Many marijuana consumers still fail to grasp the idea that the cannabis plant comes in two different genders: male and female. Just like human beings, male species pollinate female plants. It’s the natural order in which regular marijuana seeds come to be. However, cannabis cultivators can also apply certain stressors to guarantee the birth of feminized seeds. Some growers might even ask themselves, “Can feminized seeds become male?”
Male Vs. Female Marijuana Seeds
Unlike their female counterparts, male marijuana plants only provide a small number of benefits. Some growers may even deem male plants as a nuisance as they take up space in each crop. Female marijuana plants, on the other hand, tend to have lush flowers great for harvesting. For example, if you plant 10 seeds, you hope and pray that at least five strains have female characteristics.
However, some realities can be harsh even in the world of cannabis cultivation. Sometimes you might get 8 males and 2 females. Some growers may even experience the truth of growing 1 female plant out of 10 seeds. It’s with this reason that many marijuana growers are adamant about getting and using feminized seeds.
Reasons to Use Feminized Marijuana Seeds
As mentioned in a previous section, female marijuana plants provide more benefits than their male counterparts. In fact, there are a number of benefits for growers who start their garden using feminized marijuana seeds. It removes the guesswork of germinating regular seeds since all the plants in your crop will present you with female traits.
Feminized marijuana seeds also help in streamlining the overall growth process. If you don’t like dealing with male plants, then you can proceed to harvest all your plants for consumption, sale, or distribution. Seeds exhibiting female characteristics also help save garden space to maximize plant growth.
For many marijuana growers, efficiency is key to producing a bountiful harvest. Medical marijuana gardeners and users require the growth of female plants to make the most out of their effort, money, and time. Also, some locations have strict rules and regulations regarding marijuana growth, especially regarding plant count.
Some nations and states will only allow cultivation for 10 marijuana plants at most in any given private property. Hence, growing marijuana plants from regular seeds isn’t a feasible option as the risks are too high. Individuals seeking to make the most out of their garden should plan ahead from the beginning. Use feminized marijuana seeds to ensure you’re getting the most number of benefits from your harvest.
No Love for Males
Male marijuana plants won’t just take up space in your gardens because they can also sap (no pun intended) time and resources from growers. Most strains won’t show signs of specific plant genders until a specific period in their development stages. The change takes place when growers change the photoperiod. For novice marijuana growers, the photoperiod is the amount of light and darkness plants receive.
Jorge Cervantes, the expert cultivator, and the author write in an article that there’s no way to distinguish male seeds from their female counterparts. However, it doesn’t mean that growers can intervene to heighten the chances of producing male traits on female plants.
Changing the photoperiod to a 12-hour light and 12-hour darkness period will start to let plants exhibit clear and specific gender properties. Outdoor strains may no longer require outside help from their growers as this change takes place naturally when the seasons shift. On the other hand, indoor gardens may still require human intervention before these changes come to light.
It may take weeks before plants exhibit male or female properties. Regular seeds will have a 50% chance of producing either male or female characteristics. The stakes are high when growing marijuana plants from regular seeds. Some growers can’t take the risk as valuable resources, especially cash, are at risk.
Upon knowing this realization, many marijuana growers decide to buy feminized marijuana seeds from trusted sources or create a batch of nothing but female seeds from their garden. Feminizing plants require a moderate to a deep understanding of growing marijuana plants. The process needs a special intervention and new tools to the table for you to guarantee yourself with an all-female harvest.
The Birth of Feminized Marijuana Seeds
There are many methods available for use to help growers produce feminized marijuana seeds. One traditional method is to stress a healthy female plant. Interrupt its growth by making abrupt changes to its light cycle during its flowering stage. This natural intervention does work but only to an extent.
Aside from just changing the light cycle of female marijuana plants, growers can use colloidal silver or silver thiosulphate solutions. Using these compounds on plants allow for the growth of male characteristics on female plants without heavily altering their genetic makeup.
Both of these substances require mixing fine silver particles in water. Even though there are some differences between the two silver compounds, they largely work in the same fashion. The silver solution will impede the growth of ethylene in plants. This hormone is involved in the flowering process. Use either solution female plants to make it grow male flowers with “balls.” These balls are pollen sacs used to pollinate another female marijuana strain. Sexing two female parents will produce feminized marijuana seeds.
Can Feminized Seeds Become Male?
One question buzzing around marijuana communities is “can feminized marijuana seeds produce male characteristics?” The answer to that question is, “No.” Even though the chances of producing male plants from some feminized cannabis seeds still exist, the chances of growing male plants from feminized seeds are at 1% or even less.
However, growing feminized marijuana seeds will create chances of growing into hermaphrodite plants. These strains will have female genetics but with male flowers. Furthermore, it can be done without the help of outside stressors.
Still, a large majority of plants coming from feminized seeds won’t turn into hermaphrodites. However, there are known factors that assist in boosting the chances of acquiring “hermi” plants. Reports indicate that growers planting seeds in small gardens will be more likely to have this problem as compared to gardeners taking advantage of large spaces. Another factor for growing marijuana seeds with hermaphrodite characteristics is heat since it can stress plants.
During the early days of feminized marijuana seeds, the risk of growing hermaphrodite plants is higher than today. Now, many feminized seeds sold in dispensaries and seed banks have stable properties comparable to regular marijuana seeds. New feminizing techniques have come to the scene to introduce multi-stage breeding programs to ensure a 100% stability for feminized seeds.
Is This the End for Regular Marijuana Seeds?
The birth of feminized marijuana seeds caused a stir in cannabis communities. Some growers might even think that it’s the end of using regular marijuana strains. However, that scenario may not happen in the near or far future.
One reason is that of using silver solutions. Some growers will have trouble looking for fine silver particles to mix with water to form colloidal silver solutions. There’s also the thought of buying feminized marijuana seeds at higher price ranges compared to purchasing regular seeds.
If you still ask yourself, “can feminized seeds become male,” after reaching this page then you can still get a second opinion from other marijuana growers. However, do take note that most cannabis cultivators who have experience in using feminized marijuana seeds will tell you that the chances are incredibly slim.
