To determine the sex of a marijuana plant, you must look between the nodes. The nodes are where the leaves and branches extend from the stalk. To spread seeds, pollen sacs develop on male plants. To catch the pollen, the stigma will develop on a female.

You can start to see the differences between male and female plants, even before they begin making use of their various reproductive organs. Plants that haven’t quite reached maturity are what we call “pre-flowers.”

Four weeks into growth, plants will become pre-flowers. Some can take a bit longer, however, though it depends on the sprouting phase and how quickly it occurs. If anything, you should be able to find pre-flowers by the sixth week with confidence to determine your plant’s sex.

To do so, look at the nodes and check to see if there are small sacs beginning to grow or two bracts. If you find sacs, it’s a male. If you find bracts, it’s a female.

Female Marijuana Plants

Female marijuana plants are what most people are after, as these are the ones that have buds. If you ever catch yourself looking at a picture of cannabis with buds on it, know that you are staring into the eyes of a gorgeous female plant.

To produce seeds, female cannabis must receive pollen from male plants. They will then use this pollen to carry the genes onto the next generation.

Because people use cannabis for the buds rather than the seeds, the process of growing seedless cannabis (sinsemilla) is very popular today. More often than not, growers will cultivate males and females separately. To prevent pollination, some growers will get rid of males completely, allowing females to focus on the production of buds rather than the production of seeds.

One of the few reasons someone might choose to allow pollination is during crossbreeding or new strain creation.

Male Cannabis Plants

While we might discard males due to their seed-bearing nature, they are also very important in the breeding process. As with most species, males provide females with half the genetic makeup.

Looking at the genetics of a male plant is very important when determining what kind of characteristics you want your plant to have. Some sought-after characteristics include pest resistance, mold resistance, fast growth rate, and climate resilience. The beauty of these traits is that they are often passed down to the next generation.

Expanding Your Cannabis Knowledge

Here at Big Daddy Clones, we’re all about spreading helpful information on clones and cannabis so that new growers can get started on their growing journey.

If you’re ready to buy your first batch of clones, we are here to help.

If you have any questions, give us a call at  877-262-6192 today!

We value every call and message we receive, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

You will appreciate the difference in our cannabis clones. We look forward to working with you.