So my baby is in its 5th week going on 6th, (might actually be a week older) At the 5th nod 2 little "stumps" appeared, to small for me to get a great look at, and to small for my phone, They appeared about 12-14day ago and havent grown any at all or appeared on other nodes (I think, its kinda hard to see my plant is compact) so I'm wondering if this sounds characteristic of female or male plants, Thanks,
Yes it does, But actually those "stubs" are on 4 nodes and a couple look like there opening, ,,wouldn't males multiply their balls before opening? Does it sound like a female from that description? Its my first grow sorry for not exactly knowing
No worries...sexing can a hard thing to learn...especially 'cause nobody ever has the patience to wait it out... Honestly, from just a description, it's really hard to tell...pics would be great, but you said you can't get clear ones...soooo...how 'bout you just wait it out a bit...once you switch to flower, and it starts to show signs or true flowering, there'll be no doubt... Personally, I'd rather raise a male for a couple extra week than chance killing a healthy female...
[quote name='"IgnorantFool"']No worries...sexing can a hard thing to learn...especially 'cause nobody ever has the patience to wait it out... Honestly, from just a description, it's really hard to tell...pics would be great, but you said you can't get clear ones...soooo...how 'bout you just wait it out a bit...once you switch to flower, and it starts to show signs or true flowering, there'll be no doubt... Personally, I'd rather raise a male for a couple extra week than chance killing a healthy female...[/quote] Yeah almost everything I read was for actual flowers in the 12/12 cycle, ,,but everything I did find out on veg preflowers for males said they'd rise on a stem and begin multiplying, judging that these "stubs" haven't grown all that much in nearly 2weeks and are begining to open and spread rather than rise, Im hoping that that means it's a female ,
Male preflowers can be hard to predict. I think a lot of it is psychological because we just don't want to SEE the dirty little bastards, and refuse to believe it when we do. But seriously, they usually present as round little balls, and they usually do cluster after a few days. But sometimes they are football shaped & look a lot like a female calyx in shape. The best predictor is that a female calyx will have no stalk; it's stuck hard to the node where the leaf or branch meets the main trunk. The male will always have a stalk. And, if it's a female preflower, it won't take much more than a day or two to show those two pretty little hairs. The toughest are the true hermies with the football shaped male preflowers showing at about the same time as the plant starts it's female real flowers.. The stalk can be very short, might not see it without the magnifying glass. If in doubt, wait it out like IgnorantFool says. Give it more time & check daily. A 10X magnifying glass helps greatly; backlighting with a dim flashlight or CFL helps as well. Now, just before you cut it out, and this is important... Turn your ballcap sideways, glare at the male & say, "You sumbitch, I'm gonna cut you".
[quote name='"Olde School"']Male preflowers can be hard to predict. I think a lot of it is psychological because we just don't want to SEE the dirty little bastards, and refuse to believe it when we do. But seriously, they usually present as round little balls, and they usually do cluster after a few days. But sometimes they are football shaped & look a lot like a female calyx in shape. The best predictor is that a female calyx will have no stalk; it's stuck hard to the node where the leaf or branch meets the main trunk. The male will always have a stalk. And, if it's a female preflower, it won't take much more than a day or two to show those two pretty little hairs. The toughest are the true hermies with the football shaped male preflowers showing at about the same time as the plant starts it's female real flowers.. The stalk can be very short, might not see it without the magnifying glass. If in doubt, wait it out like IgnorantFool says. Give it more time & check daily. A 10X magnifying glass helps greatly; backlighting with a dim flashlight or CFL helps as well. Now, just before you cut it out, and this is important... Turn your ballcap sideways, glare at the male & say, "You sumbitch, I'm gonna cut you".[/quote] Almost all of the preflowers have opened up but look green, one has something that looks like a white dot but its just to hard to tell without magnifying glass, There all completely attached to stalk with little green "slivers" pointing out but there just so small. I mean after almost 2-3weeks if they were males they should have clusterd by now correct? And is it possible for the white pistols to be green if not fully matured?
Yes, they should cluster within a week UNDER 12/12, MAYBE NOT under 18/6 or 24/0. Although males are not necessarily photosensitive, they are much more vigorous under 12/12. I've kept male clones for months under 18/6 and never found preflowers on them. Male preflowers are just harder to predict - I never had a lot of luck until flipped to 12/12. Keep looking at the structure - there should be a gap between the node and the flower, connected by a little stalk. Get a magnifying glass and keep looking. It helps to backlight the area with a small CFL or one of those dim LED flashlights. I'm with IgnorantFool on this one, keep a watch when you flip them. And keep your hat turned sideways just in case.
Whew.... neither! Those are stipules, that node is not showing any preflowers yet. Look at the illustration that IgnorantFool posted earlier in this thread - without that illustration I wouldn't have remembered what they are called, but I just remember what they look like. When stipules first appear it's easy to mistake those for the beginning of a female pistil, but the stipule is always green & will never have that glistening white "hair" of a female flower. The ganja gods put those on plants just to confuse us!!! Keep watching & don't worry too much about sexing until you flip to 12/12. I've always been told males are not photodependent to flower, but I've never seen it on any of the male clones I've held for months. But within a week to 10 days after the flip the sex should be obvious. Males normally show first. Check out this link to another thread pic I posted, it's got a very clear side shot of the male flowers beginning to cluster, and the stalk obviously growing away from the main trunk / branch node. http://forum.grasscity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=890710&d=1338335813 Hope this eases your mind, and bestaluck to ya!
[quote name='"Olde School"']Yes, they should cluster within a week UNDER 12/12, MAYBE NOT under 18/6 or 24/0. Although males are not necessarily photosensitive, they are much more vigorous under 12/12. I've kept male clones for months under 18/6 and never found preflowers on them. Male preflowers are just harder to predict - I never had a lot of luck until flipped to 12/12. Keep looking at the structure - there should be a gap between the node and the flower, connected by a little stalk. Get a magnifying glass and keep looking. It helps to backlight the area with a small CFL or one of those dim LED flashlights. I'm with IgnorantFool on this one, keep a watch when you flip them. And keep your hat turned sideways just in case.[/quote] Well did the males show any sign of preflower during veg? Because if so wouldn't that mean its a female? I wanted to make it my mother and collect clones, ,, Well I could only watch, shit is definitely growing, hopefully not balls,
Lots of experienced people swear males will pre-flower, it's just that I've never seen it. I generally don't hold male clones any longer than it takes to make a small batch of backup seed, but over the years I've done that, I've never seen a male pre-flower. Now switch that bastard to 12/12 and if it's a male the balls pop everywhere. That's why I like to take a cutting from each plant & number it to match its parent. When the parents flip and show sex, you know which clone is male or female. Then do whatever work you need with the proper cutting.