Of all the things that can trip a grower up, sexing marijuana plants may just be the trickiest. Sexing cannabis plants is so crucial because growers are typically after the female plants, which produce the huge THC-covered buds that will be harvested and smoked. Or the medicinal relief that CBD strains can bring. With such opposite effects of male and female plants, it’s easy to see just how important sexing plants is.
But what if growers didn’t have to wait to sex their plants? While it would certainly make life easier, is sexing cannabis seeds possible? In this article, we explain the common myths associated with sexing cannabis seeds and how environmental factors play a significant role in the process.
What does a weed seed look like?
Weed seeds are small and oval-shaped, with a hard, light or dark brown shell. They have one pointed end where the root comes out, and one flat end. Some seeds have a ‘tiger’ stripe style pattern on their outer shell. If you find any pale, light green or white seeds, this typically indicates that they are immature and will not be viable.
On the whole, weed seeds look very similar. There are slight differences in their size, colour, and shape, but telling seeds apart based on appearance would be incredibly difficult.
Actionable Tip: Choose mature, viable seeds with a healthy brown shell and avoid pale, green, or white seeds that are likely to be immature.
Can you determine the sex of cannabis seeds?
This question has become a very hot topic online these days. After a quick search, growers can find multiple charts and explanations on how to sex cannabis seeds.
Unfortunately, there’s not much truth to any of these interpretations. It’s simply impossible to tell just by looking at them what the sex of any cannabis seed is. If it were that easy, feminized marijuana seeds would not be as popular as they are. People could simply buy regular seeds and look at them themselves.
Typically, marijuana plants cannot be sexed until they have already begun to grow. Cannabis seeds will look somewhat identical, and plants in the vegetative stage will also look identical. As the plants move into their flowering stage, they will start to show very clear signs as to what sex they are. While it would be much more convenient for growers to be able to determine sex before this point. The sad truth is that it’s just not possible.
So where do all the myths from sexing cannabis seeds come from?
Actionable Tip: Do not rely on seed appearance to determine sex, because the article makes clear that cannabis seeds cannot be sexed visually.
Common myths on identifying the sex of a cannabis seed
One of the biggest myths of sexing cannabis seeds comes from a popular chart online.
The chart states that one can determine the sex of a cannabis seed by just looking at it. Within the chart, five cannabis seeds are shown. Three of these are female and two are male, supposedly. This chart says to look for a crater at the bottom of the seed. It explains that females will have a perfectly round depression.
Meanwhile, males will have craters that are misshapen and not uniform. However, this is simply not true. The craters found in cannabis seeds have nothing to do with the sex of a seed.
This chart states that females will also roll easily across a table or surface, while males will not. While it does say that a magnifying glass and pair of tweezers is needed to examine the seeds. Neither of these tools will make it any easier to determine the sex of cannabis seeds.
While growers may not be able to determine the sex of a seed, does the environment have anything to do with it? This is something else that has been hotly contested online. Below we break down how environment factor may affect the sex of a cannabis seed.
Actionable Tip: Ignore charts claiming seed craters or rolling behaviour reveal sex, as the article states these methods are myths.
Environment determines sex debate
We know that determining the sex of cannabis seeds cannot be done. However, it’s unclear whether environmental factors have any place in determining the sex of marijuana plants.
Research is constantly carried out to determine if a plant’s environment has anything to do with its sex. While some research states that it does not, just as much research states that certain species do have their sex determined by the environment. This same research also states that using certain chemical treatments can reverse a plant's sex.
While environmental factors may not necessarily determine the sex of marijuana plants or cannabis seeds, it is known that certain environments can change the sex of a plant.
This will mostly happen when a plant is affected by cold temperatures, heat stress underwatered, left to grow in a small pot, and generally stressed by its environment, When this happens, the plant may think it’s going to die and, as a result, will change itself into a male or in the case of a hermaphrodite plant. will be able to self-pollinate itself and survive.
Growers know that hermaphrodite plants can be just as harmful to crops as male plants, and wipe out a room of females with pollenTherefore, it’s very important that every grower understands how to sex marijuana plants. Particularly if they’re not using feminized marijuana seeds that will give them only females.
While it would be much easier for growers to be able to sex their cannabis seeds before planting, the simple fact is that there’s no way to do it! However, sexing plants early on during their growth period is not only essential, it’s completely possible and easy to do. Growers can even do it before their plants enter the flowering stage if needed. Then male plants can be removed and growers can enjoy a nice, whole crop of female buds, otherwise known as sinsemilla
Actionable Tip: Reduce plant stress by avoiding heat, cold, underwatering, and root restriction, as stressful conditions can contribute to hermaphroditism.
