Problems with hermaphrodites

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Cannabis is a dioecious plant. This means that the male reproductive organs are found on one individual and the female ones on another. In cannabis cultivation, one may encounter not only male and female plants, but also hermaphrodite plants. What exactly does this mean? Hermaphrodite translates as bisexual. Such a plant will produce both male and female flowers at the same time. A hermaphrodite arises as a last-resort response to the absence of both sexes in a colony. The mechanism enables the plant to self-pollinate. This trait can appear in dioecious plants as a reaction to unfavourable conditions.

Sex can be influenced by high or, conversely, low temperatures (the ideal temperature in a grow room is 20-25°C), light (a maximum of 40,000 lumens/m² is recommended, which corresponds to a 400W lamp; it may be increased only during flowering), soil pH, genetics and stress (e.g. when the growing medium dries out too much, or pinching).

Small "balls" then begin to appear inconspicuously on the female plant; these open up and pollen forms inside them. This pollen is either active or passive. Active pollen begins to pollinate the female colas, and when growing for a harvest this has a very negative effect. The pollen can spread hundreds of metres or even kilometres, which has an adverse impact on the grow room.

It is therefore advisable to check the plants, daily if possible, at the start of flowering. When a hermaphrodite is found, one may try to pick off the male flowers, but a better solution is to remove it straight away and thus avoid the unpleasantness of losing a large part of the harvest.

A major disadvantage is that a hermaphrodite can arise not only as a result of poor external conditions, but it is also determined genetically. Seeds from these plants are very unstable and tend to produce a hermaphrodite plant again.

Although feminised seeds guarantee a female plant in over 90 per cent of cases, there is still a certain chance of a hermaphrodite. The chance of occurrence is very small, but it can happen. Therefore, bear in mind that by stabilising growing conditions you can avoid these problems. And finally, a few factors that positively influence the formation of females: a higher concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus, higher humidity, lower temperature, more blue light, fewer hours of light.

Cannabis containing more than 0.3 per cent may only be grown once the legislation has changed! More about the legality of cannabis in the article Cannabis before and beyond the law.