It’s time to roll up the thickest joints, pack the biggest party bowls, and charge the Puffco for oversized dabs.

Millions of weed lovers nationwide have record amounts of flavors and pounds to smoke through this fall and winter. Bright, hot sun and no wildfires mean the full-sun outdoor weed crop in America’s Emerald Triangle simply killed it this year. Drying rooms have overflowed into guest bedrooms, growers report, and the flavors have never been more advanced.

“It’s been a great season. Everyone is bringing their A-game,” said Mia Moore, retail sales director for Redwood Roots—an Emerald Triangle brand packager and distributor.

“Everything honestly looks fucking amazing. It was a wonderful year!!!” said owner and farmer Mary Polson at Seed 707. “I’m stoked about everything. I can’t wait to smoke it.”

How does Leafly pick just a dozen exemplars? We smoke hundreds of strains, walk the fields, and talk to farmers. We ask the cloners that stocked the fields in spring, and the buyers vetting all the pounds to pick out gems this fall. We survey the biggest, best, most influential growers, and probably spend too long liking bud photos on Instagram.

Here are 12 top cannabis strains of Harvest 2024.

Stone cold classic

Blue Dream

Just in time for an anxious fall, the anti-anxiety hybrid Blue Dream is back on top out west.

This 1990s Santa Cruz, CA strain goes through waves of peak interest and decline. In 2024, it rides a tide of nostalgia sweeping through the stoner nation.

“Blue Dream is back and better than ever. It’s flying off the shelf at 17% THC,” said Eli Melrod at California’s leading outdoor store Solful.

Farmer/retailer Marjo Lak at Humboldt Nation said “Blue Dream is huge. It just flies off the wall. Haze, too.”

Blue Dream is a model outdoor variety—withstanding the test of time and trends. A top outdoor strain has to work outdoors, and not just inside. It has to yield. It must withstand weather, stress, mold, and pests. It must dry and cure true without turning into hay. It has to trim up nicely and sparkle in the bag. That’s Blueberry x Haze.

A whole host of nostalgia strains are coming in strong this year. See also: Acapulco Gold, Panama Haze, Green Crack, or Maui Wowie.

Undisputed crowd favorite

LCG Fritter 

Farmers again over-grew Lemon Cherry Gelato and bulk prices will be brutal, growers say. Northern California remains awash in this type of Gelato #33. Why? LCG has become the Taylor Swift of trees. So-called ‘candy-gas’ tasting dessert strains are the dominant genre in the market. LCG typifies what customers craze. It’s got that loud creamy berry smell, pretty look, and stress-killing indica hybrid effects. This year, large-scale outdoor farmer Honeydew touts its cross of LCG to Apple Fritter—LCG Fritter—which should add some tart, pastry notes to the LCG. So many LCGs and friends await your grinder. See also: Miracle Candy, Jelly Donutz

Modern crusher

Governmint Oasis

GMO Cookies x Gush Mints aka Governmint Oasis has hit big yet again this year, said the leading clone provider Purple City Genetics of Oakland, CA.

Both the GMO and Gush Mints set records for fatness in the fields, and combined with the perfect weather this season—expect a crazy, gorgeous, bumper crop of this potent, versatile hybrid to drive prices through the floor. Berkeley Patients Group advertises 3.5 grams for $7—that’s $7, not $70. 

Perfect for before a big meal—Governmint Oasis leaves folks tingly, hungry, and relaxed.

New zaza

Ridgelion 

One of California’s most award-winning outdoor growers Ridgeline Farms is excited to debut this new cross of Ridgeline Lantz to Cookies’ top cat Cheetah Piss. 

“Ridgelion came out next-level beautiful,” said Ridgeline’s Jason Gellman.

Lantz is Runtz crossed to Ridgeline’s proprietary Green Lantern. Cheetah Piss is Lemonnade, Gelato, and London Poundcake.

Ridgeline leads the way with a slew of Lantz crosses, including the superb Blackberry Caviar (Grape Gas x LANTZ); and Blueberry Caviar for Woody Harrelson’s LA lounge, which specializes in outdoor.

