Feminized Marijuana Seeds

WHAT ARE FEMINIZED MARIJUANA SEEDS?

Feminized seeds contain two female (x) chromosomes with no male (Y) chromosomes, the result of this is a plant that is guaranteed to be a female, bud producing plant. Why is this important?

While ordinary cannabis seeds produce a fairly even split of either male or female plants, feminized seeds are bred to contain no male chromosomes and therefore produce only female cannabis plants 99.9% of the time. Why is this so important? Only female marijuana plants grow the THC rich flowers that are harvested and smoked as bud. Whereas male plants produce sacs filled with pollen instead of flowers. At some point these sacs burst open and pollen spreads toon the female flowers, pollinating them and causing them to produce seeds. The plant then diverts much of its energy into making seeds, instead of growing more flowers and producing THC.

When you’re buying cannabis seeds, you’ll often see them categorized as either regular or feminized seeds. If the seeds are regular, they will grow a mixture of both genders and you will need to cull any male plants before they pollinate the female plants in your grow room. This massively increases the risk of male pollination ruining your entire crop with seeded buds. Feminized seed strains solve that problem altogether by allowing you to grow a crop of just female marijuana plants without the risk of pollination and with every plant producing bud.

Female cannabis plants (left) produce buds, whereas male cannabis plants (right) produce pollen sacs.

ADVANTAGES OF FEMINIZED SEEDS

Because you can almost guarantee that every plant will be a female, growing feminized seeds offers a number of advantages:

• Guaranteed to produce female marijuana plants 99.9% of the time.
• No space, electricity or effort wasted on growing marijuana plants that are male.
• If you grow feminized cannabis seeds you will produce more female plants and therefore more bud.
• More bud means more THC for smoking or extraction.
• No need to check for male plants which makes growing them easier.

DISADVANTAGES OF FEMINIZED SEEDS

• Unable to breed using feminized seeds.
• Slightly higher risk of hermaphroditism - When female cannabis plants become stressed, they can turn into hermies. Given that 100% of your plants will be female there is a higher chance of this occurring. Modifying the genetics of female plants using methods such as colloidal silver can also make plants more susceptible to hermaphroditism however, at MSNL the work of our team of expert breeders selectively breeding with only the most stable cannabis strains has made this incredibly unlikely.

WHO SHOULD BUY FEMINIZED SEEDS

If you are still undecided on feminized marijuana seeds, these are the types of growers that are best suited to them:

Beginners: Feminized marijuana seeds take away the hassle and requirement to remove male plants from your crop. This makes growing them much more straight forward and simpler for beginners.

Recreational growers: If you are a recreational grower either doing it for self consumption or as a new hobby, female seeds allow you to grow more bud with less hassle and less energy consumption. Unless you want to breed there really is no need to grow regular marijuana seeds.

Growers with limited space: If you only have a small space with which to grow, its important that you use the space as efficiently as possible. If you choose feminized seeds, you can guarantee that you will produce only female marijuana plants and therefore won't waste any space growing male plants.

Commercial growers: It can be very costly if a male plant pollinates a large grow room turning all your flowers into seeded buds. Fem seeds almost completely eliminate this risk so even large-scale commercial growers can benefit from growing them.

WHO SHOULDN'T BUY FEMALE CANNABIS SEEDS

Breeders: Feminized seeds produce only female marijuana plants, therefore anyone wanting to experiment with breeding will be unable to do so. If you’re trying to breed your own marijuana strain, then you’re going to need pollen to make seeds. In this case, regular seeds will be the better option for you.

INDICA VS SATIVA FEMALE SEEDS

Indica and Sativa are the two subspecies of cannabis. So, what do you need to know about each of these before you settle on your strain of feminized seeds?

Indica seeds

Appearance: Indica plants typically exhibit a shorter, bushier stature with broad leaves, making them well-suited for indoor cultivation and compact spaces. They have a relatively shorter flowering times of 8-10 weeks, which can be advantageous in regions with colder or wetter climates.

Effects: Indica strains typically cause relaxing and sedative highs. Many people use them to alleviate pain, reduce anxiety, and promote deep relaxation and sleep. Indicas often produce a heavy, body high that can leave you feeling drowsier which makes them popular for evening use.

Sativa seeds

Appearance: Sativa plants tend to be taller, with elongated branches and thinner leaves, adapting perfectly to outdoor environments with ample sunlight and warmer conditions. However, Sativa strains generally require a longer flowering periods of 12-14 weeks.

Effects: The high from sativa strains is usually characterized as uplifting and energizing. They can enhance creativity, boost mood, and increase focus and sociability. Sativas are often associated with a cerebral, heady high that can be invigorating, making them a popular choice for daytime use.

