Good morning, growers, breeders, shop buyers, and aficionados. This week, we’re back in San Francisco, planning a trip to Seattle, and smoking on some Esensia Garden’s daytime sativa, Maracuya (Lavender x Afgoo), from America’s best outdoor cannabis shop, Solful.
The best breeders have some fire new releases to scoop up. And the California State Fair Cannabis Awards entry window is open. We’re picking out what seeds to grow in our garden this year. And we get our Emerald Cup judges’ kits this week—looking forward to seeing what strains make California’s best solvent hash.
Here’s what’s fresh in cannabis genetics—the white-hot magma core of the US’ $60 billion cannabis industry. (Too heady? Start with Leafly Learn and Leafly Glossary.)
That live pay-per-view ‘King of Z Hill’ cannabis competition at San Francisco’s Hippie Hill on April 20 announced hash, rosin, and flower categories; all categories come with $40,000 purses.
Compound Genetics founder and ex-employee, Chris Lynch, sued his ex-colleagues last week, alleging violations of employment law. Here’s the complaint.
Oregon Cup-winner Cannassentials alleges that Oregon’s new aspergillus testing rules are unscientific and penalize living soil farmers.
After the 13th atmospheric river, farmers cheer the drought’s end in the California Bay Area. Yessir!
Read this: Strain news stories of note
East Coast flower brand Nature’s Heritage hired Boston-based animator and artist Duncan Hatch to illustrate two new strain drops, Mimosa and Lamb’s Bread.
Leafly Strain News Weekly is the reporter’s notebook of Leafly News Senior Editor David Downs, focused on the core of cannabis culture—the genetics. It’s like Politico Pro, but a lot cooler. Send strain news to david.downs@leafly.com.
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Let’s put a punishing election month behind us and get back in that joyful warrior pose.
Leafly Buzz—our hit West Coast fire flower roundup is back for Turkey Day and the holiday season. We’re talking rip-rorious, indoorious beasts. Plus, some truly stunning sungrown.
Here’s what we’d bring to a fancy feast all winter long.
Here’s Leafly Buzz for November 2024.
Data grinder
We broke out our calculators, plugged into the Leafly strain database, and ran a scan for zaza. Here’s what the stats tell us.
Durban Poison
Short, cold, wet days got you down? Some Durban and coffee will help you get the house ready for visitors. The classic sativa comes in flower, vape, and sometimes single-source edible format. We could all use a pick-me-up. Durban moved into the No. 12 spot from 16 across the Western US.
Glitter Bomb
We said that the strain Glitter Bomb would blow up in 2024 and yeah, it’s at No. 30, up from 33rd in October. Glitter Bomb is among the blingiest tree from breeder Compound Genetics. This relaxing herb has a loud, grape-fuel taste. It’s a cross of Grape Gas #10 to OGKB Blueberry Headband.
Piescream
This is that ‘impress your hometown friends’ weed. Piescream’s a mix of Wedding Pie x (Gelato #33 x Cherry Limeade F5) for a candied cherry lime pastry dessert flavor. Piescream has been organically climbing the charts for the past two years. It’s now a top 500 strain on the West Coast and one of our favorite Thanksgiving smokes. We just saw a phenomenal cut of it from Sense cannabis in SF. Piescream also won six medals at the California State Fair Cannabis Awards 2024. You can’t have Thanksgiving without Piescream.
Dante’s Inferno
Oreoz x Devil Driver is the Budtenders’ Choice of Maine 2024 and it has cracked the top 100 across the western US, landing at 84; for when you need that crazy bag appeal, crazy potency, with a dessert and melon note.
Other chart news:
Related
American budtenders’ best strains of 2024
New in the Leafly strain database
Tropical Juice Box
Award-winning Southern California indoor growers Team Elite Genetics has come out of their lab with a grip of new crosses. Smoking up quick at our house—Tropical Juice Box, a cross of Orange Juice and Pearadise #4. Expect a delicious, tropical fruit smoothie layered with flavors of citrus, sugar, mangos, & pear. A nice, mood-enhancing sativa high also includes mellow vibes and body relaxation.
