Sexing tip

Hi all,

All the advice I've seen so far (yes, I'm still a newbie so I'll no doubt get flamed that everyone has been doing this for years :) ) on sexing by covering a lower branch has recommended lightproof paper, tubes or a paper bag. Not having ready access to any of those I had to rethink.

Am I the first to spot a new use for cooking foil (Bacofoil this side of the pond) here? A 12" x 12" piece moulds nicely around a lower branch without causing any damage and it stays in place on its own - unless in a hurricane. While it's early days in testing, its worth seems to be that it's sufficiently lightproof and seems to allow enough air to flow. It also saves having to use ties to secure the bags and, with care, keeps the leaves pointing the way they were intended.

I'll keep you posted if it works fully.

HTH

landi

Landi,,,why in the world would you want to cover only lower branches.Have I missed something.It cant properly trigger flowering.All it does is confuse the plant.It would be like having light get in during the dark phase.If theres another reason tell me.-usdi Agaluga-

Jaguar you are just guessing arnt you.
Will it confuse the plant?
Or will it trigger flowering on that branch alone?
I have never herd of this being done b4 and i bin growing for years but can,t see why it wont work .
Good idea. :)

It shouldn't work because the hormones triggering flowering do so systemically.Therefore parts of the plant can't be segregated in a separate life phase.Its an all or none kind of thing.

i have always used pre-flower sexing with success. it's a little trickier to tell, and i'm sure i've pulled a few femes and i know i have let a some males grow. so i just do my best to sex them during the vegetative stage and don't mess with the light cycle (always been fearful that going to 12/12 and then back to vegetative will trigger some hermaphrodites).

Jaguar what you said isnt true believe it or not. Cannabis plants do not grow the exact same on every branch and not all the flowers on the plant will flower and finish at the same time. Covering one of the branches WILL trigger flowering on that branch only. The plant can in fact segregate branches and growth tips, this is why cloning with branches is possible. It is however, one of the more difficult ways to sex a plant.

The easiest way to sex a plant is to Top it. Topping takes a little longer to show the sex of the plant than the covering method, but its more safe and works the best. Topping not only sexes the plant, but it increases the yield and keeps the plant from getting too tall.

Outdoor gardeners can take advantage of the results of a 40 year old experiment to discover with certianty, the sex of each plant.This experiment found that the flowering hormone that induces marijuana to flower is locally produced that is each part of the plant produces the hormone (phytochrome), and the hormone is not translocated (transferred or moved) throughout the plant.
Once decent sized branches develop, cover a lower branch on each plant with an opaque (light tight) paper bag or sleeve (not plastic cos the branch must breathe).A double layer black consrtuction paper or a cardboard mailing tube are two possibilities.
Close the end @ a branch tip, but leave a small opening of the paper sleeve or tube @ the other end.After about 10-14 days you should see flowers developing on the coverd branch.the rest of the plant continues to grow normally, with no slowing of overall growth.The prcedure works better for outdoor growers,cos the plants have a longer life, and the branching is better outdoors than indoors.You might start your seeds in March,cover them in may,and you know before june the sex of each plant.Indoors,branches don't form well enough, and the crop doesn't usually have enough time to have any real value.

how does topping sex the plant when all it does it is double the tops? males grow the same after topping as females...makes no sense.

and this whole idea of force flowering to determine sex is time consuming, hard on the plants and slows growth. just wait for alternating branching to be well under way then look closely with your 30x magnifying glass and you'll see the preflowers.

Topping usually triggers the hormones to speed up growth to make up for its loss. In return, most of the time, it also speeds up the flowering proccess. Males do grow the same as females after topping, no doubt about that but thats how you sex it. Then you must determine the sex of it. If you top it, and it turns out male, then you do what u must with it. If you top it and it turns out female then yur a happy camper.'

Of course not forcing it to do so is easier on the plant. Some people just dont like to wait as long. Plus Topping is a very good method because it increases yield and the plants upward growth is drastically slowed. Makes it very good for indoor growers.

help me plz i have never grown befor and i wont one of them to be female i have two that should live and one that might and i wont to know how to make them female or atleast increase the chance of female and p.s i got fore seeds and they are all lil plants 100percent germination