Flowering

Marijuana Horticulture

by Jorge Cervantes

Cannabis flowers outdoors in the fall when days become shorter and plants are signaled that the annual life cycle is coming to an end. At flowering, pant functions change. Leafy growth slows, and flowers start to form. Flowering is triggered in most commercial varieties of cannabis by 12 hours of darkness and 12 hours of light every 24 hours.

Plants that developed in tropical regions often start flowering under more light and less darkness. Flowers form during the last stage f growth. Left unpollinated, female flowers develop without seeds, “sinsemilla”. When fertilized with male pollen, female flower buds develop seeds.

Unpollinated, female cannabis flowers continue to swell and produce more resin while waiting for male pollen to successfully complete their life cycle. After weeks of heavy flower and cannabinoid-laden resin production, THC production peaks out in the unfertilized, frustrated sinsemilla!

Cannabis has both male and female plants. When both male and female flowers are in bloom, pollen from the male flowers lands on the female flower, thereby fertilizing it. The male dies after producing and shedding all his pollen. Seeds form and grow within the female flowers. As seeds are maturing, the female plant slowly dies. The mature seeds then fall to the ground and germinate naturally or are collected for planting next spring.