Stalking the Bean: SLH Lemon Skunk Phenotypes & Other Haze Crosses

[Emeraldo]

Welcome, 420 enthusiasts and bean stalkers!

This is Part II of Emeraldo's Super Lemon Haze (SLH) pheno exploration and breeding project. The SLH part of this 2023 grow consists of 1 original GHS feminized SLH seedling (sigh! the last of my 5-pack!) and 11 regular seedlings begotten last year from two GHS feminized SLH plants crossed with other genetics (Sensi's Michka and ACE's Super Malawi Haze). These 12 plants are now in early veg. After sexing the regulars I will select a female or two for sinsemilla harvest, and -- if I find a male of the Lemon Skunk persuasion -- I'll pollinate the 1 original GHS feminized SLH plant, back-crossing to reinforce the Lemon Skunk phenotype genetics in a new crop of seeds for Part III next year. That's the plan, anyway. More later.

In a second group, 5 seeds from last year's Durban-Thai Highflyer x C99 (Fleur du Mal) female, which was selectively pollinated with pollen from a Malawi (ACE) male, have popped. These Durban-Thai x Malawi plants will be force-flowered in a mini-greenhouse outdoors in a few weeks. From those, 1 or more females will be selected for sinsemilla. I'll be looking to see how the Durban-Thai's cerebral effect will combine with Malawi's exquisite body/head buzz. Additionally, crossing with the earlier-flowering Durban-Thai may have shortened the long Malawi flowering time. I'm also curious as to whether Hybrid Vigor will kick in and affect growth in this cross, since the vigorous African genetics of the pure sativa Malawi landrace were not included in the original 1970s breeding of Haze from strains from Mexico, Colombia, India and Thailand. We'll see how that works out!

Finally, I was unexpectedly gifted several fresh Barney's Farm feminized seeds all of which have popped and will be grown out here in a third group: Amnesia Lemon, G13 Haze, Mimosa Evo, Blue Sunset Sherbert, and a highly recommended no-name indica gifted as part of a test. Who am I to blow against the wind?

Wind or no, if this sort of thing blows your skirt up, I'd be pleased to see you here on this short segment of the never-ending genetic journey...

Details to follow soon, enjoy your growings... and remember to buy whenever possible from 420 sponsors!

Emeraldo

 

[Stunger]

Welcome, 420 enthusiasts!

This is Part II of Emeraldo's Super Lemon Haze (SLH) pheno exploration and breeding project. The SLH part of this 2023 grow consists of 1 original GHS feminized SLH seedling (sigh! the last of my 5-pack!) and 11 regular seedlings begotten last year from two GHS feminized SLH plants crossed with other genetics (Sensi's Michka and ACE's Super Malawi Haze). These 12 plants are now in early veg. After sexing the regulars I will select a female or two for sinsemilla harvest, and -- if I find a male of the Lemon Skunk persuasion -- I'll pollinate the 1 original GHS feminized SLH plant, back-crossing to reinforce the Lemon Skunk phenotype genetics in a new crop of seeds for Part III next year. That's the plan, anyway. More later.

In a second group, 5 seeds from last year's Durban-Thai Highflyer x C99 (Fleur du Mal) female, which was selectively pollinated with pollen from a Malawi (ACE) male, have popped. These Durban-Thai x Malawi plants will be force-flowered in a mini-greenhouse outdoors in a few weeks. From those, 1 or more females will be selected for sinsemilla. I'll be looking to see how the Durban-Thai's cerebral effect will combine with Malawi's exquisite body/head buzz. Additionally, crossing with the earlier-flowering Durban-Thai may have shortened the long Malawi flowering time. I'm also curious as to whether Hybrid Vigor will kick in and affect growth in this cross, since the vigorous African genetics of the pure sativa Malawi landrace were not included in the original 1970s breeding of Haze from strains from Mexico, Colombia, India and Thailand. We'll see how that works out!

Finally, I was unexpectedly gifted several fresh Barney's Farm feminized seeds all of which have popped and will be grown out here in a third group: Amnesia Lemon, G13 Haze, Mimosa Evo, Blue Sunset Sherbert, and a highly recommended no-name indica gifted as part of a test. Who am I to blow against the wind?

