# Pollination

> Pollination is the transfer of pollen onto a female flower's stigmas; in cannabis it is usually by wind, or by hand when breeders pollinate chosen branches to make seed.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/pollination.html
- Also written: pollinating, pollinate, pollinated, hand pollination, seeding a branch, branch pollination
- Glossary category: Genetics and breeding · Evidence: Established
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

Pollination is moving pollen onto the [stigmas](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/stigma.md) of a [female flower](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/pistillate-flower.md). Fertilisation follows when the pollen tube reaches the ovule, and a seed develops inside the [calyx](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/calyx.md) over the following weeks. Cannabis is naturally wind-pollinated.

## In practice

Breeders pollinate deliberately and selectively. A common approach is to brush pollen onto one or two lower branches of a female a few weeks into flower, then mist the room and plant to kill stray pollen. The rest of the plant gives seedless flower, and the pollinated branch matures seed. Each pollinated branch is labelled with the cross and the date.

Unplanned pollination is the grower's nightmare: one male or one [herm](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hermaphrodite.md) can seed a room, lowering flower yield and quality as the plant puts energy into seed. It also gives seed with an unknown, often unstable, father.

## Don't confuse with

- **Fertilisation**: the fusion after pollination; pollination can happen without fertilisation if the pollen is dead.
- **Open pollination**: letting a population pollinate freely, as a breeding method.
- **Selfing**: pollinating a plant with its own pollen.

## Related terms

[Pollen](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/pollen.md), [Cross](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cross.md), [Open-pollinated](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/open-pollinated.md), [Seed run](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/seed-run.md), [Selfing](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/selfing.md)

## Read more

- [Pollination and seed production, step by step](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/breeding/pollination-seed-production.md)

## Sources

1. Allard RW. 1999. Principles of Plant Breeding, 2nd edition. John Wiley & Sons, New York. ISBN 978-0-471-02309-0
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