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Our senior cultivation editor and author of The Official High Times Field Guide to Marijuana Strains reveals his choices for the most fragrant, flavorful and potent pot varieties of the year!

FlubberLaPlata LabsLineage: The Flav x Alien Bubba BerryFlowering time: 8 weeksLaPlata Labs have made quite a name for themselves in a relatively short period of time. Their newest strain, Flubber, has all the desirable traits of an indica, including short flowering times, heavy yields and a narcotic stone perfect for a nighttime smoke. Exotic fall colors of purple, red and pink cover the leaves, flowers and trichomes.Because she’s very forgiving, Flubber is a great strain for beginner growers, tolerating environmental fluctuations and staying fibrous and stout, which means there’s no staking or trellising required. Extract artists will appreciate her essential-oil production—perfect for concentrating the resins into hash.Contact: laplatalabs.com[1]

Night NurseBC Bud Depot(3rd place 2014 Amsterdam HTCC hybrid)Lineage: [BC Hashplant x Reeferman’s Harmony] x Fire OG Kush maleFlowering time: 8 to 9 weeksInsomniacs, rejoice! BC Bud Depot have developed a strain that soothes aches and pains as well as facilitates sleeping peacefully throughout the night. The resinous Night Nurse grows into dense nuggets with a first-impression scent of pastry (think cookies or cupcakes). Grind them up and a second, more subtle aroma of licorice and sandalwood appears.With a relatively short flowering time and an abundant yield when the roots are given room to breathe, Night Nurse is a grower’s dream to cultivate. Breeder Matt recommends growing her from seed in organic soil for full terpene representation.Contact: bcbuddepot.com[2]

Zkittlez3rd Gen Family/Terp Hogz(1st place 2015 NorCal HTCC indica)Lineage: (Grapefruit x Grape Ape) x Mystery MaleFlowering time: 8 to 9 weeksAfter many years of growing and breeding in the Emerald Triangle, the cultivation collective known as 3rd Gen Family has unleashed their time-tested NorCal strains to the general public in conjunction with Terp Hogz. Following up on a 2013 second-place Indica Cup win for their OG Eddy Lepp, 3rd Gen introduced their new variety, Zkittles, to much fanfare.This strain produces fluffy orange-haired nuggets with the scent of a lemony-grapefruit ice-cream dessert. To reach her maximum potential, 3rd Gen recommends growing Zkittles outdoors in full sunshine, but to maintain humidity levels if growing indoors and feed lightly. The finished product also makes for amazing rosin when using the heat-pressing technique (a.k.a. the hair-straightener method).Contact: 3rdgenfamily.org[3]

Cookies & CreamExotic Genetix(1st place 2014 Denver HTCC hybrid)Lineage: Mystery Girl Scout Cookies x Starfighter F2Flowering time: 8.5 weeksWith so many outstanding Cookie crosses to choose from these days, it can be hard to find the right one for you. But if you’re looking for a unique and powerful strain, look no further than Cookies & Cream, an award-winning hybrid with an amazing orange-sherbet flavor and the scent of creamy vanilla cookie dough with subtle hints of nuts.Patients having trouble sleeping will marvel at this potent bedtime strain, which has also been reported to work wonders for those suffering from strong headaches. Exotic Genetix’s breeders advise topping the plant during the vegetative stage to achieve multiple colas of robust medicine.Contact: exoticgenetix.com[4]

White CookiesCrop King SeedsLineage: White Widow x Girl Scout CookiesFlowering time: 8 to 9 weeksCrop King earns their first Top 10 Strain with White Cookies, a super-frosty,indica-dominant hybrid that smells like lemons and pine, with the earthiness of classic old-school bud. She has a strong body high that works well on stress, nerves and anxiety, and she also functions as an effective appetite stimulant for patients suffering from nausea.White Cookies yields well with the use of cropping techniques during the vegetative stage as well as staking or ScrOG (“screen of green”) during flowering to keep colas close to the light for maximum density and resin production. Crop King’s breeders also recommend taking White Cookies the full nine weeks for the best expression of her genetic qualities.Contact: cropkingseeds.com[5]

SchlemonsThe Source Genetics(1st place 2015 NorCal HTCC sativa)Lineage: Gorilla Glue #4 x [Schrom x Pre-Soviet Afghani)Flowering time: 10 to 11 weeksWinning the sativa category in a Cannabis Cup in NorCal is no easy task, but OG Kushman is no ordinary breeder. Years of experience in cultivation and strain collection have turned him into a phenotype hunter with a gift for finding hidden treasures. For Schlemons, he chose a Colombian-leaning male (a gift from his friend Tha Docta) that would bring out the tart lemony traits he desired.The high from Schlemons is very energetic with no ceiling, so you can smoke it all day. OG Kushman tells me, “She will need support due to the large flowers she produces. Schlemons glistens with trichomes and is a hashmaker’s dream.”Contact: instagram.com/tharealogkushman[6]