Dulce Con Gas
Fresh in the Leafly database, the Terphogz seeds catalog—popularizers of the Original Z. Notable this month—their new collaboration with Kounter Kulture—Dulce Con Gas. It’s a savvy mix of Lemon Cherry Gelato x Crop Duster and the packs run a stiff $300. LCG remains a top 5 national best-seller, and Crop Duster is a reported Daily Driver x Chem D cross that’s extra-pungent. Take 10% off with code LEAFLY (Leafly gets an affiliate fee for purchases).
Detroit Diamonds
Compound Genetics releases 26 new crosses to its hit, blingy weed Eye Candy. We’re eying Detroit Diamonds for a strain that drills down into pure aesthetics. Detroit Diamonds is (Pure Michigan x Baby Shark) crossed with Eye Candy and should be a killer.
Sour Peaches
Sour Peaches is yielding some of the best hash the folks at Purple City Genetics are smoking this winter. It’s a cross of their hit hash dumper Moroccan Peaches and the classic New York strains AJ’s Sour Diesel. Sour Peaches grows into huge plants with a 6 to 7% hash yield—so keep an eye out for it. It should hit hybrid and strong with a sour caramelized sour peach note.
Picks of the dispensaries
New on shelves
Mandarin Cherry Tree by Sticky Fields
Impress your sesh with arguably the most lip-smacking strain around—Mandarin Cherry Tree grown by industry icon Sticky Fields, Mendocino County, CA, and sold by Solful across Northern California. It’s a Mandarin Tart crossed to a volunteer Sticky Fields calls Cherry Tree, with thick mandarin, cherry, and lavender notes. The rare linalool-dominant strain comes hand-picked from the full-sun run at 26% THC. Limited batches.
Burning up the charts
Nova Cane by Team Elite Genetics
Need to get comfortably numb? This Novacane strain from more-than-living soil growers Team Elite Genetics in California went fast at our house in November. It’s Squirt x Kush x Grandma’s Cookies, bred by T.E.G, with a smell like blue raspberry sour gummies and a 50-50 hybrid effect on mind and body. A three-time Cannabis Cup-winner.
Best-sellers
Ballin out
Empanadas Diez by A Golden State
A Golden State grows large-scale indoor buds up in Shasta County, CA. Leading off their holiday lineup is Empanadas Diez—a Purple Churro x Cinnamon Horchata cross. When you want to chill after dinner and pre-game for dessert, hit this dessert strain with notes of banana bread, elote, berries & cream.
Ballin’ on a budget
Sour Diesel by Alpenglow
Plenty of great Sour Diesels have come in with the harvest. But the standout is a Sour Diesel Bx4 bred by Garden of Grease Seeds in Oregon, and organically grown by Alpenglow as outdoor, living-soil, full-term. Half-ounces of it sell out the door at Solful for $100, making it a killer, best-selling, budget option that won’t stick around. Just make sure you have the right mindset and place for taking it. It’s 31% THC. “It’s freaking strong, you got to be careful. It’s just zippy.”
High Note
Storz and Bickel Venty
Get your flu and COVID shots, even if you’re strong like bull. You can save yourself a secondary infection, and a second week in bed. If you already got bit by this year’s bug, consider giving your sinuses and lungs a smoke break with a flower vape. Flower vapes heat, instead of burn bud for the same effects. The makers of the famed Volcano vaporizer have a new, portable ripper called the Venty. You can pack it thick and full, it heats up in seconds and it rips pretty substantial clouds with big effects. The battery life is outsized as well. Another medical-grade best-seller from German leaders Storz and Bickel.
OK—that’s Leafly Buzz for November 2024, full of trees we’d personally pack during our ‘cousin’s walk’ before dinner. You bring the breath mints.
About Leafly Buzz
So good they steal it—the popular, monthly strain review roundup Leafly Buzz is in its third year. We report independently on the connoisseur cannabis conversation, focusing on strains and branded flower of the US West. Reporting includes:
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.
