Early Detection of Females? Stipules turning orange?

[Racerx]

Hey guys, thanks in advance for any advice. Been hanging around here for awhile, finally decided to join when I became medical. Not new to growing, but I am new to growing from seed. I have always used cuttings.

Plants are about 5 weeks old. 1 week into 12/12, still no sex. I am force flowering, as they were not showing their sex. Only water, no nutes, wanted to experiment. Flora Kleen once. The growth on some isnt up to par, but that is because I have multiple plants per pot so I can weed out males/weak plants and maximize my yield. Maybe not the best plan...

Essentially, here is my dilemma. I leave soon for 2 weeks. I have someone tending the garden and I am confident they can keep it healthy, however I do not want to burden them with having to remove any males that pop up. I know this question is asked a lot, and I am impatient, however I have never seen the stipules of a cannabis plant turn orange so I am wondering if this is an indication of sex or if the plant is lacking in a specific nutrient. PH is between 6-7.

Here are some pictures. they arent the best but Ill try to get some in regular light today.

Racerx Reviewed by Racerx on 07-25-2006. Early Detection of Females? Stipules turning orange? Hey guys, thanks in advance for any advice. Been hanging around here for awhile, finally decided to join when I became medical. Not new to growing, but I am new to growing from seed. I have always used cuttings. Plants are about 5 weeks old. 1 week into 12/12, still no sex. I am force flowering, as they were not showing their sex. Only water, no nutes, wanted to experiment. Flora Kleen once. The growth on some isnt up to par, but that is because I have multiple plants per pot so I Rating: 5

[Racerx]

I also had the question about whether or not I should have more then 1 plant in each pot. My plan to maximize females was to plant multiple plants per pot, then choose the dominant female and kill the rest. However, I am beginning to think they are finally hurting eachother, as the plants by themselves seem to be growing much faster.

Should I take my chances and just limit to one plant per pot right now, before I do further damage? I am worried this will leave me with very little females, but if it is stunting growth or preventing flowering...

[4x5]

1 plant per pot IS a must, two in one pot will never make it to a proper end, secondly; they will not show flowers at their current size (again, lowryders aside), they are simply too small IMEO, so you should be just fine to go on vacation and have someone "look-after" them. At least 8 nodes (If I recall) are necessary for any form of maturity(no clue for LowrYder however), for 5 weeks I am suprised of their "short" stature, perhaps when you get back from vacation you could bring them more light, they look quite healthy to me, just not "size appropriate"for their age. :stoned: Peace.. :stoned: Dont mean to come off arrogant, just curious of the plants surroundings and :stoned:

[Racerx]

1 plant per pot IS a must, two in one pot will never make it to a proper end, secondly; they will not show flowers at their current size (again, lowryders aside), they are simply too small IMEO, so you should be just fine to go on vacation and have someone "look-after" them. At least 8 nodes (If I recall) are necessary for any form of maturity(no clue for LowrYder however), for 5 weeks I am suprised of their "short" stature, perhaps when you get back from vacation you could bring them more light, they look quite healthy to me, just not "size appropriate"for their age. :stoned: Peace.. :stoned: Dont mean to come off arrogant, just curious of the plants surroundings and :stoned:

Dude! Trust me you dont come off arrogant!!! I appreciate all and any advice/opinions. I am just impatient. The plant I took a picture of, is very small. The other plants are larger, with about 6-7 nodes. However about half the plants, some large some small, have stipules dying or turning orange or just disapearing. Id never seen it before so I thought Id better ask, never done seeds. I guess I will just kill the rest on each pot and focus. Out of 9, if I can get 3-4 I will be happy. Any recommendations on which plants I should kill off? Larger, smaller, more developed? I figured males often tend to grow faster, so I would keep a healthy but not super tall?

So that brings me to another question then, Ive never had an issue where I needed to do this, but should I go off 12/12? Should I continue 24/0? I would think it would be better to continue what I have been doing, but I dont want to stress them by forcing flowering if it will come to nothing.

[Racerx]

Here is a pic from a few days ago. I also just found out that for the last 2 days my pH in my water has changed somehow. Its up to around a 7.5.

[LIP]

The stipules are nothing to do with sex.... And really you want 1 plant per 3 gal pot, otherwise the roots come entangled... and they end up both dying.

[LIP]

I only just read up...

If there are any plants that are weak, very streched and basically not in the best condition take them out.

[slowthestone]

Before scraping a plant...do something with it that will help you make more sound choices in the future.

ie...see just how long without water it can go before it begins to whither. That sort of thing will give you a better idea as to just how long your plants can go without a drink of H2O.

[slowthestone]

And just to add...

Putting more than one plant per container is a thing that can be done without risking a pathetic grow. Especially if the container is of a good enough size that, even if tangled, the roots have plenty of room to grow and absorb nutrients and water.

The biggest concern one should have is being screwed if one plant should begin faltering while the other is thriving. Theres no way to nurse the other back to health without affecting the strong plant in the process.

Right about then though is when one can realise the roll of genetics.

btw...I've two 9'ers sharing a 30 quart container. Both are doing well, and bursting with young blooms. They're looking to be coming along nicely for a new grower that was ignorant of when to get flowering happening.

From cloning each, is where I saw right away the impact of genetics. For whatever reason, one of plant's leaves curl as if lacking something while the other plant has been perky from the get-go. Clones from each did the exact same thing as their mother did.

lol...I'm not so daunted anymore...but still wish for these things to stop fukn grow'n so damn much till they're ripe.

[Racerx]

Well I decided to cut down to 3 pots that have 2 plants. The other 6 pots have only one. Hopefully some female will show. I started with seed this time just to try it out since I eventually would like to breed. However, I definitely will be going back to clones once I move. They are soooo much easier. With the plants I removed, I have been experimenting. Amazingly enough, I made a cutting about a week and a half ago, left it in water, added some simple nutrients, and the freakin thing grew roots! Never seen it happen without gel. I am playing with the plants I remove, seeing how they respond to transplant, air, constant waterm etc. Wondering if I should just grab some oasis cubes and make cuttings out of them, but I dont have enough light right now (space/ventilation limiting factor).

Big Question though, since the plants are not mature enough to flower, should I go back to 24/0 or stay on 12/12?