Hermaphrodite Seeds

I have never done any breeding or even very much research into it, and I've always removed and destroyed any plant that showed it was a hermaphrodite because I was under the assumption that it was simply an inferior plant with bad or damaged genetics(apparently wrongfully so).Is it a confirmed fact that seeds from a hermaphrodite will most always be female? The main reason for this and my last thread was because I have to start from seeds every year as the summertime heat prevents me from keeping a clone mother, a situation that hopefully will be resolved soon.With most seed companies that offer fem seeds ,they are twice the price of regular seeds which ,if you get the normal ratio of male to female plants would mean that you'd basically get the same results if you grew twice as many using regular seeds. Given that ,I am curious to know from the more experienced growers: given my current situation , simply put , is it better for me to buy fem seeds to start with each year as clones are not a problem ,or simply just buy fem seeds?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Deejay2163

I have never done any breeding or even very much research into it, and I've always removed and destroyed any plant that showed it was a hermaphrodite because I was under the assumption that it was simply an inferior plant with bad or damaged genetics(apparently wrongfully so).Is it a confirmed fact that seeds from a hermaphrodite will most always be female? The main reason for this and my last thread was because I have to start from seeds every year as the summertime heat prevents me from keeping a clone mother, a situation that hopefully will be resolved soon.With most seed companies that offer fem seeds ,they are twice the price of regular seeds which ,if you get the normal ratio of male to female plants would mean that you'd basically get the same results if you grew twice as many using regular seeds. Given that ,I am curious to know from the more experienced growers: given my current situation , simply put , is it better for me to buy fem seeds to start with each year as clones are not a problem ,or simply just buy fem seeds?

---

Bad genetics could be a possibility of hermies, but not always likely. It's really strain dependent. Sometimes you can have a strain that you TRY to give light stress too and it doesn't want to herm. Then sometimes (in my grows with bagseed "X") it can stress if you even breathe on them wrong.

If you have good genetics then most, if not all, should be females. There may be that occasional bad egg, but probably would be rare.

Your saying you don't have the means to keep a mother plant, so you have to start over every time. With that being said, fem seeds would take most of the guess work out. That way, you can then concentrate on JUST females.

You can even catch some of the hermie pollen (freeze it, if not used within 24-36 hours) to pollinate only certain parts of your other plant(s). That way you will still get fem seeds, but you didn't have to ruin the whole crop. You can just seed the lower sites that don't get as much light. Nice way to come off a hundred seeds in a few weeks.

Deejay2163..You were correct in throwing the hermie's away... For breading you only want to use a mom that you have to Force to turn hermie.. You basically want to grow the same mom more then a few times IMO and make sure she dose not turn hermie on you under natural stress conditions. If she does turn hermie under normal stress conditions don't bother using her you will get a lot of hermie's in your fem seed stock. Hope this helps..:thumbsup:

As far as doing fem seeds yourself or buying... not sure... But by doing it yourself you know exactly were the MOM came from as this is important to some growers and not so much to other growers....

hey Dejay 2163,

You got two good responces and answers.

Let me touch on just a couple of points. I find that what I consider indoor strains and outdoor strains are different from each other, most of the things I used to grow outside are just to big to keep indoors, even as a pruned to heck mom. Plus you will only need to do cuttings once a year, it seems to me to be a waste of space and electric.

If you have not done any true breeding before it is much wiser and easier to buy seeds allready feminized. If you grow alot each year it would pay to grow out a couple indoors with a quick veg period to keep them short, and then screw with one's dark period, and when it turns herm use it to pollinate the others. This is a good time to do crosses, hermie one (like NL) and put it with say a Hawain and say a Jack Herer. You'll wind up with fem seeds from all three (seperate).

Easiest why is to put them all together (in a rape room), away from any other things growing and let them go at it, and keep a oscillating fan going at all times. You only need to do this once and you will have enough seeds for a few years, plus they are three flavors.

BTW seeds done this way will not be "mostly female" they will be all female.

you WILL, on occasion get a straight MAKE plant from feminized seeds. not all the time, but it does happen. maybe 1 or 2 in 100. we had a whole back of purple kush feminized that we grew out just old enough to get them to force preflower specifically to get a male plant to make regular seeds. thats why the so-called " elite strains (i.e. clone only)" dont last very long. if someone gets ahold of them and knows what they are doing, its fairly easy to make them seed grown in no time.

i also find it fairly funy that so many people holler and cry about hermies and the occasional seeded plant, especially when these seed breeders rip you off so bad for what seeds they sell, especially when alot of times you either dont get them, they send you the exact same seeds and call them this or that ( I.E. order 4 different strains, and end up getting 4 bags of seed, all labelled different, but when you grow them or examine them under a microscope, they are from the same damn plant, just like the place that sponsors here does)

stop cryin about seeds in your pot, pick them out and save them and grow the bastards!