How to pollinate cannabis?
In pollinating Cannabis, you have to select the best plants to be pollinated since they will be the ones to carry the genetic makeup of your future generation of Cannabis. When pistil of female Cannabis starts to appear white or off-white, you can now begin pollination by covering a bag of male pollen to the branch of your female Cannabis. Make sure that the pollens are in contact with the pistil by shaking the bag gently. Then, leave the bag for two days and two nights and remove it gently to avoid knocking off the pollen on the pistils.
In this article, you will read everything you need to know about pollinating Cannabis.
How to pollinate cannabis?
How to determine the sex of a cannabis?
In order to determine the sex of a Cannabis plant, look at the tiny and bell-shaped flowers of the male plant that opens to release fertilizing pollens. On the other hand, the female plant has a teardrop-shaped flower that shows buds during harvesting time.
To learn more about this, read our article "How to Tell the Sex of Cannabis Plant?".
How to select high-quality cannabis for pollination?
The selection of male and female Cannabis for pollination depends on their capacity to adapt to their environment. Thus, you must choose those plants that you have observed to be adaptive, most potent, and developed the most despite least nourishment. After you have selected Cannabis plants for pollination, you have to separate the male plants into a closed space to avoid any pollen contamination.
When is the right time to collect pollen?
The moment a mature anther found on the stamen opens and releases pollen grains into the air, it is now ready to collect its pollen. To determine, you have to check your Cannabis for any appearance of powder-like and yellow pollen grains on the leaves below the male flowers. You may use a small container to collect the falling pollens as you move the male flowers gently. The moment you collect the pollens, you have to pollinate them right away because if you wait three to four days, there will be a tendency that the pollen will lose its fertility without proper storage.
How to store collected pollen?
One of the biggest enemies of pollen is moisture because the moment it exceeds the moisture level of 75%, it will die. That is why you have to keep your pollen dehydrated by storing it properly. One strategy of keeping your pollen away from moisture is by coating it with cooking flour. The flour will absorb any water when accidentally mixed during storing period. In addition, it will help you efficiently pollinate your Cannabis later.
If you harvested a large amount of pollen, you could store it in a freezer to carry out pollination in the future. To do this, you must secure a jar where you can keep it from getting moist the moment you remove it out of the freezer, but you have to make sure that before opening it, the jar is placed under room temperature for a few hours before you open it. This step is vital because if pollen is exposed to any form of moisture, the whole process will fail
What are the steps for pollinating cannabis?
To start the pollination process, you have to determine first the male and female Cannabis plants that you will pollinate. After, you collect the pollen from the male plants. Then, you have to keep the pollen safe in storage where there is no moisture at all.
After those steps, you can now pollinate your female Cannabis between 2 and 12 weeks after the start of its flowering stage. However, you have to keep your attention on its pistils, particularly on these two circumstances:
- Pistil appears to be white or off-white. When the pistil turns white or off-white, it is the perfect moment to pollinate.
- Pistil appears to be withered and brownish. When the pistil turns rust or seems to be withered, the point of pollination has passed.
The question now is how to pollinate female Cannabis when its pistil appears to be white or off-white? To do this, follow the following steps:
- Your female branch must be covered with a bag full of male pollens.
- Make sure that pollens are in contact with the pistil. To do this, shake the bag gently.
- To ensure thorough pollination, leave the bag for two days and two nights.
- After, remove the bag carefully to avoid knocking off the pollen that is on the pistils.
How to determine if pollinated plants are ready for harvest?
Seeds will begin to grow inside the calyx of the female flower of Cannabis after a few days. Once the process has been carried out properly, seeds will fully mature around 4-6 weeks. You may harvest the seeds by the end of the flowering period. As you harvest them, make sure that the seeds begin to darken, from green to brown or dark grey. Also, the calyces must be open to harvest the seeds out quickly.
How to avoid issues during pollination?
Pollination should be performed in a separate room or area during the process. You have to eliminate any disturbances and ensure that there will be no chance of any wind movements. If your Cannabis is accidentally pollinated, the growing of its offspring will be compromised. You will likely end up with poor products and undesirable effects on the plants.
In addition, you must avoid pollinating from a self-pollinated plant. You will likely end up with poor products again since a specimen that has developed hermaphrodite traits will be transferred to its offspring.