Top hasher

Honey Banana

Hash rules more and more of the flower market these days, and as much as half of all cannabis flowers get frozen instead of dried. Leading the pack of hashers are strains like Papaya, Wilson, as well as Honey Banana. Though it’s this old cross of Strawberry Banana and Honey Boo-Boo from this old-school brand Elemental Seeds. Many breeders now work with it. Hit or miss as dried flower, Honey Banana shines as live rosin with a pronounced honeyed banana smell and taste. It’s considered a good ‘washer’—meaning the flower yields upwards of 5% hash when agitated by ice water and seized through a fine screen.

“It did great outside,” said Harry at hashmaker Errl Hill. “It’s becoming a standard—everyone kind of got that one. If it doesn’t yield, people won’t wash it over and over, year after year.”

Sour waves

Double OG Sour 

Maybe it’s the bitter election. Maybe it’s New York’s ‘sour’ influence making itself known. Maybe we all just want to feel something again. Either way—2024 has been a banner year for Sour Diesel-related weed. Our pick goes to Rebel Grown seed’s Double OG Sour. It bested the competition in California to win 1st place at the Emerald Cup 2024. Double OG Sour grew well outside on both coasts—built off the time-tested genetics of OG Kush and Sour Diesel. It’s (OG Kush X (OG x Sour) F5). It’s green, pungent bud with lemon, pine, fuel, and sour notes; and zingy hybrid effects.  There are so many good sours to get at this year. 

See also: Booney Acres’ Sour Bears (Symbiotic Genetics’ Kombucha #6 x Sour Diesel BX3), Sour Trop x Lime Sour (from CHA Genetics), PCG Sour Peaches (AJ’s Sour x Moroccan Peaches), and classic Headband.

A Z to beat

4 Z’s

The tropical taffy candy-smelling and lip-smacking strain Original Z offers some of the best indoor tree around. But it can be tricky outdoors, where one must harvest it early to avoid mold in the spongy bud. Medical marijuana-era brand Lempire Farmaseed has persisted into the recreational age with their standout 4 Z’s. It’s this killer cross of Dirty Z x ZOZ back-crossed to the Dirty Z. See? Four “Z”s. Easy. That’s the kind of intense Z work that pushes the culture forward.

Lempire’s Wes tells Leafly: “The selection we bred is brighter, faster, and highly resistant to pests and mold. The terps lean heavily towards the Original Z but retain the neon chunk of the Lem OG, and finishes in an amazing 40-45 days. Lab results hit high in THC and shops love the 4 Z’s.”

4 Z’s stood out among the crowd at Hall of Flowers in Santa Rosa, CA in September, and it’s so heartening to see a true legendary grower/breeder on fully legal shelves.

Rose’s moment

Whitethorn Rose and crosses 

Huckleberry Hill Farms’ award-winning, floral-smelling, and tasty sativa hybrid Whitethorn Rose is the belle of the harvest ball this year. After breaking out over a series of Emerald Cup wins, Whitethorn Rose has made its way into many gardens and the first crosses of it are starting to hit as well. Whitethorn Rose is a selection from a cross of Paradise Punch x Lemon OG but it smells completely different than a punch or an OG. It’s got this floral, rose, funk with a sweet terpinolene back. Sick of the LCG ‘candy-gas’ dominance in weed, seek out this increasingly popular strain, as well as all its new crosses. See also: Ridgeline Rose (Whitethorn Rose x Lantz); Country Rose (Whitethorn Rose x Canna Country 38).

