starting from seed i would grow 3 and top them then tie them sideways with strings, making most use of every squared inch, veg 5-6 weeks depending on their size, they more than double in size in flowering, to get 3 females with regular seeds you need to plant like 5-6 then chose the best 3 fems then flower them. there are great tips to get a very high female to male ratio look them up they work great...