My 4 large adult cannabis plants are 96 days old, and in the middle of their flowering phase: 3 MK Ultra females and 1 Steem OG hermaphrodite female.
Steem OG, lower flower, showing both active pistils and seeded calyxes. S3 is pregnant!
Zooming out to show that whole flower node:
Notice the orange/brown pistils ("hairs")? They correspond to the seeded (fertilized) calyxes. Active (unpollinated) pistils remain white and outstretched, always searching for pollen. Normally, as medicine gardeners, our goal is to avoid that from happening, since the more energy a plant puts into seeds, the less it puts into cannabinoids.
There's that whole branch, which is 1/4 of the plant. Notice its top nug also has some dark pistils and swollen calyxes. I'll be getting some Steem OG seeds in my buds.
A better look at that partially-fertilized top bud. Here's another angle:
Some of the pollen responsible is indeed coming from this plant's hermaphroditic parts, but before I knew that would happen, I also purposely pollinated some of it with male pollen from S5.
In other words, some of the seeds in my Steem OG buds are going to be Steem OG females (from the hermie pollen), and some are going to be Steem OG mixed male & female (from the male pollen). Interesting.
As I said yesterday, I don't think I want the Steem OG offspring seeds, regardless of their mostly-feminized status. If the strain itself isn't quite stabilized, and is prone to going hermie even when living a stress-free life, it's not safe to have in a sensimillia (seedless bud) garden.
There's a different lower flower on the same plant, looking completely female from most angles. But from underneath, it's a different story:
And zooming in to show the stamens (male parts that look like a bunch of bananas) on the left side of the node:
Those stamens consist of a stalk protruding from the flower, and an anther, which produces the dusty yellow pollen.
This clip shows it well:
The pollen is tiny, and spreads easily. Cannabis is a wind-pollinated plant (it doesn't make nectar to attract honeybees), and normal garden airflow tends to spread it quickly. Pollen cleanup on aisle S3!
As I said the other day, pollen from hermaphroditic females is valuable for creating feminized (all female) seeds, but only if it came from a plant that produced the pollen because of stress, not because it has a genetic propensity to hermaprodism. In my case, it appears to be the latter, so I probably won't be saving either the offspring or the pollen.
Another lower flower with a hermie pollen sac, ready to burst open any time. I removed it, and a few others, but it seems this plant is going to continue to try to pollinate itself - and my 3 MK Ultras! I'll have to be vigilant about checking every day for new sacs.
All 4 adult plants, filling up my garden space nicely! The 3 MK Ultra plants aren't showing dark pistils or swollen calyxes yet, so maybe my efforts to cut down on pollination are working.
That said...
This may already be confusing enough, but it gets a bit weirder.
Since the 3 MK Ultra girls aren't hermies, and don't appear to have hermaphrodism running in their family genes, if the Steem OG female/hermie does pollinate it and create offspring seeds, they could have some advantages:
- an interesting Steem OG / MK Ultra cross
- naturally feminized
- only half Steem OG genetics, so maybe not too likely to go hermie
Long story short, I'll probably keep any MK Ultra / Steem OG seeds that are produced. I'll probably dispose of the Steem OG / Steem OG seeds now maturing in my buds.
One thing is for certain: "problems" like this lead to massive growth and learning! I feel I have leveled up again, as a result of this huge learning experience. I understand the flowering process and genetics from a new angle, and better than I have before. I'm in this for the long haul, so adventures like this only add to my strength as a gardener, and give me tools for future successes.
Hopefully you're also getting something out of this! I enjoy sharing it with you.
DRutter