Wind or no, if this sort of thing blows your skirt up, I'd be pleased to see you here on this short segment of the never-ending genetic journey...

Details to follow soon, enjoy your growings... and remember to buy whenever possible from 420 sponsors!

Emeraldo

Sound good Emeraldo. I was thinking just yesterday that you must be kicking off your new grow anytime and here you are!

Your selection this year sounds great. I guess you're growing in 2 locations again. I am very impressed with the African genetics that I have grown and the crosses made from them. I felt I got some of that F1 vigor in one of my crosses, I'll be interested how you'll find your's, especially those crossed with the SLH. All the best.

 

[Emeraldo]

Yes, @Stunger my friend, as the world turns... and here we are again.

Background details...

Last year, as part of my "Seven Hazes" grow (which I now see as "Part I" of a 3-year project), 2 GHS feminized Super Lemon Haze seeds were grown out and selectively pollinated. Let's call those plants SLH#1 and SLH#2. SLH#1 was very much a Super Silver Haze phenotype, a tall-ish plant with long sativa-ish leaves and silvery long-pistilled flowers; she received pollen from a Super Malawi Haze (SMH) male as well as from a Michka male. The second plant, SLH#2, had a shorter stature, shorter narrower leaves, weak branching, and a skunky aroma from her seedling phase onwards, which earned her the nickname "Lemon Skunk pheno". SLH#2 received successful pollen only from a Michka male. Regular seeds thus produced on both SLH plants in 2022 will now be grown out, sexed, selected for traits, and back-crossed with an original GHS feminized Super Lemon Haze.

Arjan Roskam of GHS says Super Lemon Haze is "the best weed in the world" and I can't disagree. SLH has a distinctive euphoric effect, exhilarating, uplifting and energizing, an elated exuberant feeling that melts depression and after a few hours gives way to sleep. It is the best weed I've grown. Unfortunately for me, GHS keeps SLH available only in the feminized format, so you cannot get regular SLH seeds and grow males for pollen. Dommage! Since I live in a country where cannabis is still illegal, getting more feminized SLH seeds from GHS isn't easy. When my online order of seeds was seized at the border three years ago by customs officials and the police came knocking on my door on a Sunday night, I decided to stop ordering seeds by mail. The alternative was to grow some fresh seeds on a feminized SLH plant with pollen from a regular male of some other strain. Of course that won't be SLH. But with back-crossing and patience I might get a plant with some of the traits I want, depending on what strain the male is. After some research, I settled on Michka regulars: with 80% sativa genetics, Michka is a cross of the Original Haze genetics with sativas from Jamaica and Thailand. Michka was said to be "astonishingly lemony" and cerebral, and these terpene traits seemed to be what I had in mind for a cross with Super Lemon Haze. So on my next trip abroad I picked up Michka regulars, and last year I grew out Michkas, including a big male Michka.

In 2022, both SLH#1 and SLH#2 received pollen from that Michka male. The resulting regular "SLH x Michka" seeds from both plants were invariably somewhat pale and green, such that I wondered about their viability. SLH#1 was also pollinated selectively with Super Malawi Haze pollen, and this produced dark seeds. Apparently, a dominant genetic trait of Super Malawi Haze pollen is that the resulting seeds are all large and intensely dark brown in color, pretty much the color of dark roasted espresso beans. You can see this in the photos I posted of the seeds produced in my Seven Hazes grow journal at posts ## 170-72 (SMH pollinated SLH, NL#5 x Haze, Shiva Skunk).

The "SLH x SMH" seeds stand out in the pack:

Seeds

• Emeraldo
• May 31, 2023

To kick off the grow this year, I took 7 seeds from SLH#1 (3 dark SLH#1 x SMH seeds, and 4 green/pale SLH#1 x Michka seeds), shown in the plate in the above photo. As the photo below shows, the most vigorous vigorous plants so far have been the three SLH x SMH plants popped from the three dark seeds in the plate above.