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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.
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 West Coast is awash in za-za whether you’re into indoor or outs. As Croptober dries in barns and rooms, the indoor growers keep pumping out near-flawless gas, candy, cake, and classic strains.
The last 30 days of reporting took us from Hall of Flowers seshes with Wiz Khalifa, to hash hookahs deep in Mendocino County, CA, to road-testing the new Puffco Pivot high up in the fall trees of Montana.
Here’s your monthly cheat codes for the best bong loads of October. Here’s October’s Leafly Buzz.
Data grinder
We broke out our calculators, plugged into the Leafly strain database, and ran a scan for zaza. Here’s what the stats tell us.
Connie Chung
This rare strain jumped from No. 3,769 to No. 120 after the iconic female anchor mentioned her namesake strain in an interview to promote her new book. Connie Chung is a DNA Genetics LA Flavor x G13.
Moroccan Peaches
Watch out for Purple City Genetics’ Moroccan Peaches—it’s up from #983 to #287 in just a single month. So much good Moroccan Peaches is being made into hash right now. It’s a cross of Spanish Barbara x Lemon Tree Skorange.
Street Tarts
Here comes the next new thing. Street Tarts is a cross of cross of Guava Tart x Street Guru by Purple City Genetics. It’s up more than 200 places in a month to No. 521.
Amnesia Haze
A 20 year-old classic stays strong this October. Amnesia Haze jumps up 25 spots to No. 108 in our 9,000-strain databse.
New in the Leafly strain database
Dark Web
Zoap bagseed is out there in the wild seeding whole new adventures. Among them, Alien Labs Dark Web—everything we’d want in an OGZ x Sherbert.
Gotti and Rainbow Beltz makes for a more aggressive candy strain in Gotti Beltz, which is taking off from Phinest/Dubplatez. Gotti Beltz held court amid a table of zaza at the Phinest booth at Hall of Flowers.
Ridgeline Throbber
One of California’s top growers—Ridgeline Farms is working on new crosses of its hit LANTZ. We got our hands on Ridgeline LANTZ x Gushmints, known as Ridgeline Throbber. If you like your LANTZ even bigger and more minty—this is it.
Gary Satan
Tiki Madman’s Gary Payton x Jealousy project Gary Satan enter the database this month. Look for it among the pack of hype, new-new.
Related
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Picks of the dispensaries
New on shelves
Headbanger by Wood Wide Farms
Burning up the charts
Permanent Marker by MOCA Humboldt
Best-sellers
Ballin out
Scotty’s Cake by CAM in Cali
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Scotties Cake—CAM, California, fall 2024
Ballin’ on a budget
Golden Pineapple by Phat Panda
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Golden Pineapple—Phat Panda, California, fall 2024
High Note
Puffco Pivot with Alien Labs Z-squared rosin
The world’s leader in electronic dabbing tech, Puffco, returns to refresh thei dab pen for 2024. You load a glob of top-notch rosin into the silicone, flip-top chamber, then stash that thang in your jacket pocket until it’s time to really get zooted. Just double-click the sleek black button on the unit to unleash a huge heat cycle inside the micro-sized ‘360 chamber.’ When the Pivot buzzes, it’s time to sip fresh, bright, maximally flavorful vapor until you tap out.
The $130 device comes with little cotton swabs you use between dabs to keep the chamber clean and tidy. Be prepared—the black silicone tip gets a little gunky as you rip all those resinous dabs. But we’re not mad at it. The Pivot proved easy to master and a delight to experienced dabbers and novices alike. It’s perfect for one-and-done dabbers who value traveling light. Stick some brand new Alien Labs Z2 rosin in there to hit a new peak for a dab pen. Available on Puffco.
OK, we’re turning and burning into Croptober and Green Wednesday. Keep your notifications on.
About Leafly Buzz
So good they steal it—the popular, monthly strain review roundup Leafly Buzz is in its third year. We report independently on the connoisseur cannabis conversation, focusing on strains and branded flower of the US West. Reporting includes: