While both feminized and regular seeds have their merits, the decision which to choose depends on a grower’s experience and aims. Using regular seeds allows you to enjoy a natural ratio of male and female plants.
Male plants also produce pollen that breeders use to fertilise female flowers and create new strains. This makes regular seeds very popular amongst breeding enthusiasts.
Breeding
For growers who enjoy the challenge of breeding their own strains regular seed can be a great option. They can be used to create new cultivars or cross existing strains. The process works by pollinating male cannabis plants with female cannabis plants. Male cannabis plants produce ripe pollen sacs which are then blown by the wind or carried by careful hand to the stigmas of female flowers where they can be pollinated and seeds will form.
This is how nature intended the process to work and it is important for breeders to have access to both male and female cannabis plants to make their own hybrids. However, it can also be problematic for growers who don’t want to risk their entire crop of buds on the possibility that all their plants will become hermaphrodites and need to be pulled up. This is one of the reasons why feminized cannabis seeds were created – to eliminate this risk.
Cloning
Some growers like to create new strains of cannabis by crossbreeding two existing plants. To do this, they need male and female plants—and seeds are the only way to get them.
Seeds also require more attention to germinate and get growing, so you’ll need a larger grow space than clones. And you’ll need to discard roughly half of your seedlings once they’re sexed, which can put you over any legal plant count limits or leave you with fewer plants than expected or desired.
Clones are generally more difficult to take than seeds, but with proper technique they can be easier than you might expect. It’s important to start with a healthy “mother” plant and to follow the correct procedures for cutting. For example, you’ll need to revert the mother plant back to its vegetative state before taking the cuttings, and it’s best to delay fertilizing until leaves appear. These steps can make your cloning experience much more successful.
Genetics
The breeding process of regular seed produces offspring that inherit the characteristics of their parent strains. This genetic stability is especially important for breeders who wish to create new strains with desired traits. Regular seeds also allow for phenotype variation, which creates unique and diverse cannabis varieties that offer distinctive flavors, aromas, and effects.
The majority of growers who choose to cultivate regular seeds prefer to collect pollen from their male plants and apply it to female seedlings or clones. This is an involved process that requires patience and attention to detail, but it can be very rewarding.
Cloning regular seed produces robust descendants that resemble their mother plant, while feminized seeds produce weaker, less vigorous descendants. This is largely because feminized seeds endure a great deal of genetic tampering that makes them more unstable than their non-feminized counterparts.
Yield
If you’re looking for a big harvest, regular seeds may not be your best bet. They tend to produce fewer male plants than feminized seeds, which makes them less likely to have male flowers that fertilize your entire garden.
That said, rookie growers should take care not to stress their crops. Techniques like topping, fimming, lollypopping, and defoliation all put your crops at risk of going hermaphrodite, and that can reduce the yield.
Despite their challenges, some people love growing regular seeds. It’s a way to preserve traditions, and to make the cannabis of your dreams. The key is to separate the male and female plants early into flowering so you can harvest smokable buds, as well as new seeds. This requires a bit more effort than feminized seeds, but it’s worth the reward. If you do the work, you can create a strain that’s uniquely yours. The only limit is your imagination! Luckily, our selection of regular seeds includes some of the most potent cultivars.