I also took 7 of the greenie seeds from SLH#2 (all x Michka), plus the one GHS feminized original -- in all, 15 seeds in one round of germination. Three of the 15 did not pop, all x Michka. In a second germination round, all 5 seeds of Durban-Thai x Malawi popped. As noted, all 5 of Barney's Farm strains popped and are at various stages of growth.

Top right corner: 1 original GHS Super Lemon Haze fem; top row mid & left: SLH#1 x SMH; middle row left: SLH#1 x SMH; other 5 are all SLH#2 x Michka.

• Emeraldo
• May 30, 2023

Three seedlings all SLH#1 x Michka

• Emeraldo
• May 30, 2023

Top 5 are Durban-Thai x Malawi, bottom two are Mimosa Evo (on left) and Blue Sunset Sherbert

• Emeraldo
• May 30, 2023

IMG_1283.JPG

• Emeraldo
• May 29, 2023

Barneys Farm strains - clockwise from top left: Amnesia Lemon, G13 Haze, Mimosa Evo, Blue Sunset...

 

[StoneOtter]

Happy hunting Emeraldo!

 

[Carmen Ray]

I am a SLH fan and yours sound superb. Happy hunting!

 

[Emeraldo]

Sound good Emeraldo. I was thinking just yesterday that you must be kicking off your new grow anytime and here you are!
...I am very impressed with the African genetics that I have grown and the crosses made from them. I felt I got some of that F1 vigor in one of my crosses, I'll be interested how you'll find your's, especially those crossed with the SLH. All the best.

Welcome Stunger and thanks for joining in here (while you are settling in with your fresh weed for the Winter). There's poem by e e Cummings about the scientists who prod and poke the Earth but She "answereth only with Spring". And here we are again receiving that answer.

Happy hunting Emeraldo!

Thanks a bunch @StoneOtter -- great to have you on board!

I am a SLH fan and yours sound superb. Happy hunting!

@Carmen Ray very nice to see you here.

Hybrid vigour is one of the topics I think will come up in this grow. For example, the Super Malawi Haze plants/seeds from ACE showed a lot of hybrid vigor last year. Now even the SLH x SMH seedlings seem to show it as well, even at this stage they are well ahead of the other seedlings. I've read that African genetics aren't present in a lot of the commercial strain gene pool, so cross a Malawi with your favorite Jack and stand back for a beanstalk. Am hoping that occurs with the Durban-Thai x Malawi cross.

Cheers and thanks for stopping by all.

 

[stinker]

Looks like you are off to a great start. I love growing outside.

 

[Emeraldo]

Looks like you are off to a great start. I love growing outside.

Hi @stinker ! Good to see you. Thanks for the moral support, encouragement, optimism, generosity, etc. lol!

You are correct, it's an outdoor grow. Soon they'll all be outdoors 24/7.

During the first 10 days the seedlings were germinated in a room heated to 79F/25C. After soaking for 12 hours in a solution of H2O2, I simply dropped the seeds into rooters. After a few days, the new plant emerged and sent a root out, and I set the rooter into a repurposed water bottle filled with seedling soil with holes poked in the bottom for drainage. After about 10 days, outdoors into a greenhouse during the day (but back in at nighttime at first with temps dropped to around 50F/10C). On really overcast days with no direct sun I even used a grow lamp indoors.

Later I will be re-using last year's soil, as amended beginning in November in several stages over the Spring. pH'd @ 6.3.

But I took a new (for me) approach to seedling soil this time. Last year my seedlings had K def because I had not mixed in accessible potassium. The K in granulated format did not break down quickly. I'd read in Jorge Cervantes' Marijuana Outdoors (at $10 on Kindle an incredible buy for the outdoor grow information it contains) that flowering mixes are often the best food for seedlings, so this year I've been feeding 3-weekers a 3-9-4 a flowering mix I would've usually reserved for flowering plants.

I mixed into a 20 L bag of "germination soil" (containing very little nutrients) the following:
1 cup Dr. Earth "Flower Girl" mix 3-9-4
1 cup fish bone meal 3-18-0
1 cup kelp meal 1-0.5-1.5
5 L perlite

This soil mix gives seedlings the right amount ("not too much") of N, but mostly the ample P and K they need at this stage. Here's a photo from a few minutes ago, these plants are now 3 weeks old and they seem to love it.