New and influential

Pineapple Mojito

Weed diversity improves even more this season with the new Pineapple Mojito from California State Fair award-winning Higher Heights in Mendocino, CA. Both the grower Nate and buyers like Eli Melrod at Solful are psyched about this loud, modern pineapple and mint weed. Higher Heights has been laser-focused on breeding unique stuff through his Broze line, into his Carambola, and now the Pineapple Mojito. Unpack the world-class selection going on here. Pineapple Mojito is Carambola x Lemon Limez from Enzo the 420 Nomad. Lemon Limez is (Sour Diesel x Biker Kush) x Key Lime Pie. Carambola is (Sunburn x Green Tea) x Brozé with a crazy-loud citrus/incense/myrrh/gas smell. Nate always selects for terpy loudness and feel-good effects, and his unique work commands 3 to 4 times the going rate for outdoor in 2024.

Savory counter-point

Ooh Mami

Savory weed like GMO Cookies has a special, stanky place in our hearts. This year’s savory to search for comes from Phinest—one of California’s biggest cloners out in Sacramento. Originally dubbed “Gravy” by its creator Cannarado of Colorado. Phinest renamed it Ooh Mami to help it sell better. Ooh Mami mixes Lemon G, OG Kush Breath, and Sour Kush smells “exactly like a bowl of warm turkey gravy” with a sour lemon finish. Super-weird. It washes great for rosin and carts. Ian at Phinest describes it as “a 3-day pho broth with shameless amounts of hoisin sauce added in. Big yielder, beautiful giant sun worshiping monsters.” Ooh Mami—Daddy like.

One of a kind terp

Strawberry Pop

Ready for a different candy strain? Check out Talking Trees’ Strawberry Pop—a selection of Red Runtz bred by Washington breeder Exotic Genetix. Exotic Genetix Mike crossed Red Pop into Runtz, but we didn’t get any of the Runtz, rather a record amount of the strawberry soda pop flavor—a refreshing surprise. One hit and we’re back in Kansas City, MO sipping on a tooth-crackingly sweet strawberry soda to wash down some barbecue. Love it. “We just harvested our 2nd round and it’s more fire than the first,” said Talking Trees’ Matt Weston. See also: Booney Acres’ Redvine (Tractor Fuel #14 x Strawberry Meltshake #24).

Best effect

Canna Country 26

The best herb comes down to the effect, and one standout from 2024 will always be the proprietary Canna Country #26 from Canna Country. Why? It has such a great color and smell and the effect beats about 90% of the weed out there. Canna Country says “She is So cool,” and describes the high as “Texturing perception,” with a “hug from grandma” high. Facts. Canna Country 26 grows into gorgeous, purple, outdoor weed that reminds us of old-school Afgooey, and Jah Goo. You can smoke it from breakfast till dinner, and it’ll always feel right, and never make you anxious or edgy like many other modern maximum-THC strains will. Canna Country 26 is Forbidden Fruit crossed to the breeder’s proprietary Cherimoya.

And that’s a swing through some of the best and brightest trees from the fields this harvest season. The pace of innovation keeps accelerating, so we’re bound to leave something out when we have to settle on just 12 out of the hundreds or thousands of strains out there. Did we miss a bona fide champion? Make your reader’s choice below.

Reader’s choice: Pick a top strain of the 2024 harvest

What strain crushed it outside for you? We’ll add a 13th strain based on reader responses to make it a cool baker’s dozen harvest strains.

The aroma of the Fall season is wafting in the air, and we’re not talkin’ pumpkin spice. As you read this, farmers and gardeners chop down thousands of metric tons of stinky weed all across North America.

Tiny seeds sown in spring have yielded heavy-hung branches of buds ripe for death by Halloween.

In 2022, we reported that legal cannabis ranks sixth among US cash crops. Much of it is outdoor from California, where weed’s heartland, Humboldt County, beats out a global rhythm.

As such, America needs to know the best buds for smoking this fall and winter. So here, we’ve distilled a definitive baker’s dozen strains from among the thousands in the database.

These are the gilded scions of cannabis’ $60 billion-a-year Golden Age—built from decades of selection, and born to withstand the invisible hand of an ever-freer market.

We have indoor bangers making the transition to outdoor—like Apples and Bananas. We have outdoor acts of God flooding the market—like Lemon Cherry Gelato and Gush Mints. And we’re seeing a nostalgia wave. Blue Dream is back on top out west.

