Todays lesson:...

I'm a new grower and what I learned today is something I think even the pros forget sometimes. The infamous "Hermi". Growing from clones, I became complacent thinking my girls would be girls. Id watch them carefully for nute burn, over watering, bugs and what not. I thought once they got in the flower room, I was pretty much home free. Today while I was drooling over my Durban Poison in the flowering cabinet, with two weeks left, I noticed a few pollen sacs on the lower branches with some sacs already open. Well, the fear hit me and I couldn't grab the scissors fast enough to chop it down. I have 3 other strains in there and now is not the time to start a new strain(even though thats my end goal). I took all the plants out of the cabinet and cleaned it, but Im hoping the other plants didn't get pollinated.....we'll see.... I chopped off the buds and put them in a paper sack. The trichs were still clear and Im hoping the bud is worth something, even turn it all to hash. theres only a half ounce or so, but I hate to waste my first Durban. So, this is a reminder that it could happen at any time and don't become complacent. Now that its happened to me, I don't know how people get by with the really big grows. So, with every lesson learned you almost always have more questions. My question is.....Could I have cut the pollen sacs off and watched them like a hawk for the next two weeks?....or was I right to freak out and chop her down?

thats the call isnt it? only the man on the scene knows, dont have any regrets, you did what you thought best. i cant say either way, ive had the same late in bloom and managed as you say to watch like hawk, and it was all ok ish... done now anyway init. importantly!! did you find out hermied them?

I honestly dont know what I could have done to keep it from happening. I am wondering, since I took 4 clones off of that plant, will it happen to the rest? I put two more in flower and will watch them much more carefully. Also...I should have grabbed the camera before I grabbed the scissors.

happy dayz!!

i woudnt worry too much about a couple male flowers like that. its a big problem when every bud has multiple flowers all over them. But in your case i would pinch the flowers off and leave the buds. and if you do get seeds zaazoom you have feminized seeds. (i planted all seeds like that this year and got 100% females w no hermies)

but isnt a seed from a hermied female going to be pre-disposed to hermie also??

bud nugbong said:

i woudnt worry too much about a couple male flowers like that. its a big problem when every bud has multiple flowers all over them. But in your case i would pinch the flowers off and leave the buds. and if you do get seeds zaazoom you have feminized seeds. (i planted all seeds like that this year and got 100% females w no hermies)

Click to expand...

i didnt have a single hermie this year so ill say no...but yes, they are more likely to go hermie under light changes or other stresses...but this is how seed companys make femenized seeds. (they use hormones to make a female plant turn hermie and pollinate another female) IMO slight hermies are a gift not a curse.

The batch i got my hermie seeds from (2 oz) only had about 10 seeds in it. and like i said made some great females w no hermies whatsoever.

If the hermied flowers were already opened, then the pollinating process was complete. Chopping it down at that point only prevented seed from forming on that plant. If the pollen spread, well you get the picture.

Elanor, feminized seed are essentially hermie females that self pollinate. Stress or chemically treated (the later being the better option)females will force them to produce male pollen sacks. As long as the original strain was stable and not prone to going hermie at the slightest sign of stress, then it should be female. All fem seeds will have the chance to be hermie though. It's just a question of how stable the strain is.

I got the Durban as a clone, so I don't know about its genetics. Admittedly, I freaked. With the fan in there, Im hoping the pollen didn't spread. I always like seeds, but prefer to be in control of the situation. So this brings me to my next question.....There was a trainwreck and a afghani bullrider in with it......if the pollen spread to those plants.....Would the seeds be feminized or just regular seeds with genetics of both?

Being the pollen was from a female gone hermie what ever the pollen got on will be pro dominantly female. Again depending on stability of the females. What I would do is when trimming up (if the seeds have time to mature) is keep an eye out for seeds. Remember what plant they came from and mark them. When you use them (seeing unknown stability) do so with only the questionable seeds going. This will help to eliminate another possible hermie attacking known females. Wash your entire grow area, and I mean everything) with a bleach and water solution before your next grow too, to rid any possible left over pollen.

Since you don't know the history of your clone you will have to grow out another generation to see if she also hermies. If not you just had something happen to trigger it in her. I have a Lady Cane pheno going now I love and am in the 6th generation veg, 7th cloning. She puts out a couple of nanners during the 6th week and the 10th week just as regularly as clockwork. I inspect closely everyday and once these are found and pulled they stop. I love the plant and now know what to expect and will keep her until I find a better one, none of her sisters have ever showed anything even with lots of light stress.

And theres the trick....you have to watch them. I put 2 more in flower and Im gonna start watching them alot. As for why it happened...still unsure. There were a couple times when the cabenet was left cracked open for about an hour....letting in some ambient light....could have caused it, I guess. So if the Durban pollinated mytrainwreck, I would have Durban x Trainwreck feminized seeds?

ah , i see. quite complicated eh.

the two new durbans in flower, havn't hermied so far. Hopefully not a regular problem with the strain, but Im keeping an eye on them

So what happened to the rest of the plants in flowering......The durban pollinated both the Afghan bullrider and the trainwreck. It seemed to be contained to the lower buds on both. I clipped those buds today...pulled out the seeds (still white)....and threw the buds in my shake bag. The new Durbans in the flower cabinet havn't hermied yet....but Im keeping an eye on them. I got 2 more Durbans to flower and then Im done with this strain. They have been a complete pain in the butt.