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Early Signs of Hermie Plant: Guide for Cannabis Cultivation

Early Signs of Hermie Plant: Guide for Cannabis Cultivation

Introduction

Hermie cannabis plants can be detrimental to your harvest. Not only do some not produce cannabinoid-rich flower, but if you don’t remove your hermies in time, they could pollinate your female plants.

In this post, we’ll identify the early signs of hermie plants so you can act before your harvest is ruined. We’ll also discuss what causes hermies, prevention techniques, and what to do if you find one.

What is a Hermie Cannabis Plant?

Hermie (short for hermaphrodite) are plants with male and female sex organs. While most breeders refer to all mixed-sex plants as hermies, there are two different categories:

  • True hermies – Plants with distinct male and female reproductive flowers early in development. Some nodes will contain female and others male flowers.
  • Bananas – Plants that turn hermie later in bloom. A male stamen (pollen sac) protrudes through female flower.

Early Warning Signs

Understanding the difference between male and female cannabis reproductive parts is essential in finding and culling hermie plants.

In the instance of true hermies, you’ll see circular pollen sacks forming on the nodes in the seedling or vegetative stage. Female plants will begin growing flower between the between the nodes.

Bananas become apparent much later in the plant’s lifecycle. This is because environmental factors such as stress, over/under watering, or inadequate nutrients cause the transition. You’ll see large, banana-like sacks growing within developed flower.

Either way, you must remove the hermies from your female plants because these pollen sacks could burst at any moment. 

Environmental Factors that Influence Hermaphroditism 

Cannabis genetics play a significant factor in hermie plants. Choosing strong genetics from a reputable seed bank is the first step in avoiding hermies. However, other factors can cause hermaphroditism later in development.

  • Humidity
  • Temperature
  • Lighting
  • pH
  • Nutrients
  • Growing medium
  • Poor growing methods
  • Extra time in flower

 

How to Prevent and Address Hermie Cannabis Plants

Choosing strong genetics, optimizing your grow environment, and catching hermie plants early on is the most effective way to prevent unwanted pollinators from infiltrating your crop. Keep humidity, temperature, lighting, pH, and nutrients consistent to avoid hermies. Additionally, you need a high-quality grow medium, an understanding of cultivation techniques, and an appropriate flowering time frame.

Bananas can form if you keep females in flower too long. The plants go into a fight-or-flight mode when they aren’t pollinated and attempt to self-fertilize.

If you find a true hermie or banana, immediately remove the plants from your grow area to prevent pollination.

The Importance of Superior Genetics

At Trilogene Seeds, we believe problems begin with poor genetics. That’s why we’ve spent decades stabilizing our strain selection. Please reach out if you have any questions on preventing hermies; however, by choosing superior genes, you’ll already limit the chances of dealing with male plants.

 

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