Lamb’s BreathOld School Breeders AssociationLineage: Jamaican landrace IBL (inbred line)Flowering time: 7 to 8 weeksGrown in the mountains of Accompong by the Trelawny Town Maroons for many years, the high-CBD Lamb’s Breath (sometimes referred to as “Lamb’s Bread”) is making a comeback. Luckily, the Old School Breeders Association are bringing this uplifting cerebral treat to the masses in seed form. Her sweet and earthy bouquet will remind old-timers of the sativas of yesteryear, but with the potent electrical buzz still intact.Rumored to be Bob Marley’s favorite strain, Lamb’s Breath is best grown in a dry outdoor climate and (preferably) not confined to pots. For a taste of island genetics, come to the Rastafari RootzFest, which will be hosting the High Times Jamaica Cannabis Cup from November 12–15 in Negril, Jamaica.Contact: oldschoolba.com[8][7]

Mega Wellness OGNameless Genetics(1st place 2015 SoCal HTCC hybrid)Lineage: OG Kush phenotypeFlowering time: 8 to 9 weeksThe best OG Kush phenotypes bring out the tangy sour-fuel smell and lemon-funk flavor that made the strain famous—to say nothing of the sticky, trichome-infested buds and intense couch-lock high that have ensured the popularity of real Kush genetics among connoisseurs and patients alike.Some OG strains have a reputation of being hard to please when it comes to getting good yields, but the Mega Wellness OG can be dialed in to achieve heavy harvests. The breeders at Nameless stress that she’s a light feeder, so go easy on the nutrients and keep the pH between 5.8 and 6.1. They also recommend using Advanced Nutrients to get up to 3.5 pounds per 1,000-watt light.Contact: namelessgenetics.com[9]

Orange CookiesFranchise Genetics(2nd place 2015 SoCal HTCC hybrid)Lineage: Girl Scout Cookies x Orange JuiceFlowering time: 7 to 8 weeksYou’d have to be living under a rock not to have heard of the illustrious Girl Scout Cookies strain in the last few years. Franchise breeder Obsoul33t pollinated the forum cut of GSC with an Orange Juice male to produce this sativa-dominant citrus bomb of flavors and scents that includes hints of tangerine peels and Creamsicles.Growers will be in awe of the trichome production of Orange Cookies. Frosty crystals cover every surface of the buds, and concentrates made from this strain have a unique depth to their terpene profile. Orange Cookies flowers provide an amazingly energetic daytime smoke, sure to impress even the snobbiest of connoisseurs.Contact: franchisegenetics.com[10]

Strawberry BananaCrockett Family FarmsLineage: Banana OG x BubblegumFlowering time: 9 weeksCrockett Family Farms became widely known for their multiple-award-winning Tangie strain and subsequent crosses sold through the DNA Genetics offshoot Reserva Privada. Now they’re providing an assortment of exceptional cannabis varieties, with Strawberry Banana at the top of the pile.This incredible strain, created in 2007 in California’s Central Valley, produces completely frosted flowers with the scent of a strawberry-banana smoothie. Breeder Crockett says they provide decent yields indoors but can achieve much bigger harvests outdoors or in a greenhouse. Butane-extracted concentrates and solventless hash made from Strawberry Banana enhance its naturally fruity terpenes.Contact: dnagenetics.com or crockettfamilyfarms.com[11][12]

References

  1. ^ laplatalabs.com (laplatalabs.com)
  2. ^ bcbuddepot.com (bcbuddepot.com)
  3. ^ 3rdgenfamily.org (bcbuddepot.com)
  4. ^ exoticgenetix.com (exoticgenetix.com)
  5. ^ cropkingseeds.com (cropkingseeds.com)
  6. ^ instagram.com/tharealogkushman (instagram.com)
  7. ^ High Times Jamaica Cannabis Cup (www.cannabiscup.com)
  8. ^ oldschoolba.com (oldschoolba.com)
  9. ^ namelessgenetics.com (namelessgenetics.com)
  10. ^ franchisegenetics.com (franchisegenetics.com)
  11. ^ dnagenetics.com (dnagenetics.com)
  12. ^ crockettfamilyfarms.com (crockettfamilyfarms.com)

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