Early Sexing?

Hey all, I'm starting my plants indoors a few weeks (starting with 20 seeds, hoping for 10 ladies) and I'm just wondering if anyone knows if it's possible to sex the plants before I move them outside. I'm guerilla growing so it would save a lot of time and risk to only have to bring 10 plants outside rather than 20. Is it possible to kick them into flowering real quick to show sex then revert back to vege state? Thanks

loveisallyouneed said:

Hey all, I'm starting my plants indoors a few weeks (starting with 20 seeds, hoping for 10 ladies) and I'm just wondering if anyone knows if it's possible to sex the plants before I move them outside. I'm guerilla growing so it would save a lot of time and risk to only have to bring 10 plants outside rather than 20. Is it possible to kick them into flowering real quick to show sex then revert back to vege state? Thanks

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Yeah man i did this before, I let them grow about 6 inches. Then after i make thier dark periods longer(cover them in fresh area with 2 plastic black trash bags indoors. and coninue for two weeks after youll be able to see the little hairs for the females. Then get rid of the males and off to ur gueriila spot. good luck

Sounds good to me. I reckon it would take no more than 3 weeks for the plants to reach about 6 inches then another 2 weeks to sex them. If I begin say March 12, all this will leave me done about 2 weeks into April. The climate here is not exactly suitable to move plants outdoors until May. Is it alright for the plants if I switch the lighting back to 18/6 for another couple of weeks?

Oh my bad i misread ur thread. Well i thought u were starting them by like the window, Yeah with the light just switch timer to 12/12 and in about a little bit after 2 weeks u will be able to determine sex. And yes i've been told u cud switch them back to 18/6 to veg after sexing.Then to thier guerilla cite
good luck

How long did you plan on vegging them for?

Preflowers, as opposed to full blown flowers, generally appear after the fourth week of vegetative growth from seed. Check carefully above the fourth node. Please note that preflowers are very small and impossible to differentiate without magnification. A photographer's 10x loupe is handy indeed when examining preflowers.

As the images below demonstrate, the female preflower is pear shaped and produces a pair of pistils. Frequently, the female preflowers do not show pistils until well after the preflowers have emerged. Thus, don't yank a plant because it has no pistils.Pistillate preflowers are located at the node between the stipule and emerging branch.

Female (pistillate)



Female (pistillate)


Image courtesy of Uncle Ben

The male preflower and flower may be described as a "ball on a stick." Frequently, a male plant will develop mature staminate flowers after prolonged periods of vegetative growth. These appear in clusters around the nodes.

The following image shows a male plant in early flowering. Staminate flowers are located at the node between
the stipule and emerging branch. Note the clusters of flowers.

Male (staminate)

Thanks for the info toke, I'm planning on germinating the seeds on the 12th, having them in soil no latter than the 19th and moving them outside in early May. I see you're also from Canada, by the looks of things now its likely to be a mild summer but I still don't really want to risk putting them outside in April. After telling you all this, what would you recommend me doing as moving 20 plants to an outdoor grow location in somewhat public property is considerably more trouble then just moving out the femes. You think I'll definitely be able to sex after having them under 18/6 light for about 6 weeks? Thanks.