Dear Dan, I just planted a gang of seeds indoors and I need to know what the male ones look like. I was told I have to get rid of them soon. – Lil’ Smokey
Dear Smokey,
If your seedlings are indoors under at least 18 hours of light per day, you’ve got some time. They won’t begin to truly show their flowers until after you switch the timer on your light so that they get 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness per day. Then, within 2-3 weeks, you’ll see clear signs of sex.
Females will emerge as a teardrop shaped calyx with a white hair sticking out. This first starts happening at the nodes where leaves meet branches. The males will look more like sharp spikes and are noticeably less rounded. As they mature, the spikes will form into what looks like a tiny bunch of green bananas.
Get rid of them as soon as you know they are males for sure. Otherwise these “bananas” will open up and drop pollen all over your flowering females and that will leave you with a crop full of relatively worthless seeds instead of the seedless female nuggets you’re hoping for.
I have heard that a male plant can produce Terpenes. Is this true?