Lesson 13 – Male or Female – Sexing (Video Below)

It is important to recognize the difference between a female (pistolate) and male (staminate) plant, especially when growing from seed. Below are pictures of indoor and outdoor male plants.

Determining Sex

• What does a male look like? We will show you in the video.
• What is an early way to tell? Despite what you may have heard, there is no early way to tell other than putting the plant into the bloom stage. To determine the sex early follow these directions:
• Take a cutting from the plant as soon as you can. Dip the cutting in Rooting Compound and put it into a 1” Rock Wool Cube.
• Put the cutting into a 12 hour dark cycle. Either put it into the bloom room or a dark closet for at least 12 hours each day.
• Watch for signs of sex. If it begins growing balls then it is a male. You now know what sex the mother plant is.
• The object is to find the sex of the cutting, so do not worry about rooting it. You will want to take care and spray the cutting daily with our starter juice.
• It will take about 1 ½ to 2 weeks to show signs.

New Video: Secrets to Sexing

• What is a hermaphrodite?
• A hermaphrodite is a plant that grows both male and female flowers.
• This can happen from one of two things: either genetics or shock.
• If it is genetics then the plant is not desirable and has not come from a stabilized background. This type of plant will pass on the hermaphrodite genes to its children. Do not grow these seeds and look for a more stabilized supply for seeds.
• Shock can cause sex reversal. Shock may be in the form of light leakage, extreme environment changes or chemically induced. This type of plant does not pass on the hermaphrodite genes to its’ children, however seeds produced are not stable and more likely to be male. You can remove a limb from a hermaphrodite of this type to get rid of the male flower.  The male flowers are well hid and often hard to find. They are usually, though not always, on the lower part of the plant.

  

What to do and When

• Recognize It. Know what a male flower looks like.
• Remove it from your garden ASAP
• Call the local Pollen Catcher. Let your expert friend have the plant or limb.

If kept, make sure you isolate it well and

• Shower or thoroughly clean before going into your bloom room
• Male pollen is microscopic and can travel great distances.
• It will go through an entire ventilation system of a building.
• It will travel on clothes and skin.

Male pollen is important to breeders and totally safe if handled correctly in a controlled environment.

Sexing Your Plant Video

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