The impact of Italy on the cannabis industry is remarkable. Gelato and strains with dessert-like flavours are gaining significant popularity among enthusiasts. Moreover, there has been a noteworthy increase in Italians’ cultivation practices documented through various platforms like Growdiaries, highlighting the country’s growing prominence in the cannabis community.
Italy’s climate is diverse and varies significantly between the northern and southern regions. The northern areas, such as Liguria and Lombardy, have a continental climate with shorter summers and colder winters. Conversely, the southern areas enjoy a Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters, making it an ideal location for outdoor cannabis cultivation.
In Italy, planting typically occurs during spring, and harvesting occurs in autumn when the days are shorter and the temperatures are cooler. This timing allows for optimal growth and development of the cannabis plant, resulting in a high-quality harvest. If you’re looking for the top cannabis strains to cultivate in Italy, then you’re in luck. Here are the seven best strains to consider.
1. Caramellow Kush
Caramellow Kush Automatic combines two potent hybrids, the heavy-hitting Gorilla and the flavoursome Zkittlez. Italian cannabis growers have widely embraced this strain due to its high potency and ease of cultivation. This strain has proven successful in various climates, from the damp northern regions to the sunny south, making it a versatile choice for growers across the country.
Like a classic Kush, Caramellow Kush produces big, chunky buds covered in trichomes that fill the internodal spacing with a classic indica appearance. Despite being an autoflowering strain, it is known for its high-yielding nature, with growers recording yields of up to 550 grams after a 55 to 70-day flowering period. Similar to a traditional indica strain, Italian cannabis users have reported experiencing a sustained body high that induces feelings of euphoria and contentment.
Well-known for its sweet and creamy profile, Caramellow Kush Automatic is almost reminiscent of your grandparents’ Werther’s Originals. It also has a subtle, sweet, and fruity fragrance that leaves a candy-like taste in your mouth, thanks to the influence of Zkittlez. Upon exhalation, users can experience the distinct, robust, earthy flavour and skunky undertones commonly associated with Kush varieties. If you’re a Kush enthusiast fond of sweet flavours, it is definitely worth trying out!
2. Sweet Tangerine Tango
This potent indica strain, Sweet Tangerine Tango Automatic, was created by crossbreeding three highly potent cultivars: OG Kush, Girl Scout Cookies, and Face-Off OG. It is a heavy-hitting strain that delivers a strong punch. Sweet Tangerine Tango Automatic has been a popular choice among Italian cultivators since its addition to our White Label collection in 2023.
Sweet Tangerine Tango is a versatile strain that thrives in Mediterranean climates. Thanks to its autoflowering traits, this strain is easy to grow and its compact and robust nature. With a flowering period of between 55 and 65 days, this strain produces compact buds that stack on themselves, filling the short internodal spacing. However, growers should be aware of the heavy foliage throughout the vegetation period and consider defoliation to ensure optimal growth.
True to its name, Sweet Tangerine Tango boasts an exquisite terpene profile featuring loud notes of zesty tangerine and subtle fragrances of spicy charas. These delightful aromas are sure to make your mouth water in anticipation of the strain’s potent effects. As a well-balanced hybrid, users can anticipate an uplifting euphoria that frees the mind, enhances creativity, and gradually transitions into a long-lasting subtle body high.
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3. Guerrilla’s Gusto
For outdoor growers in Italy, Guerrilla’s Gusto is the perfect indica strain. It boasts a quick flowering time, easy growth, and can tolerate even the harshest weather conditions. While it was developed to enhance Indian lineage, its tall posture stands apart from other indicas. One thing to note is that this is a regular strain, so you will need to determine the sex of your plant after about four weeks.
Despite their indica-dominant genetics, Guerilla’s Gusto plants can reach impressive heights when planted in open soil. However, indoors, they can be kept at a manageable size with the help of training techniques. This strain is highly resilient to temperature changes, pests, and precipitation, making it suitable for cultivation in any climate across Italy. Its large and dense buds coated in a sticky resin layer make Guerilla Gusto an attractive addition to any garden.
Guerilla’s Gusto provides a classic old-school indica experience with sticky buds offering a physical and relaxing high. The strain’s aroma combines the subtle fragrance of citrus with fresh sandalwood and earth, creating a unique and pleasant blend. Guerilla’s Gusto is best enjoyed in the late afternoons, as the high begins with an uplifting sense of euphoria that eventually transitions into a long-lasting and soothing body high.
