Unlike the majority of flowering plants, cannabis rarely engages in hermaphroditic (self-pollinating) behavior. For the most part, the plants will display gender specific (male or female) sex organs.
Most cannabis growers will destroy any males as soon as their gender becomes apparent, which makes sense considering males don’t flower and produce the potent buds cannabis is known for. Plus, now that feminized seeds are available, many growers might never even see a male plant. But male marijuana plants have a surprising array of uses, beyond simply existing to reproduce.
Hemp Fiber
Hemp fiber produced by male cannabis plants produces a much softer material than the females, which are known for the tough, course fiber they create. The softer nature of male produced hemp fiber is a more fitting choice for clothing, curtains, tablecloths, and other household items.
Concentrate Production
Although male cannabis plants don’t produce buds like the females, they can be used for their psychoactive compounds. A fair amount of cannabinoids can be found in the stems, leaves and sacs of the male cannabis plants, and they can be extracted to make a variety of compounds.
Garden Enhancement
Just like female cannabis plants, the males produce aromatic compounds called terpenes, which can aid in pest and disease control in your garden. These terpene oils are an extremely effective, not to mention organic, way to repel insects.
Juicing and Cooking
When regarding the cannabis plant in its true form, a vegetable, it shares the same traits as a female plant. Raw cannabis plants are packed full of vitamins, phenols and antioxidants. Furthermore, everything on the cannabis stalk can be juiced or cooked except for the stalk itself.
So don’t fret it if you end up with a batch of seeds that are mostly male. Even if you don’t want to utilize them for any of the above uses, you can produce a vast amount of pollen for breeding with female seeds. It’s important to note that pollen it very potent and can travel far and fast, you should have a full understanding of how pollen works before beginning your adventure of male cannabis plant growing.
