Theory on Males and Hermaphrodites

i have thought over an idea which may have some merit. it seems that whenever i flower plants in groups of three, one of them may invariably become hermaphrodite(over the course of a few grows). givin equal conditions, although differents strains, i have seen females that lived a life of luxury and still go hermy. on the other hand I have seen females you could beat with a hammer, and they will remain female. this leads me to believe that a female plant can turn male under certain stresses, but i believe it has more to do with the presence, or lack of presence of males along with the living conditions while in the flowering state.

it is the popular idea to kill males immediatly, but my plan involves keeping a couple males in veg, root bound and small. then introduce one of these males into the flower room for periods of time up to the point of producing pollen, then swap it out with the fresh male. this way the females, one of which might have a hermy tendancy, will sense the male and work on producing bud instead of male sex organs to self pollinate. the idea is that if there is a male present, the females will know it and compete for his pollen by making juicy nice colas and buds.

if you think my theory sucks, tell me. i wont mind.

I like the way you think. Now i am thinking, no, HOPING that my ladies don't turn on me. What strain was it that turned on you???

and im going to go as far as to say, that if you keep a male in your flower room, you will never get another hermy, unless it was hermied out before it when in.

Nice Thinking. ;)

Damn, that makes me wish i had a big enough set up to be growing both veg and flower at the same time. Im so tired of my plants herming, last week i had 9 beautiful females. Now i have 5 i think, its so annoying.

What would happen if you just continuously trimmed any male flowers that grow on a hermy for the whole span of its life? Would it grow enough female flowers to harvest?

and how do you propose that a female plant notices a male plant nearby?

I think that predisposition towards heraphroditic state is mainly genetically influenced. I only say this cause some strains almost never herm, C99 is known as a hermie resistant strain while others will throw out male pods like crazy. Thai's are notorious for going hermaphroditic.

Yes you can just trim off male flowers, but you'd need to pay constant attention, like several times a day, otherwise you could get one pod to open and then all your plants are pollinated. Not worth the risk IMO.

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Originally Posted by phillykid420

and how do you propose that a female plant notices a male plant nearby?

I think that predisposition towards heraphroditic state is mainly genetically influenced. I only say this cause some strains almost never herm, C99 is known as a hermie resistant strain while others will throw out male pods like crazy. Thai's are notorious for going hermaphroditic.

Yes you can just trim off male flowers, but you'd need to pay constant attention, like several times a day, otherwise you could get one pod to open and then all your plants are pollinated. Not worth the risk IMO.

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plants communicate hormonally, its known that when trees get an infection, other trees that are miles away will begin building up defenses for that infection. i wouldnt be the least bit surprised if male and female plants send hormones to eachother. its strange to think of plants 'talking' but they are living organisms, just in a different pace of life.

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Originally Posted by phillykid420

I think that predisposition towards heraphroditic state is mainly genetically influenced. I only say this cause some strains almost never herm, ......Yes you can just trim off male flowers, but you'd need to pay constant attention, like several times a day, otherwise you could get one pod to open and then all your plants are pollinated. Not worth the risk IMO.

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Well maybe not all get knocked up. I definitely agree with the strains/herm statement.

The theory is interesting, but I wonder. I have just been through a siege of herme tendencies from my more fragile species and I believe it was set off by a hermaphrodite. Symbiosis has some factor in this mess, not sure what it is. The hormonal effects/changes/sensing I believe in. Again tho, the specific plant seems to be the factor more than the many. Some breeds just are more sensitive and will throw an occasional banana. True hermie will get a banana at every internode.

Folks freak with these. You can sure come up with some really neat new species this way. Yes, some may be very hermaphroditic, some may become so stable you cannot get it to stress and make nuts....(I have one).

It all boils down to: You gotta watch your garden closely all the time!

I'll bet I could stress that stubborn witch into submission...:thumbsup:

Female cannabis plants know when there's a cannabis male around...when his pollen lands on her pistils. She also knows when he's not around, because no pollen is landing on her pistils.

With all the hormones and steroids in all the different snake oils sold to cannabis gardeners, likely the hormonal (or steroidal) influnces would be a known factor in promoting the reproductive "Hail Mary". Gibbrelins (gibrellic acids) are a good example, but are given at doses no normal plant could possibly produce in 100 lifetimes.

Plant stress or outright weak genetics are the usual triggers for a plant or group of plants to hermie-out. Nice try loking for ehterial sources, but I'd double-check ph meter calibration, timer settings, light leaks, temperatures, age of light bulbs, age of nutrients...stuff like that.

That's one of the problems I had with Moon Phase Gardening. It takes the focus away from sound biological principles, and places the focus on etherial sources for determining your growroom success or failure. Learn proper gardening techniques and sound biology...and it makes you forget all about Moon Phase astrology. (a man-made theology)

But, I do happen to have a couple of amulets that guarantees you get whatever sex plant you want. $10,000.00 each. :jointsmile: (but they do cause a terrible rash when used)

I'm not saying you are barking up the wrong tree, but there are other trees out there that actually bear fruit.

Symbiotic...likely not. Enviornmental and/or genetic...more likely.

And I would like to point-out that the level of testing and the incredible genetic/hormonal/steroidal/enviornmental variables involved would net you zero actual knowledge or insight. And to what end?

Nothing wrong with experimenting, but it is always best to understand the why's and the why-not's of the situation. :thumbsup: