Usually I grow one regular strain which I rebreed, and while I’m doing that, I like to put a few feminized plants next to it, just to have more choice in my personal stash. It’s so easy. The feminized plants are inevitably always pollinated a bit, so I always have crosses with them.
I have often wondered whether it is possible to grow & breed with seeds breeded from feminized plants, if you pollinate them with pollen from male plants grown from regular seeds. You don’t find much on the internet and there are many different statements and many discussions, but less answers and less experience. I now have the second test grow exclusively with seeds from feminized plants that were pollinated with regular males.
In principle this works, but I wouldn’t recommend anyone to breed with it. The risk of hermaphrodites is too high. The two grows were both pollinated, although I did not pollinate them. With this test grow in particular, it is a complete mystery to me why the plants are seeded. There were two hermaphrodites among the males, which I disposed of in good time anyway, and I can’t see any male flowers or bananas on my female plants. If there are any, they are so hidden that I can’t find them. If you find any on my fotos, tell me.
So my 2 cents: If you have no other choice, then you can definitely grow with such seeds and fill up your own stash, but you can expect your weed will be hermaphrodited & seeded and therefore you can’t breed properly with it. I recommend to keep such plants completly out of your serious breeding projects.
But these plants here are certainly smokable, even if you have to pull out a few useless seeds every time. You can see the seeds here and there if you have a closer look on the pics.
I’ve used regular males on females from feminized seeds and have no hermies in any of those crosses I have done. It really depends on selecting good plants that don’t show any unwanted tendencies.
Problem is , many of these clone only selfings people are doing are with clone only plants that throw hermie traits when stressed or they just do it late in flower as a typical behavior… don’t breed with those … it’s real simple.
Plant selection and test growing is much more important. Breed with unstable plants… get unstable plants, it’s really that simple.
In the end this means: Do something like this only if you are desparate for any reason. If you want to keep any rare favorite strain, or you can’t get regulars for any reason. Prohibition, lack of money, no shopping occasion etc. One must have a good reason to grow with seeds from feminized plants. Regulars are for sure more easy and highly recommended for breeding.
Concerning “unwanted tendencies” - I can’t find any “unwanted tendencies” on my plants, except that they are seeded. And I can’t find any reason for that.
Some of the most renowned names in Cannabis breeding say the best pathway to start an IBL is with selfing.
Lot of personal opinions out there on this topic. I just base mine on running reasonably higher numbers of plants and observing the results.
In my garden recently I had a hermie event… was from regular seeds from a very popular breeder. The run after that, again , regular seeds from an even more popular and respected breeder… late nanners. Finding a fair number of unwanted seeds in the first crop i mention, a random few in the second. At the same time , in the same rooms I am running feminized seed that I have made and no nanners or hermies after dozens and dozens of plants grown by myself from those seeds and dozens more grown by friends.
Starting material matters whether the seeds are feminized or not.
