What Are “Feminized” Cannabis Seeds?

by Nebula Haze

By starting with feminized marijuana seeds, you can rest assured that all your plants will end up being female and make buds for you!

What are “feminized” cannabis seeds and how are they different from regular cannabis seeds? (Where can I get feminized seeds?)

Feminized cannabis seeds are created to ensure that all the resulting cannabis plants are female (this is extremely convenient for growers since only female cannabis plants make buds).

“Regular” (or non-feminized) seeds will produce about half male, and half female plants.

Having male plants can be an asset to a breeding program, but having to watch over and throw away half the plants can feel like a waste of time and space for growers who just want to grow their own supply of bud!

By starting your grow with feminized cannabis seeds from a reputable breeder, you can stop worrying about plant gender altogether and know that every one of your plants will be female and make buds!

Seed Supreme is a trustworthy source of feminized cannabis seeds (it’s the company I currently use for seeds)

Feminized cannabis seeds - if you order from a safe seed source you can get them delivered anywhere in the world

Pros of Feminized Cannabis Seeds

  • Every plant grows buds – With feminized seeds, all cannabis plants end up producing buds.
  • Less wasted space on plants that need to be thrown away.
  • No need to babysit plants closely to make sure you quickly identify and remove male plants.
  • No seedy buds – No chance of pollination without pollen sacs, so feminized seeds prevent seedy buds.

Cons of Feminized Cannabis Seeds

  • Not ideal for breeding programs – In order to build a robust breeding program and create new strains, you should start with regular seeds so you have both male and female plants.
  • Herms from low-quality breeders – It’s possible to buy feminized seeds from bad breeders which turn into problematic hermies (mixed-sex plants) or even just end up being half male plants like regular seeds. That’s why it’s important to order your feminized cannabis seeds from a trustworthy breeder.

Since I started growing cannabis over a decade ago, I’ve grown primarily with feminized seeds. As a result, I’m never surprised by an unexpected male plant that has to be thrown away.

A sea of flowering cannabis plants - these plants came from feminized seeds, so all the plants ended up being bud-bearing female plants

Non-Feminized Seeds Produce Half Male, Half Female Plants
(learn more more about cannabis plant sex)

Male cannabis plant (does NOT grow buds) - most growers throw away male plants on site Female cannabis plant (DOES grow buds) - female plants grow the sensimilla / buds that every cannabis grower is trying to produce

Feminized Seeds Only Produce Female Plants

A sea of marijuana buds - these female cannabis plants all came from feminized seeds!

Get Feminized Seeds From a Trustworthy Seed Source

 

How Do Breeders Make Feminized Seeds?

Breeders create feminized seeds by breeding two female cannabis plants together, which means that all the resulting offspring will be female. This is done by spraying developing flowers with a substance that changes flower development (often colloidal silver or gibberellic acid). This process forces one of the female cannabis plants to start producing pollen sacs, just like a male plant.

By harvesting the pollen sacs and using the “female” pollen to pollinate buds of a different female plant, you are giving the resulting seeds only female genes (there is no “father”), so none of the cannabis seedlings end up being male.

Learn how to make your own feminized seeds at home!


 

Jump to…

How to Germinate Your Marijuana Seeds

What Are “Auto-Flowering” Strains?

How to Improve Bud Quality

5 Ways to Increase Yields (with any strain)

 


 

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