By far, the most difficult strains to grow are landrace strains. This is particularly true for landrace sativas, which can have extraordinarily long flowering times. Today, these strains are some that you’re least likely to find on dispensary shelves. If you’re searching for a challenge or are interested in bringing back some old-school classics, here are ten difficult strains to grow for expert growers.
The Hardest Weed Strains To Grow
Malawi Gold
Malawi Gold is perhaps the rarest cannabis strain in the world. This landrace sativa is fabled to produce colas as long as two feet (60 cm), but it has one of the longest flowering times in the world. This equatorial beauty takes 84 to 120 days to flower. Growing this bud outside of its native environment is especially difficult.
This strain is best suited to a tropical climate and is not appropriate for cool, northern climates. If trying to grow this lady outside of a tropical region, it performs best indoors or in a temperature-controlled greenhouse. If growing indoors, this strain needs some space.
However, this plant thrives outside when grown in the right environment. It also prefers high-quality organic soil as a growing medium.
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Trainwreck
Trainwreck is a strain that can be very powerful, intense, and satisfying for several people due to its high THC levels. The difficulty here lies specifically in the accelerated growth. Growers need a high-yielding, high-maintenance environment. Accelerated growth is combined with thin and tall growth.
It, in particular, can be a big obstacle because the plant can get too close to the grow lights. No doubt, this can easily cause mild burns and deteriorate the quality of the crop. Even low-stress training on the branches is very difficult to implement because the stem often thickens too much. Indoor cultivation from late October to early November is best.
Dr. Grinspoon
In a market dominated by Kush, it can be difficult to find a quality, pure sativa like Dr. Grinspoon. Dr. Grinspoon is a unique strain bred by Barney’s Farm Seeds and named in honor of Dr. Lester Grinspoon. The fascinating thing about Dr. Grinspoon is the strain’s bud structure. Dr. Grinspoon produces bulbous and somewhat sparse, round calyxes. See our full review here.
The plant itself is wispy and thin, often needing support in late flowering. Like Malawi Gold, Dr. Grinspoon has an extraordinarily long flowering time of 90 to 100 days. If growing indoors, this strain will need some serious height management.
Thai
As you may have guessed, Thai is another landrace sativa. Or rather, Thai may represent a family of strains with roots in Thailand. Many cannabis historians suggest that the original Thai strains are now nowhere to be found. However, Thai family strainsthat you do come across are likely to be more difficult to grow.
This strain grows tall and takes well to hot, outdoor environments. Like all landrace sativas, growing this strain indoors will take some careful topping, pruning, and training.
This strain also loves organic soil and compost, meaning that growers will need to give this bud plenty of high-quality, natural food.
Depending on the variety of Thai strains available, flowering lasts anywhere from 65 to 98 days. Chocolate Thai, one of the most popular Thai variants, perhaps takes the longest time to grow.
Headband
Headband is a hybrid variety known for its great difficulty in obtaining good-sized buds. People can waste their time when they do not exactly meet the requirements of the crop. The most difficult thing here is to obtain a constant yield and quality due to the production of small buds.
The main enemies of this hybrid variety are frost, humid climates, or simply humidity. It is best to apply constant sun and heat at all times. Also, 70 days are required for this hybrid variety with relaxing effects, lemongrass aroma, and high THC content to be ready. It is advisable to monitor the crop environment at all times.
ACDC
Some high-CBD strains are finicky, and ACDC is one of them. ACDC tends to be light-sensitive and likes a moderate amount of nutrients, so this delicate lady needs to be grown with an expert hand and lots of care. Rumor has it, ACDC particularly loves calcium and magnesium and this whispy plant will need some propping up during flowering.
Fortunately, this extra attention reaps great rewards. This strain can produce up to 20 percent CBD, making it a great choice for making hemp extracts for CBD therapies. This strain is also often recommended to use as dietary cannabis, in the form of raw cannabis juices and smoothies.
Maui Wowie
Maui Wowie is one of the varieties of Hawaiian islands that can be a great incentive for creativity and relaxation. However, this variety has a big problem, and it is simply a fungus. The rotting of the buds is the Achilles heel of this strain. This problem appears exactly in the middle of the flowering phase.
It is even difficult to detect the signs of this problem when the problem is still solvable. In many cases, this fungus can be seen when the problem is already widespread, and the crop is destroyed. It is best to consider a thorough investigation of this fungus and pay attention to each of the pest’s telltale signs.
Colombian Gold
Back in the 60s and 70s, Colombian Gold represented a departure from the leafy, low-potency, shade-grown brick cannabis that many people were smoking. A throwback for many classic consumers, Colombian Gold is extremely difficult to grow outside of its native environment.
Hailing from Colombia’s Santa Marta Valley, this sativa loves hot, tropical climates. While the flowering time of this strain is fairly long, 75 to 85 days, it blooms significantly earlier than many other sativas on this list. Like other landrace strains, this bud grows vigorously outdoors.
Tall and bulky, Colombian Gold is a little too wild for the indoors. This strain will need pruning for height managementand is best grown in the greenhouse in more northern or southern environments.
Jack Herer
In principle, it is one of the varieties that honors the activist of the same name. Despite being an all-time classic, it is one of the most difficult strains because it requires a lot of light and attention. Things can get out of control when the nutrients are not the most suitable for this strain at all times.
Jack Herer is not the best choice for novices due to the specific specifications of this strain. Many experts claim that it is not best for indoor growing or grow boxes. Even its growth can include long legs quickly, which brings it close to growing lights. Burns from this strain are also very common.
Super Lemon Haze
This variety of Sativa dominance has obtained great popularity due to the results obtained. However, it is one of the most difficult varieties to grow due to its peculiarities. The big problem with this variety is overfeeding. Novice growers can easily produce a nutrient burn.
Super Lemon Haze doesn’t just need the same amount of nutrients throughout its growth. The real difficulty lies in incorporating a greater amount of nutrients at just the right time in each growth stage. Considering that the growth stage is ten weeks, the chances of making mistakes are high. Experience is recommended before approaching the growth of this variety.
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