4. Banana Kush Cake
Banana Kush Cake, an indica-dominant autoflower, is highly suitable for cultivation across Italy, including the colder northern regions. It is a true powerhouse with genetics, including Wedding Cheesecake, Banana Kush, and Hindu Kush Auto. Its unique terpene profile provides a delightful aroma, yielding a substantial quantity of flavourful buds from an autoflowering variety.
Banana Kush Cake is a robust and compact cultivar boasting a sturdy posture and a sizable apical stem. Its distinct autoflowering characteristics make it an ideal choice for growers in cooler climates with higher precipitation levels. After harvest, Banana Kush Cake yields dense conical buds distinguished by their swollen calyxes and vibrant orange pistils, making it a visually striking addition to any collection.
This indica-dominant strain is known for its calming effects on the body, accompanied by a mild euphoric and uplifting high that can boost energy levels and creativity. Banana Kush Cake is characterised by a skunky aroma with hints of sweet citrus and banana, which is where it derives its name. Its dominant flavours include refreshing notes of sweet citrus, ripe banana, and creamy brown sugar combined with spicy charas.
5. Purple Skunk
Sensi Seeds Research strains boast impressive genetics, and Purple Skunk Automatic is no exception. With a genetic makeup of 75% indica and 25% sativa, it is a hybrid of Hindu Kush Auto, Shiva Skunk, and Skunk #1. As the name suggests, the buds have a high concentration of anthocyanins, which display a multitude of purples throughout the flowering stage. Purple Skunk Automatic maintains a compact size throughout its growth cycle, making it an ideal choice for those with limited space.
The Purple Skunk strain boasts a dense central bud that is heavy and oversized, coated in trichomes and adorned with a rich purple hue. With just eight weeks of flowering, this cultivar is remarkably tough and resilient, able to flourish in any Italian garden. For those cultivating marijuana outdoors in the Northern Regions, such as Lombardy, Veneto, and Piedmont, the lower temperatures in the final stage of flowering can aid in bringing out the beautiful purple shades.
Growers should note that as the Purple Skunk Automatic plants approach harvest time, their skunky, earthy, and moist aroma with a hint of sweetness and exotic sandalwood becomes more pronounced. This is due to the strain’s lineage, which includes three indica-powerhouses, resulting in a high that leans towards indica. Users often report feeling an intense, long-lasting, soothing effect that relaxes them without causing couchlock.
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6. White Diesel Haze
White Diesel Haze is a popular sativa-dominant hybrid created by breeding Diesel with the indica-dominant White Widow. Due to its unique characteristics, this strain has gained popularity for indoor and outdoor cultivation in Italy. Unsurprisingly, this strain has become a favourite among cannabis enthusiasts!
White Diesel Haze is a strain known for its ease of cultivation and maintenance. It has a compact structure and a delightful fruity flavour profile. The buds of this strain are usually dense and covered in resinous trichomes, with dark green foliage and fiery orange pistils. Although it has a long flowering time of 65 days, the strain can yield significant results. You can also use training techniques like SCROG, SOG, and supercropping to increase your yields.
With a robust diesel-like fragrance and subtle notes of citrus and earthiness, the aroma of White Diesel Haze is intricate and complex. The flavour profile is similar, with a dominant diesel taste accompanied by sweet and tangy undertones. This strain’s high cannabinoid levels contribute to strong cerebral and uplifting effects, with users reporting increased focus and creativity, making it an ideal choice for daytime use.
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7. Blueberry Zkittlez Automatic
Blueberry Zkittlez Automatic was introduced into our collection in 2022, quickly gaining widespread popularity among Italian consumers. This strain’s genetic heritage comprises Blueberry, NL #5, Skunk Kush, and Durban. The buds are characterised by their delightfully fruity taste, complemented by hints of cacao and sandalwood. Additionally, it delivers a relaxing and all-encompassing high. Blueberry Zkittlez Automatic is a compact, low-maintenance hybrid that is easy to cultivate.
It is a visually striking plant with a compact structure, tightly spaced internodes, and one dominant central cola. During the flowering phase, purple tones can be observed beneath the layer of thick, large-headed trichomes. The plant’s compact structure is filled with dense buds, while bright orange stigmas adorn the green and purple plant material below. Blueberry Zkittlez Automatic is a hardy strain that can flourish throughout Italy, from the northern regions of Lombardy to Apulia and Sicily.
