Sexing plant by pre-flowers

FreezerBoy · Aug 10, 2011

Seems this question can't be asked enough. 3 separate threads on the page as I type. So.....

Check the internodes for pre-flowers. Females (at left, circled in red) show two hairs or, pardon the vulgarity, two spread legs. Males (at right) are hairless and cluster like grapes.

Now, you know :tiphat:

Blimey · Aug 10, 2011

I would only add....if in doubt....wait a couple more days.....males don't release their pollen the instant the pre-flowers appear.....you've got time to be 100% sure.

Capt. Anonymous · Aug 10, 2011

Just to reiterate, as Blimey said, you have LOTS of time.
If you're in doubt, wait it out. A male will be unmistakably and irrefutably showing itself as a male long before pollen is released.

The ball clusters will grow in numbers and plump up in size, then start to hang, then eventually open and drop their load. :wave:

0verkil13r · Aug 10, 2011

Excellent making this a sticky! Great job FreezerBoy!

May I suggest a "read this first" thread for new growers? This seems to be the forum with the most need for guidance (as this is where most noobs would come first for info).

Midnight · Aug 10, 2011

Yep, there will be no mistaking it. This is a Sweet Dream 2 weeks into 12/12.

habeeb · Aug 10, 2011

Blimey said:
I would only add....if in doubt....wait a couple more days.....males don't release their pollen the instant the pre-flowers appear.....you've got time to be 100% sure.

if in doubt you need to up your knowledge / spotting technique

who wants to water and care for a plant longer then they need if there not using it? waste of time, lighting, energy, money, nutrients....

here's a simple trick to know at first sight. females are spear shaped , and skinnier, males are more round, have what appear to be 2 small leaves on the side of the "ball", and closer to the node stem. just look at the plant when it's developing, keep it in your mind the shape, fuzziness and any other characteristic, and when you have male or females, apply that to all your plants..

I'm all for slow and steady, but there is no reason you cannot identify a male before it has clusters, or a female before it throws out hairs..

FreezerBoy · Aug 10, 2011

Hab, we're dealing with first timers here. First we learn to roll over, then we crawl, then we walk. We don't start out running the 440 in the Olympics.

dgr · Aug 10, 2011

habeeb said:
females are spear shaped , and skinnier, males are more round, have what appear to be 2 small leaves on the side of the "ball", and closer to the node stem. ...there is no reason you cannot identify a male before it has clusters, or a female before it throws out hairs..

Thank you!. While technically "preflowers," the pictures above are weeks past when you can identify sex and likely off of plants under 12/12. It can take right around forever to get hairs on preflowers in veg. Especially if you are vegging under fluorescent lights and/or running long light cycles.

dgr · Aug 10, 2011

FreezerBoy said:
Hab, we're dealing with first timers here. First we learn to roll over, then we crawl, then we walk. We don't start out running the 440 in the Olympics.

FB,
Point well taken. If you have early stage preflower pics so that people can see the transition, can you post them? I think they would really help people get it.

FreezerBoy · Aug 11, 2011

Those at top are pretty darn early. I was checking every day. I doubt they're more than a couple of days old, if that.

habeeb · Aug 11, 2011

FreezerBoy said:
Hab, we're dealing with first timers here. First we learn to roll over, then we crawl, then we walk. We don't start out running the 440 in the Olympics.

oh, didn't see the new growers section.. ( I always click new posts .. )

kiddies look and learn at what freezerboy has shown you. learn to know your balls from your hairs

cleocola · Aug 17, 2011

Would some one please tell me.......... Why throw out the males? Other than pollenation, Aren't they good for shake? Do they contain any of the thc or cbd?

dgr · Aug 17, 2011

cleo,
I think this thread is about determining sex. Here's the biggest reason. Unseeded bud value $2000 to $6000/lb. Seeded bud, IDK as I don't smoke it. Let's say $500 a lb. How much shake you need to make that up?

You could do a QWISO/BHO extract on males. But, the return doesn't seem worth the effort to me when you can grow a female in the same space.

Note: I'm not for throwing all males away. Genetic diversity is important to keep around. 10 seeds might give you five females with five different variations. You inbreed all those seeds and the progeny will give you even more variations -- maybe the one you are looking for. BUT, you do need to have the space to maintain your males and a way to pollinate only what you want to pollinate.

cleocola · Aug 18, 2011

Thank you so much for the quick reply. I honestly didn't think I'd find it again. This is my first grow. And my first attempt at blogging. Just starting to find my way around here. I'm very new to the to all of this, and the meds. VERY Inexperienced even to smoking.
I just thought I would grow the males elsewhere if they had any value for shake. I'm making my own butter and oil for cooking and thought I might throw it in the mix. Not enough good stuff? I cannot believe the cost, gotta try my hand at growing my own. I normally grow my own veggies organticly. Unfortunately summer is almost behind us. Bought a 600w Grow light, don't know what I am doing.
Thank you again.

dgr · Aug 18, 2011

cleo,
You should go search the cooking with ... forum for "males." There are varying opinions on the use of males.
Here's one thread. It gets interesting on page 3
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=134336&highlight=males

FreezerBoy · Aug 18, 2011

Hey Cleo,

See also CLONERS- a collection of various methods Should you choose, you need never grow a male again.

cleocola · Aug 18, 2011

Thank you "dgr", most informative.

1coolchic · Aug 19, 2011

How long can plants stay at the preflower stage? My plants are less than a month old and only about 4" tall - idk what the deal is there - but started preflowering today.

Maj.PotHead · Sep 2, 2011

1coolchic said:
How long can plants stay at the preflower stage? My plants are less than a month old and only about 4" tall - idk what the deal is there - but started preflowering today.

for ever if properly taken care of and keep lighting 18/6 or 20/4

most indica dominate strains will show preflowers 3-6 wks from sprout some will need to be flowered out for sex determend. a plant from seed for me normally shows preflowers @ internode set 5-9, 3-4 wks from sprout

FreezerBoy · Sep 2, 2011

The Major's short version is all you really need but, allow me to bore you with a bit more.

From the moment it sprouts the plant tries to flower. The first two weeks are spent building the gear flowering requires. Once this is done it starts to produce flowering hormones.

Thing is, the flowering hormone is deathly allergic to light. It builds up hormones all night and the sun comes along and kills them all. Lather, rinse, repeat. Eventually days get shorter and nights get longer. More hormones are produced than the sun can kill. Each day more and more hormones survive the sun until they finally hit critical mass and ... BOOM, flowers.

Follow the Major's orders, keep nights short and days long and you'll be golden.

Sexing plant by pre-flowers

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