3-weekers in repurposed water bottles.

• Emeraldo
• Jun 2, 2023

Clockwise from top: Mimosa Evo, Blue Sunset Sherbert, and the remaining 5 are all Durban-Thai x...

The repurposed water bottles -- cut at about 6" height, with holes punched in the bottom -- give the new tap root lots of room to explore downwards. After a month, I re-potted them into larger and even deeper 10"-ers (see post #3), with new "early veg" soil with more N than the seedling mix. To repot, I half-filled the deeper pot with veg soil, set the plastic bottle/pot in on top to adjust for height, then, taking the bottle back out and using scissors, cut the bottom half-inch of the bottle away. After setting the now bottomless bottle into the new soil, sliced the side of the bottle vertically and pulled the loose plastic off. No damage to the roots occurred.

4-weekers in 10" square pots from nursery

• Emeraldo
• Jun 2, 2023

SLH "O" (fem original from GHS) at 11 o'clock. Three plants are SLH#1 x SMH at 12, 1 and 3...

 

[Carmen Ray]

They're all beautifully healthy specimens. They look like they're loving life. Interesting that Cervantes recommended the flowering mix for seedlings.

 

[Emeraldo]

...Interesting that Cervantes recommended the flowering mix for seedlings.

Jorge's book, Marijuana Outdoors, covers outdoor growing in about six different climates. It has interviews with experienced growers in each climate. The book emphasises the importance of climate and is full of practical cultivating tips.

@Carmen Ray yes I was surprised at first to read that. Cervantes also sounded almost surprised to find flowering food is right for seedlings, he told about an interview with a grower who told him she had gotten great results with that. Since I actually had problems feeding my 3-week old seedlings last year, I am very happy with the response to the 3-9-4 mix, to which I added about 10% bat guano (7-3-0) and 10% blood meal (12-0-0).

Cool weather outdoors today, it's only 17C / 64F, but not in the mini-greenhouse!

Climate in the mini-greenhouse

• Emeraldo
• Jun 3, 2023

On a mostly overcast day with a bit of rain and sun, the outdoor temp is a cool 17C / 62F all...

A "phenotype" is by definition an outward expression, and this seedling looks outwardly very much like its mother, the SLH#2 from last year. The size, the slow growth, the leaves' shape and surface texture. Photo taken yesterday, which was sunny.

SLH#2 x Michka, 02.06.23

• Emeraldo
• Jun 3, 2023

Of the 12 SLH plants, this one most closely resembles its mother, SLH#2 from last year.

Same plant today in the greenhouse.

SLH#2 x Michka: Leaf similarity

• Emeraldo
• Jun 3, 2023

There are two smaller plants that have the skunk aroma.

Two "lemony-skunk" daughters of SLH#2 (2022).

• Emeraldo
• Jun 3, 2023

Funny how it's these smallish, slow growers that have caught my attention this year! Lol. There...

 

[Emeraldo]

Am getting some "haze" and some "lemon skunk" phenos. My working assumption: Shorter plants with wider leaves and that skunky aroma will be the Lemon Skunk phenotype, and there are two in the center of the front row here, one in the second photo

"Group 1" on 06.06.23

• Emeraldo
• Jun 6, 2023

Front row: original SLH far left, with five SLH#2 x Michka; back row 3 SLH#1 x SMH on left with...

SLH#1 x Michka, 06.06.23

• Emeraldo
• Jun 6, 2023

 

[Melville Hobbes]

 

[Emeraldo]

Pheno Analysis: Super Lemon Haze x Michka

Super Lemon Haze = (Super Silver Haze x Lemon Skunk)
Michka = ([Jamaican x Thai x "O Haze"] x Silver Pearl)

The seeds I got by crossing SLH and Michka last year have genetic input from 4 sources. While mathematically I probably have about a 25% chance with any of my seeds of getting a plant that leans specifically toward one of those four, I am monitoring them to see which traits each plant expresses outwardly.