Hybrid seeds

It's worth bearing in mind that while these are the two natural subspecies of cannabis you can cross breed the two genetics creating what is known as a hybrid strain. This often results in a more balanced plant that combines the physical characteristics and effects of both subspecies.

THE LIFE CYCLE OF FEMALE PLANTS

• Germination stage (1-7 days): Once you have exposed your seeds to moisture and warmth there is a wait until they grow their first set of leaves, this process usually takes 2-7 days. Once the seed has sprouted, it enters the seedling stage, growing its initial leaves and root system.
• Seedling stage (1-3 weeks): Cannabis plants emerges from the seed, growing its first true leaves and establishing its root system. It's a vulnerable stage requiring gentle care and high humidity with a focus on developing a strong stem and structure.
• Vegetative stage (3-16 weeks): The vegetative stage is where your plants grow the most, at this phase the plant produces more leaves and branches. It aims to create a sturdy plant structure so that it is able to support its buds during the flowering period. Cannabis requires 18-24 hours of light per day and yield boosting training techniques should be used during this period.
• Flowering stage (8-14 weeks): When the flowering stage begins, the plant's light cycle shifts to 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness. The focus switches to bud production, with trichomes maturing and nutrient requirements changing. You will normally harvest your plants based on trichome maturity, typically taking 8-11 weeks.

HOW TO GROW FEMINIZED SEEDS

GERMINATING YOUR FEMALE WEED SEEDS

To get the best germination rates possible we recommend using our tried and tested paper towel method. To do this start by placing your feminized seeds between two damp paper towels on a plate. Put the plate somewhere warm keeping the seeds at a temperature of 22° to 25°C (71–77°F). You may need to keep spraying the seeds with water once or twice a day to keep them damp. This creates a controlled, moist environment that encourages germination. After 2-5 days you should see a taproot emerging from the seeds and they are ready for planting.

PLANTING YOUR SEEDS

To plant your germinated cannabis seeds in soil, dig a small hole about the width of your finger about ½ inch deep or one knuckle deep. Gently place the germinated seedling, root down, into the hole. Cover it with soil, very lightly patting it down – if the soil is too densely packed it may prevent the seedling from reaching the surface. Water the seedling lightly and avoid overwatering. Keep the soil consistently moist, but not wet as the seedling grows and do not provide any additional nutrients until your seedlings are 3-4 weeks old.

THE IDEAL SOIL FOR FEMALE WEED PLANTS

• Well-draining soil to prevent waterlogging.
• pH level between 6.0 and 6.8 for optimal nutrient uptake.
• Rich in organic matter to provide essential nutrients.
• Loamy texture for good aeration and root development.
• Adequate nutrient content, including nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
• To improve drainage in soil you can add things like perlite or coco coir to soil.

WHAT NUTRIENTS DO THEY NEED?

Feminized cannabis seeds require a mixture of micro and macro nutrients. The macro nutrients are abbreviated as NPK for short; nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), with varying ratios needed during the vegetative and flowering stages. Additionally, micronutrients like calcium, iron, magnesium, and copper are also required but in smaller amounts. To make supplying your plants with the right nutrients you can purchase pre-mixed cannabis nutrients, ideally you should supply all cannabis plants a nutrient schedule similar to this....

Seedling stage: No nutrients

Vegetative stage: NPK ratio of 3:1:2 or 3:1:1

Flowering stage: NPK ratio of 1:3:2

Late flowering: NPK ratio of 0:3:3

BEST LIGHT CYCLE FOR FEMALE MARIJUANA PLANTS

While you can get feminized autoflower seeds, all of the seeds categorized as 'feminized seeds' at MSNL are feminized photoperiods. This means that they are light sensitive and flower according to the changes in light that occurs as summer transitions to winter. Feminized seeds will begin flowering with any light less than around 12-13 hours per day. For this reason, when you are growing them indoors you should have them on this light schedule:

Seedling stage: 18 hours of light followed by 6 hours of darkness.

Vegetative stage: 18 hours of light followed by 6 hours of darkness.

Flowering stage: 12 hours of light followed by 12 hours of darkness.

THE IDEAL CLIMATE FOR FEMALE MARIJUANA PLANTS

Temperature: Different feminized strains will require slightly different climates depending on if they are indica or sativa dominant. All marijuana plants grow best in temperature ranges from 21-24 C or 69-75 F. Indicas are more comfortable at the bottom end of this scale whereas sativas thrive in slightly warmer more humid conditions.

Humidity: Female cannabis produces bud, but not until the flowering stage so there are different levels of humidity depending on which stage of life your plants are in.