As the Blueberry Zkittlez Automatic is harvested and cured, it emanates a beautiful blend of fragrances. Its aroma is intricate, multifaceted, and energising, with a sweet and fruity scent that is complemented by hints of grapefruit and chocolate on the palate’s back end. Being a well-balanced hybrid, the initial cerebral euphoria induced by Blueberry Zkittlez Automatic gradually fades into a soothing body relaxation that promotes a mild sedative feeling and induces drowsiness.
Another serving of Gelato?
Undoubtedly, there are numerous other exceptional cannabis strains being grown throughout Italy, and the ones mentioned here are just a small selection of what’s available. We want to thank the Italian growing community for their dedicated efforts. It’s delightful to witness the impact of the community on the European cannabis scene. With an increasing number of Growdiaries, cannabis expos, and trade shows in Italy, we eagerly anticipate what the future holds for Italy.
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Disclaimer:
Laws and regulations regarding cannabis cultivation differ from country to country. Sensi Seeds therefore strongly advises you to check your local laws and regulations. Do not act in conflict with the law.
ILGM and Leafly are coming to a city near you to celebrate the passion we all share for growing cannabis.
Leafly and ILGM have teamed up to bring you a one-of-a-kind road trip across America, designed to bring cannabis enthusiasts together for unforgettable experiences and valuable learning opportunities. We’re hitting the road in ILGM’s revamped Airstream Bambi—the “home on the road”—to celebrate home growing and their refreshed identity.
“At ILGM, we call our online community the ‘Home of the Growers’ for a reason. Growing cannabis is in our DNA. It’s what makes our green hearts beat faster.”
Trekking from the West Coast to the East Coast, ILGM is bringing the Home Grow Tour to six iconic cities along the way, each with its own unique cannabis culture and stories to tell.
They’ve curated each stop to reflect the many perspectives that enrich our community, creating a space to celebrate as we continue writing the broader narrative of cannabis with one another. During the tour, the Airstream will act as ILGM’s mobile hub for Grow Workshops, cultivation Q&A’s, podcasts, exclusive seed deals, and, most of all, to connect with you, our fellow growers.
Let’s come together face to face, learn from each other, have fun, and celebrate the art of cultivation on the 2025 ILGM Home Grow Tour.
Find ILGM here
You won’t want to miss this! Take a look below to see if the Home Grow Tour is stopping in your city. Expect unique experiences tailored to the local vibe and culture at every stop.
March 15 & 16, 2025
The six-week-long journey across the country begins in Los Angeles at Rolling Loud, as an homage to music, hip-hop culture, and cannabis.
March 22 & 23, 2025
ILGM’s “State of U.S. Home Growing Market” report published last year pointed out the increasingly important position of women in the cannabis home growing community. As we leave the big city, we head to Palm Springs for a refreshing weekend retreat highlighting and celebrating the women who push our cannabis community forward.
Join us for a series of curated events at Arrive Hotel as ILGM provides starter grow workshops for women, and we explore the relationship between cannabis and mindfulness and enjoy the artistic contributions of female artists.
Get ready for the ultimate cannabis road trip, powered by Leafly
Power up your cannabis experience: shop deals near you, find new strains, and order weed for pickup or delivery—all at your fingertips—download the Leafly app today! Plus, sign up for the Leafly newsletter to receive exclusive offers from ILGM and more trusted brand partners, expert advice, and the latest strain info—all at your fingertips.
Phoenix: Surprise details to be announced
March 29 & 30, 2025
As the Home Grow Tour continues through the desert, Phoenix provides the ideal backdrop to recognize all of the ways we “grow” as cannabis enthusiasts. With its active community of home growers, Phoenix is the ideal place to settle down for a weekend dedicated to cannabis home cultivation.
What we’ll be doing is still a surprise but rest assured—ILGM is cooking up something special for their Phoenix visit. Stay tuned to find out what’s in store for this special community get-together. More information to be announced soon!
April 5 & 6, 2025
As the Airstream makes its way through Colorful Colorado, ILGM is getting acquainted with the great outdoors with a weekend of camping at Boulder’s Adventure Lodge. Do we know anything better than the combination of enjoying the best cannabis and the outdoors have to offer? We don’t think so!
