It may sound simple, get a male and female plant together,

put them both in a room, then put on Barry White,

and wait for pollenation to give you a new strain.

It’s a bit more complicated if you want a stellar cross-strain, although Gregor Mendel’s principles of inheritance

still applies. Cross-strains or cross-breeds are very

common because of the benefits of inheritance.

The combination of traits from two different

genetics can yield wonderful results making a

new strain more fruity or more relaxing.

The possibilities to create a brand new strain

are endless because each new generation of the cross-breed has its own unique characteristics,

blended together from it’s parents.

The difficulty in breeding a great strain requires two things: numbers (lots and lots of plants) and recognizing

desirable traits from the plants in which you want to breed. The reason why it requires so many plants is

because out of one hundred plants, maybe

only five to ten will be really special, that is,

have the desired traits you’re looking for.

An experienced breeder has the intuition to recognize things like vigor, strength, and other traits like taste,

smell, and effect.

Like an artist that combines several shades of blue

to paint the perfect sky, a breeder knows what

desirable traits to breed the perfect cross-strain.

 

Popular cannabis cross strains,

like those of the Girl Scout Cookies heritage

 have made their way into dispensaries

commanding higher prices becuase of

their popular traits. Girl Scout Cookies is a combination

of OG Kush with Durban Poison. Durban Poison is a very popular landrace that originated in South Africa,

specifically around the port of Durban.

It happens to be our favorite strain becuase

of the intense lemon flavor, the scent is

overpowering with citrus. That’s because of the high concentration of limonene, a terpene well known

for elevated mood and stress relief. It’s a sativa,

so it’s very uplifting, but the best

part is how clear the high is.

It gives such clear focus that you could write

an entire book in one sitting.

The origins of OG Kush are rather murky,

however, its prevalence is high among most dispensaries.

It’s become a classic staple, and many cross-breeds

contain OG Kush phenotype.