i think this is the before bloom...that show he is female
here the german original thread:
https://www.kannabia.com/de/blog/was-ist-die-vorbluete-von-cannabis-pflanzen-wann-wie-und-warum-findet-sie-statt
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Timing of pre-flowering
Outdoors, cannabis plants with a natural photoperiod will transition from the vegetative phase to the flowering phase as soon as they "feel" that the days are getting shorter. This starts with the longest day of the year, the summer solstice, which occurs around June 21st in the northern hemisphere. This is a turning point in nature: autumn is approaching and for perennial plants like cannabis, this means it's time to produce offspring and flower.
Indoors, however, plants don't feel the passing of the seasons, and so as a grower, you need to give cannabis plants a boost to transition into the flowering phase. This is done by reducing the lighting duration of the grow lights. This change involves changing the exposure time from 16/8 (sixteen hours of light followed by eight hours of darkness) to 12/12 (twelve hours of light and twelve hours of darkness).
The best time to make this change depends on the variety in question and the grower's goals. An exception to this procedure are autoflowering varieties, which independently determine the time to start their flowering phase.
The pre-flowering phase of marijuana plants is an important time in their life cycle. This phase, which lasts 2 to 3 weeks, begins after the growth phase and ends with the actual flowering phase; during this period the plant develops its sexual characteristics, which ultimately determines whether it produces buds or pollen. It is therefore important to know this phase in order to optimize the final yield of cannabis plants.
Anyone who has ever bought cannabis seeds knows that the flowering period is an important characteristic of the different varieties, since from this point on the clock starts to tick that lets us know when the greatest reward of every grower is at hand: the long-awaited harvest. After all, this is exactly the time when all the loving care given in the previous growth phase begins to bear fruit. The female plants slowly but surely begin to show their flowers and prepare their large buds that will appear between the leaves.
1st week of pre-flowering: change in light exposure
Depending on the lighting spectrum, a plant hormone called phytochrome, which is produced from the time of germination, is activated by the red light spectrum contained in both sunlight and lamps during the long periods of daylight. The amount of activated phytochrome lets the cannabis plants "know" the length of the day and therefore when it is time to start the flowering phase.
If your plant develops pollen sacs instead of pistils, it means that these plants are male. You must discard them as soon as possible to avoid the formation of seeds and to maximize the production of flowers. You don't have to worry about this if you have used feminized seeds from Kannabia, as they only produce female cannabis plants, thus minimizing the risk of fertilization and allowing you to harvest buds without seeds.
Once the plants have a dark phase of at least 11 hours (some sativa strains may need over 12 hours), significantly less phytochrome is activated, so that after about 5 days in this phase, the plants are stimulated to move into the flowering phase.
The production of other plant hormones also changes. For example, auxins decrease while levels of cytokinins and gibberellins, for example, increase. These hormonal changes trigger the development of flowering shoots.
Changing the lighting cycle triggers a real "panic reaction" in the plant, which then grows and produces buds at the same time. At this point, many strains begin to stretch rapidly over a few weeks before finally entering the flowering phase.
Apart from that, there are hardly any visible changes in the pre-flowering phase. This is also a good time to consider certain training methods, as the cannabis plants need time to recover from the stress. Low-stress training methods (LST) are ideal for this, as they allow maximum lighting of the flower buds without causing significant damage and at the same time flatten the canopy.
Week 2: First signs of pre-flowering
It is only in the second week that the marijuana plants begin to show signs of the new phase in their life cycle, although there is still a long way to go before the first buds appear. One of the first signs of the pre-flowering phase is the appearance of pre-flowers.
Pre-flowers are smaller and underdeveloped versions of the actual flowers that then develop into buds. Around the second week after the light cycle change (or around the 4th week for autoflowering plants), white hairs known as pistils will start to sprout from the spots where the fan leaves emerge from the main stem of the plant. These spots are also known as flowering spots.
Actually, these are not the pistils themselves, just their stigmas. The pistils are female reproductive organs that absorb the pollen released by the male plants, as cannabis reproduces by pollen. Around the nodes where the pistils grow, small green balls called bracts will start to develop, which are the first signs of the actual flower buds. And it is from these bracts that two white "hairs" will sprout, the stigmas. They use their sticky surface to catch the pollen from the male plants and then transport it to the ovary of the pistil.
The male plants, in turn, develop pollen sacs that look like round balls that hang down from the nodes of the plants. These sacs then open and release pollen into the air. This pollen can travel considerable distances to fertilize the female plants in the area.
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If your plant develops pollen sacs instead of pistils, it means that these plants are male. You must discard them as soon as possible to avoid the formation of seeds and to maximize the production of flowers. You don't have to worry about this if you have used feminized seeds from Kannabia, as they only produce female cannabis plants, thus minimizing the risk of fertilization and allowing you to harvest buds without seeds.
Week 3: Buds start to develop
After two weeks of pre-flowering, small sugar leaves will also start to form around the pistils. These are some of the buds that will make up the final yield of the harvest. At this stage, your cannabis plants are not yet fully grown, as they could still grow up to 50% larger than they were before the new lighting regime began. The new branches and leaves will become more prominent in the third week of flowering, and more pistils will sprout from the main colas.
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The plants are still stretching upwards and are still flexible enough, so if you haven't trained them enough, this is another good opportunity to develop that flat canopy that can increase yields by up to 60%.
Towards the end of the third week of pre-flowering, you may already see these "mini buds" forming. And after a month after pre-flowering begins, the growth phase slowly comes to a halt (more or less). This means that the plants put almost all of their energy into producing flowers.
Requirements of cannabis plants in the pre-flowering phase
Here too, you need to be careful about any nutrient problems that could hinder bud development. As a general rule, you should follow a minimalist nutrient regimen (remember that less is often more). However, cannabis plants have different requirements during their flowering phase than during the previous vegetative phase: while the main requirement before was nitrogen for growth, your plant now needs more phosphorus, potassium, calcium and other minerals and trace elements to achieve maximum flowering power.
Also remember that cannabis plants absorb nutrients better in a slightly acidic environment (pH values of 6.0 to 7.0 in soil and 5.5 to 6.5 in hydroponic culture). Close monitoring of the pH value helps prevent burns and oversaturation, as plants with flowers are more susceptible to nutrient overdose and also recover less well from it than plants in the vegetative phase.
Watering is of course another constant need. Marijuana plants require less moisture during the flowering phase, so don't water again until most of the water in the substrate has already been used up. The situation can be easily assessed by sticking a finger 2 to 4 cm deep into the substrate from the top: it should feel dry before the next watering. If the soil takes longer than three to four days to dry, the soil may not be permeable enough. In this case, you should add organic material or make more holes in the pot.
And last but not least, plants need heat and moisture in moderation while the buds are growing. The optimal temperature range is 21 to 26 °C during the day and 18 to 23 °C at night. Experienced growers may keep the temperature in the range of 12 to 14 °C overnight during the last weeks of flowering to encourage the purple coloring of some strains.
Reducing humidity is also important to harvest dense buds. Start this phase at 55% relative humidity and reduce it by 5% each week of the cycle: by the last ten days before harvest, you should be at 35-40%.
In summary…
The pre-flowering phase is an important phase in the life cycle of marijuana plants. Knowing this phase to create the right growing conditions for the plants can help ensure healthy development, which in turn leads to a successful harvest. If you have been patient, paid attention to details and cared for the plants lovingly, you should have mastered the pre-flowering phase. Now you know enough to grow huge plants with beautiful buds from your cannabis seeds.