From growing workshops and sunrise salutations to fun outdoor activities like hiking and sitting beside the campfire, escape into the wilderness and inspire a deeper appreciation for nature, cannabis, and our community. An event specially designed for the ILGM community: their loyal customers and ILGM forum users, and those who think a weekend socializing with like-minded cannabis connoisseurs is the best it can get.
April 12 & 13, 2025
Chicago is a city all its own, but its rich culinary scene has remained a defining element throughout history. We can’t think of a better place to explore the connection between cuisine and cannabis!
Find ILGM at a soon-to-be-announced location for an experience blending education and indulgence, with delectable infused cocktails and meals to try out for yourself along the way.
April 19 & 20, 2025
The Home Grow Tour is hitting New York City on the weekend of 4/20 as the final stop. NYC is a famous melting pot and the perfect city to celebrate the diversity of cannabis culture.
The first stop is the MARY Fest in Brooklyn to check out the many intersections of cannabis in our cultural landscape. On 4/20, our community’s biggest day of the year, ILGM will finally settle down for a local celebration of cannabis culture at a surprise location, so stay tuned for more details.
ILGM wants to share their passion for home growing with existing and new generations of home cultivators. Join Leafly and ILGM in this shared passion, learn with us, explore with us, and express your love for cannabis with us.
Coming together with one another, each with our own unique knowledge and experience: This is how the cannabis community has always grown. Different cultures, histories, and communities shape every journey that makes up this larger family.
Check here for more information on the ILGM Home Grow Tour 2025. To keep updated on all things ILGM, you can head to their website or follow them on Facebook and Instagram. You can also head to their YouTube channel for high-quality home-growing videos. Happy growing and see you on the road!
Sure, it’s the cold winter of our discontent, but take heart— the Earth has begun tracking back toward the sun, and the days grow longer again.
Start dreaming today of a dank pound or two come Thanksgiving, then start sourcing your seeds and clones, sketching a gardening plan, and calendaring your harvest.
I know I am. As Leafly News’ senior editor and co-author of the best-selling book ‘Marijuana Harvest,’ I pop beans, soak up strain trends, as well as judge and report on award-winners.
Now it’s again time to wring out all that knowledge to help you plant some winners. Here are over 50 sick genetics picks in 6 categories that we’d be stoked to garden with you.
Jump to a strain category
Candies
Exotic Genetix Bluezy. (Courtesy Exotic Genetix)
We lead off with the flavor that controls the market coast to coast—dubbed ‘candies’ for their candy sweetness, but also their full-bodied dankness often referred to as ‘gas’. Based around Lemon Cherry Gelato and kin, these indica hybrids sell themselves, and keep the commercial market humming.
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Compound Genetics
Chrome Dome (Lemonheadz x Eye Candy). Compound Genetics adds more flavor to its blingiest buds. “The nose leans towards sweet lemon zest and lemon scented cleaning products with an effervescence akin to sprite.”
Chrome Dome takes its bling from Eye Candy and adds more lemon. (Courtesy Compound Genetics)
Exotic Genetix
Bluezy (Zoap x Blueberry Bang Bang). Washington breeder Exotic Genetix has worked the hot strain Zoap with the hot flavor trend blueberry. Exotic Genetix writes: “One of my absolute favorite looks on a flower! The colas get so dark in places that they begin to take on a crazy blue sheen. … These juicy goodies make you think you are inhaling a complex basket of different fuels, even somewhat reminiscent of very aromatic soaps to the nose.”
Purple City Genetics
G-Runtz (Pre-64 Runtz x Gush Mints). All the hype of Runtz with a much bigger yield, from the Oakland cloning powerhouse.
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Tiki Madman
Jelly Rain (Jealousy x Candy Rain); Party Boy (Zoap x Z Rain). Tiki Madman dominates the sweets game and these crosses of Leafly Strain of the Year 2022 Jealousy, or 2025 Leafly Buzz Strain Zoap will make ‘em go crazy.
Oakland Runtz #25 (Don Merfo LCG#7 x Lemon Cherry Gelato); K-Whip (Pineapple Dolomite x Shady Apples). The Sacramento clone kings at Phinest keep farmers fed with their candy selections this year.
Oakland Runtz #25. (Courtesy Phinest)
Cannarado Genetics
Lemon Zawtz (Lemon Tree x Zawtz x Zawtz Bx1). Colorado’s biggest breeder writes “Lemon candy chem best describes this hybrid. Good yields with mouth-staining terps!”
