Pre-flowering

Marijuana Horticulture

by Jorge Cervantes

Pre-flowers, described by Robert Clarke in Marijuana Botany as “primordial”, are the first indication of a plant’s sex. The pre-flowers grow at branch internodes just behind the leaf spur or stipule about the fourth week of vegetative growth, when the plant is six to eight weeks old. This is the point of sexual maturity, the first sign a plant is preparing for flowering – the next stage in life.

You can see pre-flowers with the naked eye, but a 10 to 30X magnifier will make viewing easier. You can accurately determine plant sex after eight weeks. Using this method, you can distinguish sex before inducing flowers.