If you want to understand the differences between male and female marijuana plants, then you’ll need to see pictures of male and female seeds. That way, you can spot what the differences are without having to read a lot about them.
However, it’s difficult to know what a photo is showing if it’s not categorized. So in this guide, we’ve selected 10 pictures of male and female marijuana seeds. We’ve got photos covering a wide range of angles, so you can get familiar with how the plants look.
We’ll start with how and when you can determine the sex of marijuana plants. You can then use the pictures of male and female seeds at germination as a reference point so you can find the right plants more easily in the future.
Identifying Marijuana Plant Sex
One of the signs you’ll want to look for when looking at pictures of male and female marijuana seeds is pre-flowers. These are smaller flowers that appear during the vegetative stage early in the growth process.
Male plants will show them 3-4 weeks after germination, and female plants will show them 4-6 weeks after germination. It can help to look at pictures of male and female seeds at germination. We’ll show you some later on.
You can also conduct tests of the leaves using chemicals. It’s affordable and you only need to do it a few times. You simply take a small sample from your plants, like a hole-punch-sized cut-out from a leaf, and then test it.
You can do it for plants as young as 1 week old, although waiting until the third week can make the testing more accurate. Various methods exist for the testing, like qPCR, HPLC, and GC/FID.
Why Knowing The Plant Sex Is Important
If you’re growing marijuana, you’ll be focused on minimizing the number of male plants. The reason for that is male plants don’t have buds or flowers. If male plants pollinate the female plants, then the quality of the cannabis goes down. That’s why it’s important to know the sex of all your plants. That way, you can maximize your yield and get the best quality cannabis.
Something that helps you reduce the number of male plants is buying feminized seeds. You can get them in a range of popular strains, like:
Pictures of Male and Female Weed Seeds at Pre-Flower Stage
We’ll start with looking at male pre-flower pictures, and then we’ll look at female pre-flower pictures. That way, you can skip to whichever pictures of male and female weed seeds you’re most interested in, and then compare the two.
Male Pre-Flower Pictures
You’ll notice a spade-like shape in male pre-flowers. Here are several examples.
As you can see from these photos, the spade-like shape is very small and you have to go quite close to the plants to see it. That’s why it’s helpful to have photos like these that you can use to compare with the plants you’ve got.
These growths are pollen sacs that are yet to mature. As the plant grows, it’ll turn into larger versions that look like grapefruits.
Occasionally, you’ll want to pay attention to the green hairs called stipules that appear near the pre-flowers. The male ones will look sharper than those on female plants. You can’t use these alone to determine the sex of your plant, but it’s a general rule that you can follow. Here are two more photos that show them.
Now we’ll look at female pre-flower pictures.
Female Pre-Flower Pictures
Compared to the male pre-flowers, female ones will be narrower and longer, and sometimes they’ll have a fat bottom. You’ll also notice some white hairs on female pre-flowers. These are called pistils, and they can take several days to show up.
When you see these pistils, they’re a definite sign that you’re dealing with a female plant. Like with the male pre-flowers, you have to get close to the plant to be able to see them, but these photos should help you.
If you think the pre-flower on your plant is thin and pointy, then that’s another sign you’ve got a female plant. Something else that you’ll notice is the stipules on female plants cross over each other. It doesn’t always happen, but it’s a handy indicator of a female plant. You can see some examples of when they’re crossed and when they’re not in the following two photos.
Top Facts About Male and Female Pre-Flowers
Now you’ve seen plenty of pictures of male and female seeds, then you might like to know some other relevant facts about them. The pre-flowers are responsible for containing seeds if your plant is pollinated. All that the pollen has to do is touch the pistils you’ve seen in some of the photos above, and seeds will begin to form.
Although scientists don’t know what makes a plant male or female once it’s germinated, some factors have a key influence. If your plants are exposed to:
- High levels of heat
- High levels of stress
- Unusual light cycles
- Nutrient deficiencies or excesses
Then you’ll probably end up with more male plants compared to female plants. If you suspect that you’re in this situation, you can confirm it by comparing pictures of male and female seeds at germination.
Some other factors increase the chances you’ll end up with female strains. These are:
- Cold temperatures
- High levels of humidity
- Short days
- Blue light
- Healthy roots
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Conclusion
You’ve now seen pictures of male and female weed seeds. That should give you enough information to determine what plants you have in your grow room. You can always search up more pictures of male and female seeds if you think you need additional evidence.
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They have a wide range of marijuana seeds and they sell them at great prices.