What's best for you: feminized seeds vs regular

As you might have guessed from the name, the main difference is the sex of the plants. Like many other types of plants, some are male and some are female.

In nature, they evolved to share genetic information with each other, resulting in the development of seeds with both parents' properties. This method of reproduction allows for gradual but assured improvements with each passing generation.

Choosing between feminized and regular seeds 

If the aim of your culture is to produce cannabis plants with a flower or 'buds' you should choose feminized seeds in terms of ease. However, if you wish to develop your own strains, regular seeds may be preferable.

What are the differences between feminized and regular marijuana seeds?

Basically, just like any other "ordinary" plant seed, there is a 50% chance that it will be female or male. Intersex plants exist too, but they are pretty rare, and you shouldn't expect to see them in general.

If you want to differentiate the two sexes, you will have to wait until the plant has already grown well. Male plants have pre-flowers, which are small, green and oval. You can wait for pollen bags to form, which is a clearer sign, but then you will have used up valuable nutrients and time.

Just look for those oval-shaped green pre-flowers and discard the male plants as quickly as you can (unless you intend to use them for breeding new varieties). If you leave it too long they will pollinate the female plants, you will get much lower yields than otherwise, although conversely, you will have a lot of new seeds for the future.

The table below sets out the definition and advantages of feminized and regular seeds at a glance:

Feminized seeds

Cannabis is a precious plant species; its seeds (in their natural state) can develop into a male or female plant. However, only female plants produce the famous cannabis flowers, which are consumed for their cannabinoid content. Male plants, on the other hand, are used only to pollinate females to initiate seed production.

If the goal of your culture is to produce cannabis flowers, then you will need to get rid of the male plants or opt for feminized seeds. Feminized cannabis seeds are seeds from two female plants that have been specifically treated to produce only female plants.

Specifically, the process of seed feminization involves giving female plants trace amounts of colloidal silver in order to cause them to produce pollen. This "feminized" pollen then fertilizes the female plants, which produce feminized seeds.

Advantages 

Feminized cannabis seeds are increasingly popular with growers because they guarantee 100% feminine harvests.

• Saves time: The main advantage of feminized seeds is that they guarantee the production of female plants, i.e. buds covered with resinous crystals. If this is your goal, then you will save time and money by choosing only feminized seeds.
• Safety: You should also be aware that pollen can kill cannabis buds. When choosing feminized seeds, you don't have to worry about male pollination.

Disadvantages

Feminized seeds, however, are not suitable for all crops.

• Inability to produce seeds: If your goal is to produce seeds, be aware that feminized seeds are not suitable because they do not allow the development of male plants. In this case, it is, therefore, better to turn to other types of seeds, such as regular seeds.
• Less suitable for crossbreeding: Some growers wishing to make crosses prefer to use natural male plants to pollinate females, rather than using feminized pollen for seed production.

Regular seeds

Regular cannabis seeds are made from a cross between male and female cannabis plants. You cannot tell the sex of the plant before flowering.

Two weeks after flowering, you should have a close look at the plants. Male plants develop oval pods. Females have teardrop-shaped calyxes.

In the cultivation of regular cannabis seeds, you can assume that half of the plants will develop into female cannabis plants. It is essential to know to germinate additional seeds as you will have to discard the male plants at the time of flowering.

Advantages 

There are many advantages to using regular cannabis seeds:

• Create new varieties
• Have more robust and more vigorous plants
• Regular cannabis seeds have more resistance to temperature variations and stress
• It is one of the varieties of cannabis that is healthy to clone
• Reproduction is facilitated
• Regular seeds are often cheaper

Faced with these different points, reflect on your objectives and your approach.

Disadvantages 

• Limited productivity: The problem with regular seeds is that you have no control over the sex of the plants so that you can find yourself having to get rid of half your plants after a month and a half of care because they are males, thus halving the potential production of the crop.

What should you choose: regular or feminized seeds?

So, with all the points in mind, you must undoubtedly be wondering what our answer is to a very specific question: which seeds are the best? Regular or feminized?

In truth, it all depends on your goals as a grower. Are you trying to develop new varieties and cultivate the seeds or clones from your crop? If so, you should choose regular seeds, as their genetics are much more stable, and regular seeds will produce males for the breeding process.

However, if you are a novice grower or your primary focus is on harvesting high-quality, edible buds, we strongly recommend that you purchase feminized seeds instead. Whatever type of seed you decide to grow; regular, feminized or even autoflower, you will find a vast choice of high-quality seeds at WeedSeedsExpress.