Ethos Genetics
Lemon Cherry Pie R1 (Candy Store #25 x Cherry Pie). Colorado breeder Ethos sells this ‘reversal’ strain that has “sharp lemon upfront. Sweet cherry tones. Muted pine.”
James Loud Genetics
Permanent Midnight (Permanent Marker x Double Lemon Cherry) from this Hayward, CA breeder includes Leafly Strain of the Year 2023.
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Crockett Family Farms
Tap into the Trop Cherry wave that helped power Super Boof to Leafly Strain of the Year 2024. Get Crockett’s Blood Cherry (Blood Orange x Trop Cherry) crosses like Cherry Clem (Clementine x Blood Cherry), and Fruity Loopz (Clementine x Blood Cherry).
Happy Dreams
Cherrilicious (Cherry Frosting x Cherry GAS). The masses love cherries and award-winning Happy Dreams contributes to filling that need.
Desserts
Tie Die (Jealousy x Sunset Sherbert). (Courtesy Cookies Seed Bank)
When we say ‘Desserts’ we mean Girl Scout Cookies-related strains, which continue to dominate year after year. No grow is complete without this powerful dynasty that includes Sherbert, Gelato, Runtz, and Gary Payton. Yes, ‘desserts’ cross over with candies, but they get more doughy, cookie, and cakey.
Karma Genetics
Pink Payton (Gary Payton x Pink Runtz). Gary Payton and Runtz is a combo that cannot miss among dessert fans.
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Sniff away, America—Permanent Marker wins Leafly Strain of the Year 2023
Umami Seeds
No Assist (Gary Payton x Zoda). This super-hot Southern California breeder is known for one-and-done strain releases. You’ll never see these back in stock from Umami when they sell out.
Seed Junky
Animal Tree (Lemon Tree x Animal Mints Bx1); Caribbean Breeze (Pineapple Fruz x (Biscotti x Sherb BX))
Cookies Seed Bank
(Courtesy Cookies)
Tie Die (Jealousy x Sunset Sherbet), Pink Runtz x Hollywood, Lemon Cherry Pop (Gastro Pop 5 X Double Lemon Cherry). You can’t talk about dessert strains without visiting Cookies’ very own seed bank.
Zs
Exemplary Z. Grown indoors in living soil by MOCA Humboldt, CA. Hybrid. (David Downs/Leafly)
The Original Z remains tough to beat on the contest circuit, but it’s just the beginning of the tropical candy taffy tastes this year.
Dying Breed Seeds
Rainboz V.S. (Rainbow Rayz x OZ Kush). These magic beans run $500 per pack, hot dayam, but they can boost you into the front of the global flavor chase spawned by the Z strain.
Hendrx Nursery
Blue Nerdz (Runtz x Zkittlez). Created by Global Genetics LA—the flavor makes up for the yield on this hype cross. See also: Gelo Belts (Gelonade x Rainbow Belts 3.0). “Has the potential to replace Gelonade for commercial farmers. Potency and yield will dictate. Great clone!”
Archive Seeds
Zsunami. (Courtesy Archive Seed Bank)
Zsunami (Zazul #5 x Moonbow 112 F2 #60). Archive Seeds’ Fletch writes, “Just give it a couple years, and you guys will be asking about it like the Rainbow Belts!”
Clearwater Genetics
Blue Nerds crosses; Cherry Chewbanger (Sherbanger 22 x Hi Chew 27) crosses. Clearwater cleared the field of competitors with their Mai Tai line. Don’t sleep on their Blue Nerds or Sherbanger work.
Biovortex
Cherry Lime Dogz. This cross is too long to name. And noted breeder Biovortex has been refining it for 8 years. He describes “a fermented cherry cola fizz with purple pixie stick and gas that smelled and tasted like some magical ambrosia reserved only for the gods.”
Are you longing for old-school OG Kushes and Sour Diesels? Start hunting for them—there are plenty of options.
Karma Genetics
Sour Fire Tahoe (Fire Tahoe x Karma Sour D bx2); Hayabusa OG (Race Fuel OG x Biker Kush). Karma Genetics has some of the best sours in the world.
Rebel Grown
Double OG Sour F5. Rebel Grown has won a ton of awards with this cross of OG and Sour, now in its fifth generation of selections.
Archive Seeds
Holy Roller (Big Sur Holy Weed x Face Off OG); Duct Tape (GG4 x Dosidos). Gas and sour fans, strap in for Archive’s undeniably elite crosses of Face Off OG, or GG4.