Let's break this mix down into the 4 pheno expressions any one seed off my 2022 SLH plants potentially could show.

I think my two SLH plants in 2022 represented two phenos, meaning SLH#1 leaned genetically towards Super Silver Haze.

SLH22.10.22.jpg

• Emeraldo
• Oct 22, 2022

And I think SLH#2 leaned toward Lemon Skunk.

SLH#2-20.08.22.jpg

• Emeraldo
• Aug 21, 2022

SLH-No.2-08.08.22.jpg

• Emeraldo
• Aug 16, 2022

SLH#2 04.09.22

• Emeraldo
• Jan 23, 2023

SLH #2 lemon skunk pheno branching

IMG_0861.JPG

• Emeraldo
• Jan 22, 2023

I'll still be able to see one of those phenotypical expressions in 2023 because of the one original GHS SLH seed in this current grow. If that original GHS plant is quite tall and grows vigorously with narrow sativa leaf morphology, it may be leaning genetically towards Super Silver Haze. If I find a short, early-finishing SLH plant with short internodes and weak branching, it may be leaning towards Lemon Skunk.

The seeds I harvested off SLH#1 and #2 were made with pollen from two other strains. After all, my GHS SLH seeds were feminized so I could not grow SLH pollen. The whole project is complicated by the fact that I used two SLH phenos to begin with, and then pollinated one of them, SLH#1, with two different strains (Michka and Super Malawi Haze), and the other, SLH#2, with pollen from only one strain, Michka. So to keep this story short, I'm not going to go into what Super Malawi Haze might add to SLH#1 and will concentrate on the simpler case of the seeds obtained by pollinating either SLH pheno with Michka.

The question is what 4 phenos might appear from crossing SLH with Michka?

As a strain, any Super Lemon Haze plant possesses traits from (1) Super Silver Haze and from (2) Lemon Skunk. Any particular SLH plant or seed would potentially show some traits of both SSH and of LS, some of which will be dominant and others recessive.

And as a strain, any Michka plant possesses traits (3) from Jamaican and Thai sativas crossed with a mix of Colombian sativas (Sensi calls the Colombian sativa mix "O Haze"), and (4) from Silver Pearl, an early-flowering indica/sativa. Any particular Michka plant or seed would potentially show some traits of Jamaican/Thai/Colombian and some traits of Silver Pearl, some dominant and some recessive.

Michka 18.07.22.jpg

• Emeraldo
• Jul 18, 2022

Michka is typically quite tall (photo taken in mid-July) and grows vigorously with longish sativa leaf morphology. If I find a short Michka plant with a wide leaf and short internodes, it may be leaning towards Silver Pearl. Sensi states of Silver Pearl (which I've never grown): "[Silver Pearl] stays short and compact with wide fingered leaves and a tight knit".

So I have to correct my post of yesterday (in post #11). In that post, the plant in the second photo on the right is grown from SLH#1 seed and has wide leaves and a low tight knit, and I just assumed it may be the Lemon Skunk pheno. Now I think not. I know what my Lemon Skunk pheno looked like last year (see above) and this is probably not it. The plant in that photo is more likely to be a Silver Pearl pheno. We'll see later this year.

Thank you for stopping by and enjoy your grows!

 

[Carmen Ray]

The plant in that photo is more likely to be a Silver Pearl pheno. We'll see later this year.

shoobedoowah! here's hoping!

 

[Emeraldo]

Ahah! Surprise, surprise. An early first stigma on one of the SLH#2 x Michka plants. (Early Pearl pheno) ...Just when I was expecting this one to be male! "C'est la vie say the old folks, goes to show you never can tell!" -- Chuck Berry

SLH#2 x Michka No. 1 - 18.06.23

• Emeraldo
• Jun 18, 2023

 

[Emeraldo]

Last year I pollinated the polyhybrid Durban-Thai Highflyer x C99 (Fleur du Mal) with pollen from a Malawi (ACE). Am. looking forward to sampling this cross, which I'll call Durban-Thai x Malawi. So far, the plants have grown quite vigorously, definitely Malawi-looking!

