Feminized Seeds

*The content on this page is provided strictly for educational purposes only. Please abide by and follow the laws in your country. *The content on this page is provided strictly for educational purposes only. Please abide by and follow the laws in your country.

Feminized Seeds

It was the 1980s when the first feminized cannabis seeds hit the market.  These days, it’s hard to imagine a world without them! Conquering legal cultivation markets on a global basis at every level, the world has universally embraced the era. Even those who were initially skeptical have accepted and acknowledged the extraordinary value this progress. Immensely popular and representing extraordinary value for money, buying quality females comes highly recommended for amateur and expert growers alike.

What Are Feminized Seeds?

The term ‘feminized’ refers to a very specific type of cannabis seed, which has been bred not to contain male chromosomes. Buying female seeds eliminate male plants from the equation, along with the potential damage they can do where unwelcome.

Getting to grips with the differences between male and female cannabis plants is vital. Traditionally, growing meant using regular seeds and waiting long enough to be able to manually identify the sex of each plant. After which, male plants could be removed (if necessary), before being able to fertilize the females. Fertilization destroying the possibility of a healthy and generous harvest.

What makes the difference with buying feminized seeds is that every seed produces a female plant. No males, no risk of fertilization – no damage to the final harvest. The only downside being that having no male plants amongst your crop means that you won’t be able to breed which would provide you with seeds to plant your next batch.

Where Do Feminized Seeds Come From?

Cannabis plants can be female or male – sometimes displaying the characteristics of both. An in-built biological survival mechanism developed over thousands of years, cannabis plants can both cross-pollinate and self-pollinate where necessary. Taking control of cannabis gender is therefore a simple case of gaining access to this biological programming.

Which is precisely how feminized versions came to be. Skilled breeders trained female plants to produce the pollen required to fertilize other females. The resulting seeds having absolutely no male chromosomes whatsoever, in turn producing only female cannabis plants. It took many years for the method to be perfected, but now you can benefit from the hard work breeders have put in to creating stable feminized seeds. Comprehensively affordable today, things were quite different just a decade ago!

Are Feminized Seeds Hermaphroditic? 

The tendency for feminized seeds to produce hermaphroditic cannabis plants has also been brought under control over the years. At least, if you insist on buying feminized, only buy from seed banks and retailers you can trust. Feminized marijuana seeds were once produced by deliberately stressing female plants into producing male flowers. This despite being effective in a sense also resulted in a tendency for hermaphroditic characteristics to be passed on in the seeds produced.

These days, refined techniques ensure that the likelihood of hermaphroditic traits being passed on is minimal. High-end feminized cannabis seeds are produced by way of a meticulous process that near-guarantees their quality.

Will All My Seeds Become Females?

When you buy quality seeds from a reliable retailer, the answer is yes. The problem being that when buying cheap feminized seeds from a substandard supplier, you’ve no idea what could be included in the mix. Male cannabis seeds, seeds with hermaphroditic traits and so on. It all comes down to the quality, capabilities and reliability of the producer/retailer. However, as it takes just one stray male marijuana plant to wreck your entire crop, we recommend caution. Only ever buy premium varieties from a top-rated producer and a retailer you can trust. Otherwise, you run the risk of taking home far more than you bargained for!

Identifying a Feminized Seed

Contrary to what you may have heard, it is impossible to identify a feminized seed simply by looking at it. In fact, you won’t know for sure if your plants are female until they’ve been growing for some time. Hence, once again, the importance of buying them from a source you can trust. Female, male and hermaphrodite seeds are all identical in appearance. Any vendor or ‘expert’ who tries to tell you differently is leading you down a dangerous path.

The Benefits of Buying Feminized Seeds

When working exclusively with feminized pot seeds, whether autoflower seeds or medical, the whole process is far less labour-intensive. You immediately eliminate the requirement to watch for and take action against males in the mix. Which can be a huge challenge if cultivating at an advanced level with a large crop to keep an eye on. You also do not need to learn how to accurately sex your plants, or waste time and money on males. If you have limited grow space available, buying females from the start can help ensure none of it goes to waste.

What’s more, they have been coming down in price significantly over the years. This means that today, they’re no less affordable than some regular cannabis seeds. What’s more, pretty much every top-shelf strain and hybrid can now be purchased in this form. It’s just a case of ensuring that they can be germinated legally in your jurisdiction!

For obvious reasons, therefore, buying feminized comes highly recommended for beginners and more advanced growers alike. The cultivation process is exactly the same as with all other types of cannabis.  Meaning careful control of lighting, nutrition, water provision, stable temperatures and so on is mandatory. Nevertheless, feminized seeds eliminate the problems associated with unexpected and unwelcome male plants in the mix. For first-timers, this can be a great place to start.

Strain Selection

Of course, some strains will always be far more demanding than others. Just because a batch of seeds is feminized, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee an easy ride.  As such, it’s important to pair your personal preferences and expectations with your experience and capabilities. Be sure to choose quality strains you know you can handle, rather than taking the risk on something more challenging.