Hendrx Nursery
Tire Fire OG ((OG Kush X Triangle Kush) X San Fernando Valley OG)). Gas lovers rejoice, this one smells like ammonia, butter, chestnut, earth, fuel, garlic, kush, rubber, skunk, woody, asphalt, and burnt rubber. Hendrx writes: “Bred by Russell from ChaScience. Best OG I have seen in 15 years. So consistent. Very easy to hunt. Consistent Gas. Picked a few winners. Heavily narcotic high. This is the youngest new phenotype at HENDRX right now. Has the biggest potential.”
Ziplock Seeds
Gas Drop (Gas Face x Frosted Flakes) “Begins with strong gas notes that hit the palate with a pungent, cleaner-like aroma, followed by sharp diesel and sour undertones. … A crew favorite.”
Massive Creations
Shiloh Massive has some intriguing OG/Sour work this year with 97 Super Sour (818 Headband F4 x 97 Sierra Sour); and Kobayashi (818 Headband F4 x Marion Berry). Part of Shiloh’s new Si Lo Sabes line.
DNA Genetics
Kosher Kush. A classic, storied OG Kush that’s ready to grow.
Hashers
MAC V2 from L.A. Made. (David Downs/Leafly)
More and more flower goes straight into hash this year all around the world in grows big and small.
Masonic Seeds
Step into the hash game with the market-rattling bangers from Compton, CA’s Masonic Seeds. The Wilson, Banana God, and Ego Clash Bundle are all winners that don’t come cheap.
Capulator
MACV2. Revisit MAC with Capulator’s improved version. A must-add to any collection.
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Biovortex
Banana Halo Halo ((Ice Cream Cake x Banana DOG) x Motor-G-nut). Selected by Yooper Crew for her extremely high hash yields. See also—Papaya Punch x G-Nut; Chemmy G.
Freeborn Selections
Turkey Bag (Animal Cookies x GMO x MeyerLemsky). Smells like turkey! “It sounds weird, but it’s so tasty. And it makes so much hash.”
Bodhi Seeds
Mule Fuel x 88G13HP. Stanky Mule Fuel and 1988 G-13 Hash Plant should yield some dank hashers.
3rd Coast Genetics
Investigate Michigan breeder’s hot ‘Black Truffle’ line with Solar Garlic (GMO x Black truffle); Rainbow in the Dark (Cadillac Rainbowz x Black Truffle); and Black Tar (Grease Monkey x Black Truffle).
Sativas
Blue Dream (David Downs/Leafly)
Lastly, we leave room for old-school strains that don’t yield a lot and take forever to finish. Sativas are perfect for home gardening where there’s no pressure of finishing early to make a payday.
Equilibrium Genetics
Panama Haze (Panama Red x Tom Hill Haze). A pine and floral 12-weeker that’ll warp you back to Woodstock. Panama Red is a sativa heirloom collected in Panama in the 1970s. Tom Hill Haze is a stable haze line bred in Mendocino by Tom Hill from Haze sourced in Amsterdam from Positronics Seeds in 1996.
Hendrx Nursery
XJ-13. Help bring back this big Jack variety, and put some pep in your step with XJ-13 from Northern California’s Henrdx Nursery.
Rebel Grown
Blue Dream. Grow a classic strain from a legendary breeder. Obviously not a pure sativa, but put in here with the hazes. DNA Genetics also has a Blue Dream.
TerpHogz
TerphogZ Geneticz seeds come in various elite flavors, for deliver in California. (Courtesy TerpHogz)
Red Skrrt-Banger (Skrrrt-Berry Zuava x Red Kachina 2.0). “Powerful gas, creamy citrus, and exotic funk.” This 60-40 sativa offers the latest from The Original Z crew.
And that’s my sickest genetics picks of 2025 for your weed garden, featuring over 50 flavors in 6 categories. Still, I’ve just scratched the surface, so let us know in the comments what you’re stoked to grow.
ILGM, aka I Love Growing Marijuana, are reintroducing themselves. They’ve been one of the leading sources for cannabis seeds and expert growing knowledge for years, but the team at ILGM just isn’t the type to rest on their laurels. They’ve been working hard—and they have a newly refined, streamlined seed shopping experience to show for it. Oh, and did we mention their brand-new, dripped-out look?
The new ILGM is a veritable treasure trove of expert knowledge that’ll help you find everything you need to help your seeds take root and grow strong.
