# Can I grow seeds I found in my weed?

> You can grow seeds found in your weed, but bag seed is a gamble. Seed in sinsemilla bud often comes from a plant that hermed and pollinated itself, so it tends to be nearly all female and to pass the herm tendency on. Its parents, sex and flowering time are unknown. It is fine for practice; for a real grow, buy documented seed. Check local seed rules first.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/answers/can-i-grow-bag-seed.html
- Topic: Basics · Type: How-to
- Evidence: Grower practice · Status: Draft: awaiting expert review
- Full article: [Regular, feminised, autoflower or clone: choosing your starting material](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/basics/seed-types-regular-feminised-auto-clone.md)
- Also asked as: Is bag seed worth growing? | Growing bagseed | Seeds found in bud | Will seeds from my weed be female?
- Updated: 2026-10-31 · Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay Knowledge Base (genetixbay.com/knowledge)"

## Short answer

Yes, [bag seed](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/bagseed.md) will often [sprout](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/seedling.md) and grow, but it's a gamble. Seed in seedless-style bud usually means a plant hermed and [pollinated](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/pollination.md) itself, so the seed tends to be nearly all female and to carry the [herm tendency](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/herm-prone.md). Grow it for practice, not for a crop you care about. *Grower practice*, with the GenetixBay breeder position on [herms](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hermaphrodite.md).

**Legal first.** Rules on seed possession and [home growing](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/home-grow.md) vary; check your local rules.

## Why

Self-pollinated seed is female but herm-prone. Pollen from a hermaphrodite's own [male flowers](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/staminate-flower.md) carries only X [chromosomes](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/chromosome.md); in a controlled study, that seed produced only female plants, while cross-fertilised seed gave about 1:1 [1]. [Feminised seed](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/feminised-seed.md) works the same way, but a good breeder uses a female proven stable before reversing it [2]. A herm in someone's flower room had no such test.

The parents are unknown. The strain name on the bag tells you little; same-named retail samples often turned out to be different [genotypes](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/genotype.md) [3]. Bag seed is a cross of something with something.

Seed can also come from a stray male. Then expect roughly half males.

## The numbers

| | Bag seed | Documented seed |
|---|---|---|
| Parents | Unknown | Recorded |
| Females | Often nearly all (if from a herm); ~50% if from a male | Nearly all (feminised) or ~50% (regular) |
| Herm risk | Higher | Grow-out data should show it |
| Flowering time | Unknown | Stated, and checkable in journals |
| Cost | Free | Paid |

## What to do

1. Check that growing is legal where you live.
2. [Germinate](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/germination.md) a few seeds; immature pale ones rarely sprout.
3. Grow them as [photoperiods](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/photoperiod.md) unless they flower by week 5 on [18/6](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/18-6.md).
4. In flower, check every week for [pollen sacs](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/anther.md) and [bananas](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/nanners.md) with a [loupe](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/jewelers-loupe.md).
5. Remove any plant that makes pollen sacs. Don't keep it as a mother or save its seed.
6. For a crop you care about, buy seed with grow-out records.

## Common mistakes

- Growing bag seed beside a good plant and getting the good plant seeded.
- Saving seed from the bag-seed plant that hermed.
- Trusting the strain name on the bag.

## Related

- Full article: [Regular, feminised, autoflower or clone](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/basics/seed-types-regular-feminised-auto-clone.md)
- Answers: [why there are seeds in my buds](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/answers/why-are-there-seeds-in-my-buds.md) · [preventing hermaphrodites](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/answers/how-to-prevent-hermaphrodites.md)
- Articles: [male, female and hermaphrodite](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/basics/sex-male-female-hermaphrodite.md) · [reading a seed listing](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/guides/reading-a-seed-listing.md)
- Terms: [bagseed](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/bagseed.md) · [hermaphrodite](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hermaphrodite.md)

## Follow-up questions

**Will bag seed be female?** Bag seed is often mostly female, but not for a good reason. Seed found in sinsemilla bud frequently comes from a hermaphrodite's own pollen, which carries only X chromosomes, so its seed is nearly all female. A controlled study confirmed seed from hermaphroditic flowers gave only female plants. Those plants are likely to inherit the herm tendency, so watch them closely in flower.

**Is bag seed good for a first grow?** Bag seed is fine for a practice first grow, because it costs nothing and teaches the basics. Expect surprises: unknown parents, unknown flowering time, possible males and a higher risk of hermaphrodites. Keep it away from other plants, check for pollen sacs weekly in flower, and never keep a bag-seed plant that herms as a mother or breed from it.

**Are seeds from a hermie plant worth keeping?** No. Seeds from a hermaphrodite cannabis plant aren't worth keeping. They are nearly all female, but they carry the same readiness to herm, so the problem passes straight on. GenetixBay's breeder position is that herm-prone lines come mainly from bad breeding, and that the answer is to cull them, not to grow out or share their seed.

## Sources

1. Punja ZK, Holmes JE. 2020. Hermaphroditism in marijuana (Cannabis sativa L.) inflorescences: impact on floral morphology, seed formation, progeny sex ratios, and genetic variation. Frontiers in Plant Science 11:718. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.00718
2. Flajšman M, Slapnik M, Murovec J. 2021. Production of feminized seeds of high CBD Cannabis sativa L. by manipulation of sex expression and its application to breeding. Frontiers in Plant Science 12:718092. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.718092
3. Schwabe AL, McGlaughlin ME. 2019. Genetic tools weed out misconceptions of strain reliability in Cannabis sativa: implications for a budding industry. Journal of Cannabis Research 1:3. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42238-019-0001-1