Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.......
Hermie seeds carry XXY chromosomes, just like human hermaphrodites. Sometimes the female only is expressed, but the male is just under the surface, so to speak. Waiting for the right stresses......Sometimes both are expressed, which is why you get hermies w/ some strains even tho your grow is the same as the last 10 times. Or maybe it's off by the angle of light, or a temp spike, or whatever, that was
just enough to stress the male flowers into coming out.
All MJ plants seem to have the ability- not the necessity- to carry potential for both sexes. It's why you can stress the feminized seeds into being male, or vice-versa. It's a defense mechanism, though unlike most other animals, they can change after birth.
Might Ethylene gas- the "death hormone" - goad the plant into producing more females, as 1 male can pollinate many many females, while 1 female can only produce so many seeds? Might the plant think either it is dying, OR IT'S PARENTS ARE, meaning the seedling is usually closest to others of its kind- the parents- so if they are rotting, better hurry and reproduce before I die, too? This would hold true even for seeds scattered by animals dung- the first seed may grow alone, but many many seeds would fall and grow close together.
This can be seen in bromeliads- it takes years for some to grow enough to flower, but sprayed with ethylene gas, flowers appear in the same season as planting-----showing the plant thinks other fruits/flowers are going to be done soon, better hurry!! link to overview here>>>
Bromeliad Blooming Overview >> Archives >> Bromeliads Care Info
This also sez that the way to use it is to, at the proper time, put a bananananana (never could spell 'em.) in a plastic bag, over the plant, to trap the ethylene.......
could this be why sometimes it works, sometimes not? the plant doesnt get a good enough wiff of ethylene? Esp. with fans, venting, etc. going on.......
I will try this with my new seeds. 20 of em, 2 different strains.