Simple Guide to Hybridizing / Feminizing / Reversing Cannabis Plants

Whether you’re building a seed library or creating your own crosses, this guide breaks down the basics of female reversal, and best practices — all from applied experience.

Always Start with Stable Genetics

✅ Only reverse plants you’ve grown multiple times and verified as stable.

Unproven plants can lead to wasted time and poor offspring…Herms !!!!

❌ Avoid reversing random clones or seedlings unless you’re 100% confident in their background.

⚠️ Using unstable genetics can result in:

• Hermaphrodites
• Weak or mutated plants
• XY (male) chromosomes in “feminized” seeds

Basic Cannabis Genetics: XX and XY

• ♀️ Female plants = XX chromosomes
• ♂️ Male plants = XY chromosomes
• 🔀Reversing a stable female (XX) causes her to produce X-only pollen
  → Crossing this with another XX = all-female (XX) seeds

✅ True feminized seeds will not produce males.

🌿Ethylene’s Role in Cannabis Sex Expression

Ethylene is the plant hormone that promotes female flower growth.

When ethylene is blocked or suppressed, it can trigger a genetically female (XX) plant to form male pollen sacs — Making only Female Pollen

🧪 This principle is the foundation of female reversal methods like:

• STS (Silver Thiosulfate Solution)
• Colloidal Silver
• Gibberellic Acid (GA3)

🚫 Reminder: You can’t create females from male (XY) plants 

🌿 How to Hybridize Cannabis Plants

1. Select two stable female plants.
2. Reverse one using your chosen method.
3. Collect pollen from mature sacs.
4. Pollinate the second stable female.
5. Harvest seeds after full maturity.

? How I Reverse (Feminize) Cannabis Plants

Here are four reversal methods I’ve personally tested and my Favorite is ELITEXELITE

✨ EliteXElite (Preferred Method)

• ✅ One-time application
• ? 100% success over 12+ reversal runs
• ?‍♂️ Least stressful to plants

? STS – Silver Thiosulfate Solution

• ✔️ Very effective
• ? Requires multiple sprays across several days
• ⚖️ Needs careful mixing and timing

?Colloidal Silver

• ? Daily application required for 10–21 days
• ⏱️ Works best when applied early in flower
• ? Best used on smaller plants or single branches

⚠️ Gibberellic Acid (GA3)

• ❗ High success rate with precision
• ? Stressful and easy to overdo
• ? Use only with advanced knowledge of timing/dilution

Feminized Seed Types: S1 vs R1

🪴S1 Seeds – Inbred Line self-sibling Clone

• MUsing a sibling clone is my go-to method — less plant stress and better seed Heath
• ✅ S1 seeds are feminized and are similar to the mother
• To be Clear This is not a Clone, there will be Pheno Diversity Depending on how many
• Parents are in the Lineage of the Pheno you are Reversing

🪴R1 Seeds – Feminized Hybrid Cross

• Created by reversing a stable female and crossing it with a different stable female
• ? Produces all-female hybrid offspring
• ? Best for creating new strain combinations with known parent traits

🪴Final Tips for Breeders

• Always label and track phenotypes carefully
• Keep a reversal/grow diary to track success and patterns
• Test your feminized seeds across multiple grows before sharing or selling
• Never breed with hermaphroditic or unstable plant