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No landraces, no weed! Sounds exaggerated, but it's true.
Cannabis landraces are the original strains from which everything else descends. Since Landrace varieties have a long history, they offer unique cultivation and smoking experiences. In fact, for many cannabis fans, growing landrace seeds at home is a profound and memorable event.
However, you need to know how landrace strains differ from hybrids before you grow your first batch of seeds.
What are landrace varieties?
Landrace varieties can be considered "Wild ras" because they are grown with minimal human intervention. The general idea is that these varieties have adapted to the unique environment in which they grow in the wild. In reality, there were a few helping hands along the way, but landrace seeds are closer to the "roots of weed" than current hybrids.
Unlike today's cannabis hybrids, landrace strains are usually considered either pure indica or sativa. If the landrace developed in hot and humid climates such as Southeast Asia, they should be too 100 % Sativas should be. In contrast, strains grown in the mountains of Iran, Pakistan or Afghanistan are full indicas. Since landrace varieties are named after their region of origin, it is somewhat easier to predict their general effects and growth patterns.
Acapulco Gold
| Gender | Feminized | ||
| Crossing | Central American | ||
| strain | 70% Sativa / 30% Indica | ||
| Flowering time indoor | 60-70 days | ||
| Flowering time outdoor | October (2nd to 3rd week) | ||
| Outdoor yield | 1500 gr/plant | ||
| Indoor yield | 600-700 gr/m² | ||
| Indoor height | 100-110cm | ||
| Outdoor height | 150-200cm | ||
| THC | Medium | ||
| CBG | 2% | ||
| CBN | 1% | ||
| Effect | Cerebral, stimulating, invigorating, creative, euphoric, cheerful | ||
| Flavor & aroma | Citrus, coffee, creamy, pine, sweetish, woody / earthy, pine, spicy, sweetish |
Durban Poison
| Gender | Feminized | ||
| Crossbreed | Durban x Unknown Indica | ||
| strain | Sativa dominant | ||
| Cultivation | Indoor/Outdoor | ||
| Flowering time indoor | 8-9 weeks | ||
| Flowering time outdoor | Early/mid-winter | ||
| Flowering time | 8-9 weeks | ||
| Outdoor yield | 3-4 m height, XXL harvest | ||
| Indoor yield | 450-650 g/m² | ||
| THC | High (10-15%) | ||
| CBG | 0,32% | ||
| CBD | 0,06% | ||
| Effect | Uplifting, energetic, creative | ||
| Flavor & aroma | Spicy, aniseed, licorice, lemon, cloves | ||
| Properties | Tough, resilient plant, robust for outdoor cultivation | ||
| Terpenes | Beta-myrcene, alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, limonene, beta-caryophyllene |
Durban Poison Reg.
| Gender | Regular | ||
| Crossbreed | Durban, African Sativa | ||
| strain | Sativa | ||
| Cultivation | Indoor / Outdoor | ||
| Flowering time indoor | 8-9 weeks | ||
| Outdoor height | 200-300cm | ||
| Yield | Very high | ||
| Harvest time | End of September | ||
| Flavor & aroma | Spicy, hazy notes of aniseed, licorice and cloves | ||
| Characteristics | Dense, slender sativa structure, unique terpene profile with oversized resin glands | ||
| Effect | Energetic, uplifting |
Thai Chi
| Gender | Feminized |
| Crossing | Kali China x Thai Chiang Mai |
| Variety | 70% Sativa, 30% Indica |
| Cultivation | Outdoor, Indoor, Glass house |
| Flowering time | 10 - 11 weeks |
| Harvest time | End of October |
| Yield | High |
| THC | 16% |
| CBD | < 0,1% |
| CBG | 0,7% |
Afghanica
| Gender | Feminized | ||
| Crossbreeding | Origen: Afganistan | ||
| strain | Pure Indica | ||
| Cultivation | Outdoor, indoor, greenhouse | ||
| Flowering time | 7 - 9 weeks | ||
| Outdoor yield | 600 - 700 g per plant | ||
| Indoor yield | 600 g/m2 | ||
| Indoor height | 90 - 110 cm | ||
| Outdoor height | 110 - 130 cm | ||
| Harvest time | End of September, beginning of October | ||
| THC | 25 % | ||
| Flavor & aroma | flowery, earthy |
Hindu Kush (Anesia Seeds)
| Gender | Feminized | ||
| Crossbreed | Landrace from Central Asia | ||
| strain | Pure Indica | ||
| Cultivation | Outdoor, Indoor, Greenhouse | ||
| Flowering time | 7 - 9 weeks | ||
| Outdoor yield | 500 - 550 g per plant | ||
| Indoor yield | 500 - 550 g/m2 | ||
| Indoor height | 90 - 120 cm | ||
| Outdoor height | 130 - 160 cm | ||
| Harvest time | Beginning of October | ||
| THC | 24% | ||
| Taste & aroma | earthy and spicy and reminiscent of good, dark hashish | ||
| Effect | Physically and mentally relaxing |
What are the strongest landrace strains?
