# What should I do with a male plant?

> A male cannabis plant must leave the flowering room before its pollen sacs open, usually within 1–2 weeks of showing, or it will seed every female. That doesn't mean binning it. Males carry half of every seed's genes, and GenetixBay encourages and rewards them. Either isolate a good male, collect and store its pollen and record it in the Stud Book, or remove it if you're not breeding.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/answers/what-to-do-with-a-male-plant.html
- Topic: Breeding · Type: How-to
- Evidence: Supported · Status: Draft: awaiting expert review
- Full article: [Breeders vs pollen chuckers: what real cannabis breeding looks like](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/breeding/breeders-vs-pollen-chuckers.md)
- Also asked as: Should I kill my male plants? | Is it worth keeping a male plant? | How do I use a male for pollen? | I found a male: what now?
- 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

Get the male out of the flowering room before his [pollen sacs](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/anther.md) open, usually within 1–2 weeks of the first sacs showing. Then decide: keep a good male in isolation and collect his pollen, or remove him if you're not breeding. *House position*: males are a necessity, and they are encouraged and rewarded on GenetixBay. The breeding arithmetic is *Established*.

## Why

Half of every seed's [genes](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/gene.md) come from the father. Under the breeder's equation, the gain from selection depends on how far both parents sit above average, so using an unselected male halves your progress every generation [1].

You judge a male by his offspring. A male's resin and flavour can't be seen directly, so breeders progeny-test candidates: cross, grow out the seed, and keep the male whose daughters are good and uniform [3].

Pollen doesn't keep long. It lasts about a week in a fridge, and only pollen dried with a carrier and properly frozen has kept for months [2].

## The numbers

| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Pollen, open air | Hours to about 1–2 days |
| Pollen, sealed and dry, fridge 2–6 °C | Days to about 1 week [2] |
| Pollen + baked flour 1:10, frozen | Weeks to months; test it [2] |
| Gain with an unselected male | Half that of a selected male [1] |

## What to do

1. Confirm the sex. Male [pre-flowers](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/pre-flower.md) are round sacs on short stalks at the nodes, with no [white hairs](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/stigma.md).
2. Move the male to a separate space with no flowering females, or close the room's air off from his.
3. Judge him on vigour, structure, stem-rub aroma and sex stability, and take a cutting to keep him.
4. Collect pollen on clean paper once the first sacs open, sieve it, dry it briefly, then use it or freeze it with flour.
5. Record him: parents, traits and [photos](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/photoperiod.md). On GenetixBay, register him in [the Stud Book](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/stud-book.md).
6. If you're not breeding, remove him before the sacs open. [Plant-count rules](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/plant-count-limit.md) can include males, so check your local rules.

## Common mistakes

- Leaving a male in the room "just a few more days".
- Binning every male without looking at him.
- Collecting pollen near flowering females or with [fans](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/fan-leaf.md) running.
- [Selfing](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/selfing.md) a female to avoid needing a male.

## Related

- Full article: [Breeders vs pollen chuckers](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/breeding/breeders-vs-pollen-chuckers.md)
- Articles: [collecting and storing pollen](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/breeding/pollen-collection-storage.md) · [selection and pheno hunting](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/breeding/selection-pheno-hunting.md)
- Answers: [when plants show sex](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/answers/when-do-plants-show-sex.md)
- Terms: [male selection](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/male-selection.md) · [Stud Book](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/stud-book.md) · [pollen](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/pollen.md)

## Follow-up questions

**How do I know if a male is worth keeping?** A cannabis male is worth keeping if it is vigorous, well structured, sex-stable, smells strong when you rub the stem, and above all gives good daughters. You cannot see a male's resin or flavour directly, so breeders progeny-test: they cross it to a known female, grow out the seed and keep the male whose offspring are good and uniform.

**How long can I store cannabis pollen?** Cannabis pollen lasts hours to about 1–2 days in open air and about a week sealed and dry in a fridge at 2–6 °C. For longer storage, mix it 1:10 by weight with oven-dried flour, seal small portions with silica gel and freeze them, never refreezing a portion. Home-freezer survival over months is grower practice, so test pollen before relying on it.

**Why does GenetixBay value males?** GenetixBay values male cannabis plants because half of every seed's genes come from the father. Under the breeder's equation, using an unselected male halves the response to selection each generation. Males are encouraged and rewarded on GenetixBay, documented in the Stud Book, and selfing females to avoid needing a male is mostly frowned upon.

## Sources

1. Suza W, Lamkey K (eds). 2023. Quantitative Genetics for Plant Breeding. Iowa State University Digital Press. https://iastate.pressbooks.pub/quantitativegenetics/
2. Gaudet D, Yadav NS, Sorokin A, Bilichak A, Kovalchuk I. 2020. Development and optimization of a germination assay and long-term storage for Cannabis sativa pollen. Plants 9(5):665. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9050665
3. Fehr WR, Suza WP. 2025. Principles of Cultivar Development (open edition of Fehr WR 1987/1991, Vol. 1: Theory and Technique). Iowa State University Digital Press. https://doi.org/10.31274/isudp.2025.200