Durban-Thai x Malawi1

• Emeraldo
• Jun 25, 2023

IMG_1357.JPG

• Emeraldo
• Jun 25, 2023

Durban-Thai x Malawi2

IMG_1358.JPG

• Emeraldo
• Jun 25, 2023

DTxM 24.06.23

 

[Emeraldo]

Good day, 420 enthusiasts!

I've finally gotten around to up-potting the seedlings in my "mostly Barney's" grow. Some great Barney's seeds were gifted to me this year by a member here. I won't say the name, peeyew! I say "mostly" because four of the five are Barney's, the other was my very last GHS Super Lemon Haze, as noted. Here's the first four, up-potted now from 1L to 30L of soil.

A "mostly Barney's" grow...

• Emeraldo
• Jun 27, 2023

Just call me Al. I can be your long lost pal. I can call you Eddie and we'll get stoned.

Amnesia Lemon

• Emeraldo
• Jun 27, 2023

Just call me AL

AL

• Emeraldo
• Jun 27, 2023

Long-time favourite here. I would say absolute favorite, but am still open to something new. It was my very last SLH feminized seed and has turned out beautifully so far. Am hoping to get some SLH#2 x Michka pollen for her. We'll see...

Super Lemon Haze, feminized by GHS

• Emeraldo
• Jun 27, 2023

SLH

• Emeraldo
• Jun 27, 2023

Here another old favourite, am so happy to grow this one again. The roller coaster ride is a thrill with G13 Haze!

Barney's G13 Haze

• Emeraldo
• Jun 27, 2023

Barney's G13 Haze

• Emeraldo
• Jun 27, 2023

Mimosa Evo, for me a new strain. Looking lanky, very sativa-ish!

Barney's Mimosa Evo

• Emeraldo
• Jun 27, 2023

Mimosa Evo

• Emeraldo
• Jun 27, 2023

And finally, Blue Sunset Sherbert. The only downside to Barney's is sometimes the strain names are a little too long for the available label! I've spotted some pest damage on the leaves, maybe thrips. I've sprayed neem + safer soap to kill that, will keep this one separate from the others for a while...

Barney's Blue Sunset Sherbert

• Emeraldo
• Jun 27, 2023

BSS

• Emeraldo
• Jun 27, 2023

Greetings all! Enjoy your growing!

 

[stinker]

Looking good, Emeraldo! I love growing cannabis outside. Even with the critters. Today I treated my outside plants with NeemAzal, or whats called Azamax in the states. I was seeing leaf miners and a few unknown eggs, probably thrips. I find its a good early cure for alot of pests and a good preventative for flower.
Last week I chopped a G13 Haze, Its pretty strong. It tastes of berry and fuel now.

 

[Emeraldo]

Thanks @stinker I've not tried Azamax but it's probably the same as neem oil mixed with some kind of insecticidal soap, right? I've done 2 applications of neem spread out over 3 days. All the bugs on the leaf undersides have been removed, which was my main issue. The plants are as healthy as can be. Just beautiful genetics from Barney's! yee haw! Am really taken with the Amnesia Lemon's budding growth. And thanks for stopping by.

 

[stinker]

Thanks @stinker I've not tried Azamax but it's probably the same as neem oil mixed with some kind of insecticidal soap, right?

I have used both. The NeemAzal is a refined product. I find it is much better. Andermatt has-

NeemAzal®-T/S​

Against aphids, spider mites, thrips, whiteflies, cherry flies, cicadas, leaf miners, potato beetles, horse chestnut leaf miners, asparagus beetles, asparagus beetles, leaf-eating caterpillars, winter moths and oak processionary moths
The beneficial insect-friendly biological insecticide NeemAzal-T/S contains an active ingredient extract from the kernels of the tropical neem tree. The natural active ingredient penetrates the leaves, is transported within the plant and is taken up by the pests through their sucking and feeding activities. NeemAzal-T/S has an inactivating effect on the pests within a few hours. It can be used for biological pest control on fruit, berries, vegetables, kitchen herbs and ornamental plants.