By now, you've probably heard some cannabis enthusiasts make the claim that today's weed isn't as good as it was in the 1960s. The main reason for this has to do with advances in breeding and cultivation techniques.
Although feminized landraces have respectable THC levels, they are nowhere near as potent as cannabis hybrids grown today. In fact, 20th century growers tinkered with landrace genetics, mainly to extract more THC and create a plant that was more conducive to growing and selling on the illegal market.
For this reason, you will find that most pure landrace strains have an average THC-content of 10 or less, while many hybrids have THC levels of over 20%. Because landrace strains have not been bred in controlled environments, they may not have the properties you are used to from iconic hybrids.
However, that doesn't mean that some landrace strains can't hit users hard. For those interested in the harshest effects, it's best to look at fully bred sativa landraces, for example:
Alternatively, you can opt for an indica landrace strain, such as:
Are autoflowering strains landraces?
For most of weed history, most breeders have only been concerned with traditional photoperiod sensitive landraces. In recent months, however, another landrace variety has caught the attention of the mainstream. We are talking about the Cannabis Ruderalis family .
You may not be familiar with the term "ruderalis", but you've probably seen a few "autoflowering" strains in seed stores. The reason these seeds mature without changing the lighting schedule has to do with their ruderalis genetics and the environment this cannabis plant has become accustomed to.
Cannabis ruderalis landraces developed in less hospitable climates such as northern China, Mongolia or Siberia. Due to the intense cold and erratic light patterns, these landraces evolved to grow and flower faster (in about eight weeks). And unlike typical photoperiod-sensitive cannabis plants, ruderalis is not as dependent on the sun to trigger normal flower maturation.
No one grows pure ruderalis strains because they produce very few cannabinoids and terpenes. Instead, growers cross ruderalis genetics with their favorite indicas, sativas or hybrids. The result of this mix is a faster flowering (but less intense) autoflowering strain.
Why grow landrace seeds?
Many cannabis fans love to romanticize landrace strains, but the truth is that these strains are often not the most practical. Because true landrace strains are grown with minimal human intervention and are adapted to a specific climate, they tend to be more demanding than hybrid strains. There is also the possibility that landrace seeds may produce less vigorous grass or lower yields overall than hybrid competitors.
However, this does not mean that landrace strains have no place in cannabis cultivation. These landrace strains are often more robust, pest-resistant plants with desirable traits such as pest or mold resistance.
In fact, many modern breeders still use landraces as a template to experiment with new variety combinations and strengthen genetic lines. Furthermore, many pot purists are passionate about preserving landrace genetics to ensure the future diversity of cannabis.
Anyone interested in growing cannabis landraces at home should start with indica strains such as Hindu Kush (Nirvana Seeds) or Afghani #1 . Due to their history in harsher terrain, these landraces are more forgiving indoors. Also, indica landraces take less time to flower and don't grow as tall.
As you gain more experience with Sativa hybrids you can consider switching to 100% Sativa-landraces. Just keep in mind that strains like Durban Poison and Thai Chi grow incredibly tall and take longer to reach flowering.
