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Learn about the visual differences between male and female cannabis plants, and how to identify them.
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The Different Stages of the Male Cannabis Plant
The Cannabis plant undergoes four main stages of growth: seed, germination, vegetative, and flowering. The male Cannabis plant produces flowers that contain lower levels of THC than the female plant. The male Cannabis plant also pollinates the female plants, which helps to produce seeds for the next generation.
The different stages of the male Cannabis plant are:
Seed: The Cannabis seed is the beginning stage of the plant’s life cycle. A cannabis seed can be purchased from a dispensary or online retailer.
Germination: The Cannabis germination process begins when the seed is first soaked in water. Once soaking is complete, the seed will sprout a small white root that will eventually become the main taproot of the cannabis plant.
Vegetative: The vegetative stage of growth is when the cannabis plant begins to produce leaves and grow taller. This is generally the longest stage of growth for most cannabis plants.
Flowering: The flowering stage is when the male cannabis plant produces its flowers. Flowers are generally produced at the tips of branches and contain pollen that can be used to fertilize female plants.
The Pre-Flowering Stage
Cannabis plants have what is called a “dioecious” reproductive system, meaning that there are both male and female plants. Male plants produce pollen while female plants produce flowers (also called “bud”). Cannabaceae, the plant family to which cannabis belongs, is one of the only plant families that are dioecious. Most plants are “monoecious,” meaning they have both male and female reproductive organs on the same plant.
Cannabis plants usually start to show their gender pre-flowers when they are around 6 weeks old. Sometimes it can be as early as 4 weeks and sometimes as late as 8 weeks. The pre-flowering stage is when you will be able to tell for sure whether your plant is a male or female.
The Flowering Stage
Cannabis plants usually begin flowering when they’re exposed to 12 hours of uninterrupted darkness and 12 hours of light. For most commercial growers, this happens in late September or early October, when the days start getting shorter. However, it’s possible to force a cannabis plant to flower at any time of year by manipulating its exposure to light.
During the flowering stage, male and female cannabis plants look quite different from each other. Males tend to be taller with thinner leaves, and their flowers grow in clusters. Females are shorter with denser leaves, and their flowers grow in spirals. It’s easy to tell a male plant from a female plant when you know what to look for!
The easiest way to tell the difference between male and female plants is by looking at the flowers during the flowering stage. Male flowers grow in clusters, while female flowers grow in spirals. Male flowers also tend to be taller and thinner than female flowers.
Here are some other ways to tell the difference between male and female cannabis plants:
-Male plants tend to be taller than female plants.
-Male plants have thinner leaves than female plants.
-Male plants produce fewer buds than female plants.
The Post-Flowering Stage
The post-flowering stage is when the male cannabis plant looks like it is dying. All of the leaves will turn yellow and fall off, starting from the bottom and working its way up. The stems will also start to turn yellow and may even bend or break. This is all normal and nothing to worry about. The plant is just getting rid of its excess leaves so that it can focus all of its energy on producing pollen.