“There’s no room now for anything that’s not hitting all the checkpoints,” said Salinas, CA, greenhouse grower Christina DePaci at Paradiso Gardens. “They have to have high potency. They have to yield. They have to have color. They have to have visible crystals. They have to have nose. They have to smoke well.”

Here’s what made the cut.

Glitterbomb

Not all strains work outdoors. So we start with a newer variety making the transition to outdoor and shining bright—Glitterbomb. Bred by Compound Genetics in the Chris Lynch era, it hails from Grape Gas #10 x OGKB Blueberry Headband. If you’re a THC percentage chaser, Glitterbomb took silver in the California State Fair Cannabis Awards 2023 for THC. Grape, berry, candy, and fuel smells serve the center mass of the 2023 market, and the sedative hybrid-indica pairs perfectly with holiday fun. We saw superb outdoor or greenhouse Glitterbomb from Paradiso Gardens in Salinas to Sonoma Hills Farm in Petaluma.

“We love Glitterbomb,” said DePaci. “That one has been a true winner among the budtending community, which is great to hear.”

See also: GastroPop, Grape Gas

Grapes N Cream

Farmers grew a problematic amount of the Cannarado strain Grapes N Cream this year. The mega-cloners at Phinest in Sacramento, CA, sold the cutting to hundreds of farms, and Grapes N Cream went frickin’ beast mode outside in 2023 with huge, dense, mold-resistant colas. The cross of Grape Pie x Cookies N Cream makes it a cousin to Oreoz, which had its own huge wave. Smokers love the dramatic purple color, the creamy grapes and gas smell and taste, and the high-THC indica effect that’ll put you down like Xanax. And it hashes great for the dabber.

“It’s a big consideration now—finding strains that can do well in flower and also do well in solventless production,” said Nat Pennington at Humboldt Seed Co. “100%—I love Grapes N Cream. We’ve seen a lot of bags of it.”

See also: Carbon Fiber

Gush Mints

Bred by Oakland’s Purple City Genetics, Gush Mints did the same thing as Grapes N Cream. It got into everyone’s garden where it grew like some science experiment gone awry into an aggressive, 10-foot-tall hedgerow spiked with five-foot spears.

“It’s too successful,” said Eli Melrod, wholesale weed buyer and founder of the Solful dispensaries. “It’s a beast.”

Gush Mints is sticky, with milder kush and mint notes that entice casual smokers for very calming, nighttime effects. Even more so the Gush Mints 1:1 version with equal parts THC and CBD. Gush Mints is made of Kush Mints x (F1 Durb x Gushers).

“[PCG head] Orin nailed it with that cutting, so props to that,” said Nat.

Lemon Cherry Gelato

Pretty, appetizing, effective, and undeniably in demand, Lemon Cherry Gelato is the Taylor Swift of 2023 weed strains.

Smokers should have their pick of some primo LCGs this fall thanks to a huge crop of it making buyers more picky.

The lemon, cherry, creamy, berry-sweet smell and taste, and the indica-leaning hybrid effects pair with everything—except work. LCG was High Times’ strain of 2022, and one of our runner’s up to Leafly Strain of the Year 2022. The brand Cookies’ Humboldt Grown Initiative has a greenhouse or light-dep Triple Scoop (Lemon Cherry x Gelato), hitting California Cookies and Lemonnade dispensary shelves from October to December. Big growers Farmer and the Felon have PLCR (Platinum Runtz x Lemon Cherry Gelato).

See also: Jelly Donutz; Ridgeline LANTZ, Martyjuana Supreme Gelato

Apples and Bananas

The most terpy thing we’ve seen so far from the outdoor crop is the Cookies’ Blue Power x Gelatti cross, Apples and Bananas—another escapee from indoor growing. Briceland Forest Farm’s summer light-dep A&B maxes out the terps of the season at 4%. That’s 8 times the national average for aroma. Apples and Bananas gives off waves of apple, pear, and tree fruit that’s thicker than Nicki Minaj. It’s loud, but not biting. It says, ‘Pour me on your face.’

