi benny, It's important to know if your plants are females (they have buds formed by white hairs), hermaphrodites (they have both buds and pollen sacks) or males (they only have pollen sacks). Only the first two cases can be seeded. If they are males (they also produce sacks and no hairs) you should remove them asap (also if they're hermaphrodites). Do your plants have both types of flower (hairs and sacks)? What's inside the sacks of your plants? Seed embryos or pollen grains? Best!

Dani Alchimia 2017-07-19
Hi Robert, If it is developing pollen sacks at the base of each and every flower, I'm affraid your plant will be completely seeded at the end of its life. You can try to remove the pods and check regularly if the plant produces some more, which you should also remove asap. But there's not much you can do if your plant is hermaphrodite. Hope it helped!

Dani Alchimia 2017-07-10
Hi Koren55, Normally, when a female plant gets pollinated is produces less cannabinoids and terpenes, since it focuses on producing seed. So yes, the quality of sinsemilla is always higher than that of seeded plants. The seeds will be viable if you harvest them when they're ripe, but: -If the pollen comes from a male, you'll find females and males in the offspring of those seeds -If the pollen comes from hermie plants, you'll find hermie plants in the offspring -if the pollen comes from reversed females, you'll only find females in the offspring Hope it helped!

Dani Alchimia 2017-02-24
Hi Chris, That would be really unlikely, that branch will either die or keep on growing, but I've never seen male flowers developing from broken branches. All the best!

Dani Alchimia 2016-09-22
Hi Mark, You can try to juice the leaves or use them to make vermicompost. Apart from that, I'm afraid there aren't much more options. Hope it helped!

Dani Alchimia 2016-09-13
Hi mark, From what you say, the rest of your plants should be OK, pollen sacks need some days to release pollen. Were the pods open? Unless you had lots of sack open, I wouldn't worry about it, especially because you removed the pollen source (the hermie plant). If you have plants from the same strain that hermied, keep a close eye on them! Best!

Dani Alchimia 2016-08-22
Hi Kevin, Hermaphrodite plants show both sexes in the same plant, and often pollinate other plants around them. You can find female plants that develop few male flowers during bloom, which is often no problem at all (we'd be speaking about 1-5% male flowers). But you can also find true hermies, which develop lots of male flowers and can easily pollinate other plants (furthermore, their offspring is likely to be hermie too). If your plant really develops both types of flowers, I'm afraid the only option is to chop it asap, otherwise you'll end up with a fully seeded hermie plant, and your other plant will be also pollinated. Hope it helped!

Dani Alchimia 2016-07-22
Hi Left Coast, You should use some light source at nights to "break" the dark period of the plants. If you light your plants after 3-4 hours of darkness for around 30 minutes you're breaking the bloom photoperiod, so your plants should keep on growing until you remove that light source. Some growers use different schedules, like turning on the lights every 45 minutes for 15 minutes during the night. Hope it helped!

Dani Alchimia 2016-07-14
Hi Ginger, You should start using nutrients for Bloom as soon as you see the first tiny buds developing. Depending on the strain, it'll stretch more or less before starting to bloom (Sativas normally stretch much more than Indicas). Hope it helped!

Dani Alchimia 2016-07-04
Hi agi, The roots of the plants need as much space as possible to grow, that's why we normally use one pot per plant. You can do as you say without problem, but try to use a large pot so that once you remove the males your females have enough space to grow. About CFL's: 2x125W is ok, but do not expect the same results than when using an HPS lighting system. With two CFL you'll have enough light to cover a 1m2 area, but as I said you won't have the same results as if you were using, for example, a 600w HPS. Hope it helped!