Seedling stage: 65-75% Relative Humidity / Temperature 20-25 C°

Vegetative stage: 40-70% Relative Humidity / Temperature 22-28 C°

Flowering stage: 40-50% Relative Humidity / Temperature 20-26 C°

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REGULAR AND FEMINIZED SEEDS

Regular cannabis seeds will grow exactly as nature intended producing a 50:50 split of both male and female plants. Male plants produce pollen and so they can be used for breeding purposes.

Feminized seeds have gone through a process which means they are only capable of growing into female weed plants. This means that every single plant grown with female seeds will produce buds.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AUTOFLOWERING AND FEMINIZED SEEDS?

Feminized seeds just refers to the gender of the plant that the seed will produce. You can also get feminized autoflower seeds, here are the main differences between feminized and autoflowering seeds.

• Genetics: Unlike feminized seeds autoflowering strains all contain the cannabis ruderalis genetics.
• Light cycle: Autoflowers are not photoperiodic plants. This means that they flower according to age rather than light usually transitioning into the flowering stage after 3-5 weeks of vegetative growth.
• Size: Autoflowering plants grow to an average height of 60-120cm and so are much smaller than your average feminized strain. This means they yield less too.

HOW ARE FEMINIZED WEED SEEDS MADE?

Since female plants don’t naturally produce the pollen that’s necessary for breeding, there are specific techniques that breeders will implement to force female plants to pollinate other females.

By repeatedly spraying a female marijuana plant with colloidal silver, you force it to produce pollen that only contains female chromosomes. This single-sex pollen is then used to cross-pollinate another female marijuana plant, producing seeds with two mothers. These seeds can only grow into female plants.

CAN A FEMALE PLANT CREATE SEEDS WITHOUT A MALE?

If you are looking to create seeds from your female plants, either for breeding out to keep the genetic line, it is important to know if it is possible. A female plant can create seeds without a male if a part of the plant is forced to create pollen using colloidal silver. This pollen can then pollinate the rest of the plant (or other females) to then grow seeds.

In addition, female plants can produce seeds without a male if they are 'hermied out’. This term refers to plants transforming into hermaphrodites, or plants that are both male and female. Hermaphrodite plants often appear due to some type of stress. For instance, if your environment becomes too hot and stays too hot for too long, or, stresses like light cycle changes (due to no electricity or timer issues), cold temperatures, etc. can cause your female cannabis plants to hermie and produce seeds.

However making seeds from hermies means that there is a much higher chance of the offspring also showing hermie tendencies. This is bad news if you want high-quality, seed-free buds.

DO FEMINIZED SEEDS LOOK DIFFERENT?

Unfortunately, there’s no reliable way to identify female seeds from male seeds by appearance alone. The first clear signs of the sex of a cannabis plant is in the late vegetative/early flowering stage when the plant begins to show its preflowers. Male cannabis plants usually show their sex a little bit earlier with the development of pollen sacs or banana-like growths around the nodes.

CAN YOU USE FEMINIZED SEEDS FOR A MOTHER PLANT?

A mother plant refers to a female plant that’s kept in veg to continually take clones from. As soon as your feminized seeds produce a plant that’s large enough, you can take cuttings off of it and make those into a mother plant. Or, avoid photoperiod light cycles to keep it in veg to serve as a mother plant. It is entirely possible to use feminized seeds to grow a healthy adult plant that you can then use as a mother to take clones off.

However, some growers do believe mother plants should only come from a ‘true’ offspring that’s been made from a male and a female. With the idea that this lends to genetic stability and normality, because, down the line, the plant could be more susceptible to becoming hermaphroditic. Using high-quality feminized seeds from MSNL you will not have to worry about hermie tendencies as our fems are not from hermied parents.

WHAT ARE FEMINIZED PHOTOPERIODS?

Outside of gender, there are two main classifications of seeds you can grow - autoflowering, and photoperiod. Autoflowering seeds that have been bred with ruderalis genetics, or that bloom automatically without the need for a change in the day/night light cycle.

GROW THE BEST FEMINIZED CANNABIS SEEDS WITH MSNL

At MSNL we have been breeding marijuana since the early 2000's, and have created a catalogue of over 200 of the best feminized seeds for sale. We stock a range of old school classics such as Northern Lights and White Widow as well as some of the modern powerhouses like Gorilla Glue and Bruce Banner - With over 700 successful grows documented on grow diaries you can buy feminized weed seeds from MSNL with the confidence that what you are getting is quality. And if there is any doubt in your mind, we are so confident in our genetics that we offer a germination guarantee with every single purchase.

To buy female cannabis seeds, it’s best to find a seed bank you can trust. You’ll be relying on the fact that the cannabis seeds are feminized and not just labelled that way. MSNL, the original seed bank since 1999, is proud to offer long-standing strains and the latest up-and-coming strains from reliable breeders. Plus, all the growing guides and news you’ll need to succeed in growing weed from home.