“Your whole house will smell like that from an eighth,” said Melrod at Solful.

Goodbye, anxiety, stress and depression. Hello, happy, soaring, arousal. Yeah, baby.

Apples and Bananas banged out in sungrown, regenerative gardens. We’re seeing A+B and crosses from Seed707, and Phinest Ian’s new micro-batch clone brand Uncle Dad Vibes.

Blueberry Cupcake

Every modern harvest has to have some Cakes—Wedding Cake, Ice Cream Cake, and now Blueberry Cupcake. It’s a cross of Humboldt Seed Company’s idiot-proof Blueberry Muffin to America’s favorite, Wedding Cake, which boosts the THC. Ooh, Lord, it worked. Walking through the fields at Sonoma Hills Farm, squeezing the Blueberry Cupcake and smelling the authentic blueberry and buttery sweet cupcake aroma—I instantly wanted the pastry. 

Blueberry Cupcake’s 50-50 hybrid effects pair with any activity day or night. The cultivar also crushes in outdoor runs and makes life easy for farmers, says Joyce Cenali at Sonoma Hills Farm. It has a really low leaf-to-bud ratio that makes for less work.

“It’s one of the easier ones for us to manicure for sure,” Cenali said.

Cheetah Piss

OK—it’s time for a weird one. The strain Cheetah Piss returns to our harvest list after a two-year hiatus. Why? Because one of the top outdoor growers of all time, Ridgeline Farms of Southern Humboldt, CA, keeps growing it, and absolutely slayed their run.

“The Cheetah Piss that Ridgeline grew did great in dep. Production-wise—it’s nuts,” said Nat at Humboldt Seed Co.

Cookies brand Cheetah Piss brings together three top strains—Lemonnade, Gelato 42, and London Poundcake 97. It’s been out since 2019. Despite all the dessert genes, Cheetah Piss has bite—users report smelling ammonia, menthol, and skunky pungence. That smell puts people in heat with a sativa-hybrid effect that makes folks aroused, giggly, and happy. 

Cheetah Piss shrugged off the wet, cold first half of the year—resisting powdery mildew and yielding huge.

“Piss packs a punch,” said Daniel Hendricks of the influential HendRx Nursery.

Adios MF

We expected to see lots of crosses of Jealousy, Leafly Strain of the Year 2022, and indeed we did. Adios MF united (Biscotti x Sherb) x Jealousy f2 to create smells of candied lime, blueberry jam, and marshmallows. It tastes like a fresh bowl of berries and cream with lime on top with a strong, mood-lifting body high that works with movies, relaxation, and sleep. Formerly an indoor strain, the Cookies brand took Adios MF into their greenhouse this year and blew us away. 

See also: Love (Lemonchello x Jealousy) by Farmer and the Felon with Soma Rosa Farms

Blue Dream

Newsflash: Blue Dream is back on top of traffic in the western US, and it’s not all fake Blue Dream carts or cleverly named edibles gaming Google search. Smokers are enjoying a serious nostalgia trip this year, watchers say.

“Across the board, the classics are back: OG Kush, Blue Dream, and Sour Diesel are in high demand and being planted harmoniously to feed the need,” said Hendricks.

Made from DJ Short Blueberry x Haze, Blue Dream emerged sui generis from the hot hills of Santa Cruz in the ‘90s. It’s as ‘90s as a vintage Nirvana t-shirt—with a mild blueberry taste, and anxiety-stopping 50-50 hybrid effects. 

Blue Dream peaked in the early 2000s when everyone grew it, and prices collapsed. Nowadays, thoughtful growers attuned to the market have replanted it, including Alpenglow, Raw Garden, Wave Rider Nursery, Lost Farm, and yours truly. Smoakland Delivery sells $99 ounces of light-dep Blue Dream from Sonoma County.

“When done well, it’s awesome, and delicious and smells good,” said the buyer/retailer Melrod.