Don’t get it twisted though, ILGM’s new vibe is way more than just a fresh coat of paint. It’s an entire reconceptualization of what an online home for cannabis growers should look like. The new ILGM is a veritable treasure trove of expert knowledge that’ll help you find everything you need to help your seeds take root and grow strong. Their commitment to helping newcomers embrace the craft of growing has never been more secure, and with their new look, more people than ever before can learn to love growing marijuana.
We were lucky enough to catch up with some of the visionaries guiding ILGM’s transformation, and we’ve got all the details on how they’re making ILGM the definitive home of the growers.
More than a seed bank
Image courtesy of ILGM.
2025 is set to be the year of the home grower, if ILGM’s new CEO Ernst Rustenhoven has anything to say about it. When he took the reigns of ILGM early last year, he came up with a plan to transform ILGM into a sleek, dynamic operation that better serves consumer needs.
“The cannabis industry is maturing, and so is the home-growing community. ILGM has been a pioneer in the online cannabis seed market for over a decade,” said Rustenhoven. “However, we realized we were not meeting changing consumer expectations and were stuck in the past.”
Holistic home-growing support for today’s grower
Rustenhoven and his expert team began to modernize ILGM by exploring what customers love about ILGM, and how they can do it even better. The home-growing community is larger than ever, but more isolated across different websites due to the social media terrain becoming more unfriendly to people looking to share photos, videos, and home-growing knowledge.
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“We are increasingly focused on being a platform that connects people and parties: Offering premium genetics from top-notch breeders to home-grow connoisseurs, providing content and resources from expert growers to beginners, and fostering connections among home growers both online and offline. We are here to serve our community and grow with it,” said Rustenhoven.
The best of the past, infused into a bright future
If you’re one of ILGM’s many devoted customers and all this talk of change is getting you a little nervous, relax. The new leadership at ILGM knows that one of their greatest resources is the accumulated knowledge of their robust home-growing community.
“Ensuring that ILGM offers access to a vibrant community of people that want to share their cannabis cultivation journey, and connect with fellow home growers, is a significant part of our mission going forward.” said the CEO.
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Rustenhoven and the team have taken incredible pains to keep the things that have earned ILGM their customer loyalty—like their famous germination guarantee, expert knowledge, and incredible deals—while jettisoning anything that wasn’t working.
Ernst isn’t alone in his efforts, of course. He’s assembled a top-tier team of industry experts including growers, researchers, designers, and writers to overhaul ILGM and make it one of the very best resources for cannabis growers of all experience levels. The entire ILGM team is unified in their desire to revolutionize the ILGM experience and spread the joy of cannabis wider than ever before.
A seed for every need
Image courtesy of ILGM.
ILGM has been one of the foremost sources of cannabis seeds globally for years, and the new ILGM has no plans to change that fact. What they are changing is basically everything else—how easy it is to buy seeds, get the expert knowledge you need to set your seeds up for success, and learn about strain genetics.
Seeds straight from the source
Before, researching a specific seed you had an eye on often sent cultivators to several different sites, but at the new ILGM, growers will have all the information they need to make an informed decision about your grow in one spot.
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The word is transparency—ILGM believes in being completely upfront about where your seeds are coming from, their genetic pedigree, and the type of results you can expect from a setup that resembles your own. As the cannabis industry has matured and growers of all stripes have become increasingly discerning, these sorts of details are increasingly demanded by the growing public, and ILGM loves giving the people what they want. Anything you could think of asking about these strains, you’ll find.
Craft cultivars from top breeders
ILGM focuses on supporting the breeders behind the genetics and the cultivators who depend on them.
Randy Hansen
When the team at ILGM says that they are the home of the growers, they mean it. ILGM features a wide range of seeds from stellar American growers in addition to their ever-reliable in-house brand. You’ll be able to find seeds from high-quality growers like Speedrun Seeds and Green Bodhi on the storefront, with offerings from Happy Valley Genetics and Certified Seeds coming soon. ILGM does the vetting to make sure these seeds are up to snuff, ensuring that every seed in their store is worthy of your grow by partnering with brands who meet their rigorous standards.
The man at the head of ILGM’s seed selection operations is Randy Hansen, an industry veteran with a passion for making connections with master cultivators. As the point person for ILGM’s US seed partnerships, his keen eye for quality cannabis ensures that only the finest seeds make it to ILGM’s store.
