signs of sex during veg state

Hello everyone,

I'm a first time grower and learning on the fly. My plants are in their fifth week of growth so I'm keeping an eye out for sex i.d. I read where at this time there should be some spike like growths on the 4th or 5th node and whether they grow close or together, or away from each other, determines their sex. The males spikes will cross and grow toward each other and the female "spikes" will grow apart. I just checked my plants and can clearly see these "spikes" but some are growing straight up, neither toward or away from one another, so what would that mean, if anything? How reliable of a visual clue to their sex, does anyone know? If it is, I only have one fem out of 8 plants...highly unlikely with my good growing conditions. Also, are thesse spike things a sign of maturity? Should I begin flowering now or wait?

the stipules are not an indication of flowering. folklore says what you stated but it is just that, folklore. the only 100% positive way is to induce sexing by changing your light schedule to 12/12.

So should I begin flowering now? The plants are only five weeks old, and span in height from 10-13".

What he said and yes you can flower now and get up to 3 footers.

yes, induce flowering now if you want to keep your trees height under control. i start mine after 4 weeks as the plant is already at its highest maturity level for producing buds. you can veg for longer for more yield, but I go for 4 weeks to keep a decent plant height and yield.

That's not true I'm almost positive mine is a female and I'm still in veg... Look for preflowering near wear the stem and leaf meet in the middle as mine is only 12
In tall

Some strains show sex during veg and some don't. Mine showed sex after 2 weeks of veg. If you are seeing little "spikes" then yes those are probable female traits showing.

What ATL hydro said... I have some Sour Diesel In Veg and it has the lady bits showing all over the place....... And I have super OG which I know is female which was over 10 weeks old when flipped and is in week 2 of flower and she isn't showing anything yet.... So it all depends on the genetics