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 Hemp is a dicotyledonous plant (having two cotyledon leaves) and has both monecious (male/female flowers on the same plant) and dioecious (separate male plants and female plants) plants)

• Hemp is naturally a dioecious variety and most agronomic varieties are as well.
• The ratio of male to female plants is typically 1:1 

Hemp is a cross-pollinated, wind-pollinated plant. Only male plants produce pollen (dioecious plants). The flowers on the male inflorescence open from the bottom of the plant first then to the top of the plant. Once the male plants have fully shed their pollen they will senesce and die. 

• Pollination typically lasts 2-3 weeks depending on weather conditions and uniformity of the stand.
• It is said hemp can produce more pollen than all other cultivated crops. The pollen from hemp can travel up to 10 miles. 

While both male and female flowers can be identified at the nodes of the plant, female flowers can be differentiated by the enlargement of a symmetrical tubular pistillate calyx (floral sheath) and the protruding white stigma. The male staminate calyx has a curved claw shape that will then develop into round pointed pollen sacs that have five radial segments. Males will not have the white stigma like those found on female flowers.

• Male plants are the first to show signs of flowering with the staminate visible at the nodes of the plant.
• Flowering typically begins 4-6 weeks after planting.
• Female plants can usually be identified 5-14 days after the males. 

 Hemp is photoperiod-dependent and is considered a “short-day” plant. 

• The vegetative phase turns to reproductive phases only when the daily exposure to sunlight is shorter than a specific maximum duration (critical day length) 
• 14 hours or less of daylight will typically trigger flowering.
  • Shorter day length can accelerate the onset of flowering 

  The root system of hemp typically reaches depths of 1-2 feet in the soil. 

• Wet soils will keep root systems shallow while drier soils encourage deeper rooting.
• Sandy and loamy soils generally allow for larger root formation
• Female plants have much larger and stronger root masses than male plants. 

Stalk height and thickness is significantly affected by soil type, fertility and physical/chemical characteristics of the soil.

• Stalk length is influenced more by nitrogen while stalk thickness is influenced more by plant density and row spacing. 
• Light (sandy) to medium (loamy) textured soils tend to grow much taller plants than heavy (clay) soils due to better drainage and less compaction. 
• Seed/grain varieties typically stand 4-6 feet tall at harvest.
• Fiber varieties can reach heights of 8-14 feet by harvest. 

Hemp grown for seed grows much slower, initially, than hemp grown for fiber. However, near the end of the vegetation stage, seed hemp grows much more rapidly. 

• Weed suppression is less effective with grain varieties than with fiber varieties.
• Hemp can grow 1-2 inches per day during its rapid growth stage which typically begins 4-6 weeks after planting.