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The best cannabis strains for every type of grower
“ILGM focuses on supporting the breeders behind the genetics and the cultivators who depend on them. We’re committed to elevating each breeder’s unique work, ensuring their genetics meet our high standards and that we, in turn, highlight the passion that goes into creating these craft cultivars,” said Hansen.
He and his team work diligently, examining terpene profiles, cannabinoid levels, and genetic stability to make ILGM’s seed selection one of the most robust and reliable in the industry.
It takes a village
Image courtesy of ILGM.
In ILGM’s opinion, growing cannabis should be accessible, easy, and fun for anyone who wants to try their hand. They’re using this rebrand as an opportunity to refocus their content towards making sure that anyone can find what they need to make their home grow successful.
Information for every experience level
ILGM’s new head of content, Robert Nijhout, is crafting an environment where knowledge flows freely and all growers feel supported. Said Nijhout: “We want to make sure that our grow guides are clear and user-friendly for people from all walks of life without leaving any information on the table or simplifying anything in favor of accuracy.”
No matter if this is your first time trying out your green thumb or your thousandth, ILGM wants you to feel at home. With Nijhout at the helm of the content department, ILGM will publish expert, high-level content for home growers with experience, but they will also take special care to expand the home-growing community by welcoming in first-time growers.
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“Starting out as a grower means facing a ton of questions—which strain to grow, where to set up, what soil or gear to use—it can feel overwhelming,” said Nijhout. “We get that because we’ve been there. That’s why we create content that answers those questions early, helping customers make informed choices from day one.”
One-on-one support
In addition to the incredible articles, grow guides, and videos outlining the art and science of cannabis cultivation that ILGM publishes now, they are almost ready to roll out a feature that will totally transform the online cannabis community.
Soon, ILGM customers will be able to set up direct one-on-one consultations with its in-house team of home grow success consultants,who can help diagnose and remedy ailments in even the most difficult of grows. These experts will be able to analyze your unique growing setup, taking into account things like climate and light conditions to troubleshoot your grow and get your plants back on track. This sort of personalized care just isn’t widely available to most growers, who will find ILGM to be an indispensable resource to increase yields and have more fun with their grow.
The road ahead
Image courtesy of ILGM.
While the new and improved ILGM is certainly very impressive, the team behind the reimagining isn’t even close to being finished. They have big plans to launch heaps of new features over the coming year in addition to the upcoming personalized consultation feature, making it even less stressful and more enjoyable to grow cannabis.
“We believe these initiatives, which are just the tip of the iceberg, will not only strengthen our existing community but also attract new members to the home-growing movement,” said Rustenhoven.
AI-powered growing assistant
So, what does the team have in store? One of the first features that ILGM will be launching in the near future is the world’s first custom-built AI-powered growing assistant. This AI was developed in-house by the team at ILGM, who trained the bot on decades of expert growing knowledge accumulated on the ILGM website. This AI will be fully integrated into the ILGM website, providing helpful, easy-to-follow advice 24/7 so you’re never alone in facing a growing emergency.
Culture-driven content
ILGM will also be delivering even more quality content in the year ahead. “In the coming period, we’re excited to create content that sets up our home growers for success,” said Nijhout. They’ll be producing community-driven stories to get the pulse of the culture, in-depth cultivation podcasts that get granular on how to maximize your yields, and Q&As with master growers seeking to share their knowledge.
Home Grow Tour
To top it all off, they’re taking the show on the road and going on tour. Leading up to 4/20, weed’s biggest day, ILGM will be launching their nationwide Home Grow Tour, a massive jamboree to celebrate the love and care that the home-growing community brings to their hobby.
The tour will feature events designed to bring growers together with product launches, influencer meetups, grow classes, and much, much more. The itinerary featuring the specifics will launch soon, so keep an eye out on social media to see if one of the biggest tours cannabis has ever seen will make it to your neck of the woods.
With all of these exciting changes, ILGM is poised to completely revolutionize the seed-buying experience for home growers all over America. But don’t just take our word for it—head to the new ILGM website today and experience the transformation for yourself. With a renewed focus on community engagement and some incredible seeds from vetted partners on the shelves, ILGM is proud to be the Home of the Growers.
Image courtesy of ILGM.
To keep updated on new features, strains, and events, you can head to ILGM’s website or follow them on Facebook and Instagram. You can also head to their YouTube channel for high-quality home-growing videos. Happy growing!
