How to Tell If Your Cannabis Plant Is Male or Female

Growing cannabis successfully starts with knowing how to identify the sex of your plants. Male and female cannabis plants serve different purposes, and telling them apart early can protect your harvest. Female plants produce resinous buds rich in cannabinoids. In contrast, male plants grow pollen sacs that can fertilize females, resulting in seeds instead of potent flowers.

This guide gives you the tools you need to identify male, female, and hermaphroditic cannabis plants with confidence. By learning how to sex your plants early, you can avoid accidental pollination, preserve bud quality, and stay in complete control of your grow.

Photoperiod and autoflowering strains show their sex differently. Photoperiod plants begin to reveal their sex shortly after you start the flowering stage of the grow. Autoflowers, on the other hand, develop sex traits on their own within a few weeks of germination.

Mastering plant sexing isn’t optional; it’s essential. By the time you finish this guide, you’ll know what to look for, when to look for it, and how to act on what you find.

When Can You Tell the Sex of a Cannabis Plant?

Most cannabis plants start showing their sex between weeks 4 and 6 after germination. As your plants enter the pre-flowering phase, inspect the nodes where each branch connects to the main stem. Here, you’ll spot the first signs of whether your plant is male or female.

Photoperiod strains respond to a 12/12 light cycle by developing sex traits. As soon as you flip the lights, these plants start showing whether they’re male or female. Autoflowering strains, however, follow their internal schedule. By week three or four, they often display sex traits even if you don’t change the lighting.

If you’re using regular (non-feminized) seeds, pay close attention. Male plants can release pollen before you notice, and one can fertilize your entire crop. Catching them early allows you to remove them before they cause any damage.

Start checking daily once your plants approach the four-week mark. Look closely for white pistils (female) or round pollen sacs (male). When you find the first signs, act quickly. Early action helps you avoid headaches and keeps your grow on track.

What do Female Plants look like?

Female cannabis plants produce the buds. Ultimately, this is what most growers aim to harvest. Early in the pre-flowering stage, examine the base of each branch. You’ll notice small, teardrop-like structures forming. If you see white, hair-like pistils emerging from these points, you’re looking at a female.

These pistils act as pollen catchers in nature, but in a grow room without males, they remain unfertilized. That triggers the plant to focus its energy on building bigger, more potent buds packed with cannabinoids.

Female plants often grow shorter and bushier than their male counterparts. They invest more in lateral growth and flower production. Once you identify a plant as female, shift your attention to optimizing bloom conditions, introduce flowering nutrients, and maintain a 12/12 light cycle if you’re growing photoperiod strains.

Use macro photos of known female plants to confirm what you’re seeing. When you spot pistils early, you protect your yield and avoid unwanted seeds.

What do Male Plants look like?

Male cannabis plants develop structures that look like small round balls at the base of each branch. These are pollen sacs, and they usually appear in clusters. As the plant matures, the sacs grow larger and eventually open to release pollen into the air.

You need to catch male plants early. Once the sacs open, they can fertilize every female plant in your grow space. Fertilized females stop focusing on resin and cannabinoid production and start making seeds instead. That reduces both yield and potency.

Unlike female plants, males grow taller and have fewer leaves. They stretch upwards quickly and spend their energy on producing and spreading pollen. As soon as you spot a male, remove it from your grow room unless you plan to breed.

Compare your plant to verified images of male cannabis. Look for tight clusters of balls with no pistils. Spotting a male in time can save your entire harvest.

Hermaphrodites

Some cannabis plants can develop both pollen sacs and pistils. These are called hermaphrodites, and they can pollinate themselves as well as other plants nearby. You might notice male and female structures forming on the same plant, sometimes nearby.

Environmental stress often causes a plant to become a herm. Light leaks, temperature spikes, over-pruning, or severe nutrient deficiencies can all cause a plant to exhibit both male and female sex traits. Specific genetics also make some strains more likely to herm, mainly if the breeder used unstable parent lines.

Stay alert during flowering. Some hermaphrodites grow full pollen sacs, while others form “bananas”—thin yellow anthers that appear inside buds. Bananas release pollen without warning and are harder to spot.

If you find a herm, take immediate action. Unless you're breeding, remove the plant to avoid pollination. Also, check surrounding plants for stress or early signs of sex reversal. Missing just one can compromise your entire harvest.

Why Should You Remove Male Cannabis Plants Before They Pollinate?

If you grow cannabis for quality buds, identifying male plants early is non-negotiable. One overlooked male can pollinate every female in your tent. Once that happens, the female plants shift their energy from producing trichomes to making seeds. You lose out on resin, potency, and bag appeal.

Seeded buds weigh less, burn harsher, and contain lower levels of cannabinoids like THC and CBD. Even if just a few buds get pollinated, they can produce hundreds of seeds. That severely cuts into your usable flower and reduces the overall value of your grow.

By removing male plants as soon as you spot them, you protect your crop from accidental pollination. Now, female plants focus entirely on developing thick, sticky flowers rich in cannabinoids and terpenes. If you’re not breeding, keeping your grow room female-only gives you the best shot at high-quality results.