As quaffable as a cold Modelo on a hot date, and just as popular—rediscover some Blue Dream.

Double OG Chem

This list has to have an OG Kush every year, so we’re going with Rebel Grown’s super-award-winning Double OG Chem. We grew it in our garden—it’s fire. So did large-scale industry leaders Farmer and the Felon. Double OG Chem sits at the center of the Venn Diagram of OG Kush, Chemdog, and Sour Diesel. The gorgeous green buds give off this lemony, limey, chemmy, fuel bite with a potent hybrid indica effect; perfect for a weekday happy hour, or a lazy Sunday. 

Tons of OGs grow OGs, so don’t miss Farmer and the Felon’s crop of it, as well Ridgeline’s Lambo OG, Biovortex’s Banana Cherry Lime Dog from Sonoma Hills Farm, and Blimburn Seeds’ LSD (Lemon Sour Diesel) grown by Swami Select.

Sherb Haze

Elite grower Tina Gordon from Moon Made Farms gave me a bag of this new strain when I was in Humboldt, and she doesn’t mess around. Then we saw massive trees of it in Petaluma, CA, and we knew we had to include it. Sherb Haze comes from Conception Nurseries and unites two obvious winners, Sherbert Bx1 x Neville’s Haze, to produce cartoonishly huge, rocket colas that would make SpaceX engineers salivate. 

It smells hazy-sweet with a lot of Sherbert body that veers more floral than creamy-berry. The Haze brightens up Sherbert’s sedative effect, making it an all-day smoke. It’s the perfect example of giving people something new that maps to something they love. Roll up big, guilt-free joints of outdoor Sherb Haze.

Papaya crosses

As we round out our outdoor list, we wanted to include a top strain for people who enjoy hash. They probably won’t be surprised to learn that Papaya is back for another year to power all those rosin dabs and live resin carts. We don’t know exactly what the breeder or lineage is—some say Papaya is rebranded Green Crack. But we know it’s got a papaya smell and taste, indica hybrid effects, and it dumps trichomes for hash making. 

Alpenglow Farm did a rare Papaya Berry Runtz (Strawberry Runtz x Papaya Bomb) that updates classic Papaya with more creamy berries. Farmer and the Felon did well with Purple City Genetics’ Peach Panther (Peaches x Papaya Bomb). Expect to see a lot of small batches of Papaya crosses. Connoisseur smokers get bored faster than ever, so farmers and stores have started rotating in fresh remixes. Alpenglow’s Papaya Berry Runtz batch for Solful totals just 3 to 5 pounds, or as little as 384 eighth-ounce jars. So don’t miss the boat. 

Sour Lemon MAC

We end with something for our lovers of Jack Herer—the top-selling strain at Solful in 2023, despite the fact that it’s like 30 years old. Specifically, Happy Dreams Genetics’ Sour Lemon MAC tests super-high for Jack’s main terpene—terpinolene. Sour Lemon MAC has 1.44% terpinolene, and 3.71% terpenes overall. That’s almost 7 times higher than the national average for aroma. Super Lemon MAC has weird parents, too. It’s (Mother’s Milk x Lemon Blueberry) x MAC and Cheese. Love that.

People want functional, classic weed—not some debilitating rapper’s delight, said Eli at Solful. 

“They say they liked weed better 5 to 10 years ago, and that a lot of weed nowadays makes them lethargic.”

Terpinolene strains have this candy necklace with a pure sugar smell and taste and strong sativa hybrid effects for going at those Saturday chores.

See also: Jack Herer from Alpenglow, Luxor’s Victory at Sonoma Hills Farm, and Nimbus Snacks bred by Conception Nurseries

And that’s our 13 strains of harvest for 2023. As always, it was too hard to choose. With almost 6,000 strains in the Leafly database, your personal favorite might vary. Strain innovation keeps accelerating, but where does it end?

“We’re in this Golden Era,” said Melrod, the buyer and retailer. “There’s all this interesting variety of stuff going on. How many different flavors can the plant make? It might be infinite.”