50 years on, the Orange weed strains legacy lives out loud
Orange weed strains have grown massively in popularity since they were first introduced many decades ago. It’s now 50 years since the story of Orange weed began. It’s an adventure which started with a 1970’s Dutch Passion road trip to California before the genetic journey took a turn to Europe. The legacy for lovers of connoisseur quality cannabis is the legendary Orange family of cannabis seeds. These represent the finest cannabis strains which feature the delicious array of citrus flavours.
1970’s: The Californian mythical citrus-scented cannabis cultivars
Although Dutch Passion were not formally established until the 1980’s the founder, Henk van Dalen, was a passionate cannabis lover and grower back in the 70’s. In those days weed was arriving in Amsterdam from all corners of the world, including California. Some legendary Cali weed arrived with some of the sweetest citrus flavours that many had ever experienced. The seeds were collected - in the days before feminised seeds, weed was often bought and sold with seeds in it.
These seeds were added to the early Dutch Passion seed collection. Many of these irreplaceable early genetics are still in the deep freeze. A Californian road trip gathered more Orange genetics and the reputation of cannabis with mouth watering citrus flavours was born. One such original is Californian Orange, it’s a very high THC strain which uses these USA West Coast genetics. It’s a 50/50 indica/sativa hybrid with genetics which date back to the ‘80s and is still a best seller today.
1980’s: From Cali to Amsterdam, the Orange Bud saga is born
As well as some great USA cultivars which combined a great high with delicious citrus flavours, European breeders were also busily looking for the best orange genetic lines. During the early 1980’s Dutch Passion conducted an extensive skunk breeding project.
One fast blooming Skunk stood out from literally hundreds of others. She had a fast 8-week bloom time, ultra-powerful sativa buds and a unique aroma/taste of freshly picked sweet ripe oranges. Once stabilised, this became the now-legendary Orange Bud which went on to become a multiple cannabis cup winner. Orange Bud is a proven cornerstone variety used for breeding many other prize winning, fine quality strains. When Orange Bud was crossed with Sweet Pink Grapefruit, Passion Fruit was created. Passion Fruit is another cannabis cup winner with sweet, sour, orange and citrus aromas.
2015: Orange Hill Special wins at the Highlife Cup
As the popularity of orange strains continued, Dutch Passion worked on a stable hybrid created by crossing the legendary Orange Bud with original Californian Orange. These two stars of the Orange weed world combined to give Orange Hill Special. This exceptional cross is possibly more potent than either parent. With THC levels up to 25%, Orange Hill Special qualifies for exclusive membership of Dutch Passion’s Extremely High THC seed collection and took home a trophy at the 2015 Highlife Cup. Cannabis doesn't get much stronger! Orange Hill Special is available in regular and feminised cannabis seeds
2017: Auto Orange Bud, a new cornerstone cannabis strain
The breeding project that created Auto Orange Bud was given sufficient time to allow a particularly detailed and lengthy breeding project. It began with a clone of our original Orange Bud mother plant before being converted into autoflowering format. The result was the spectacular Auto Orange Bud. She is the only other Orange strain which qualifies for the Extremely High THC seed collection (alongside Orange Hill Special) with THC levels around 25% in optimised conditions. The intensely strong sativa buds are ready to harvest around 10-11 weeks after germination. Fans of high potency autoflower seeds should not miss out on Auto Orange Bud!
2018: Auto Critical Orange Punch makes the High Times Top-10 strains list
One of Dutch Passion’s more affordable Orange strains is Auto Critical Orange Punch. She was created by crossing Orange Punch with Auto Kritical Bilbo. The careful selection and breeding process gave a truly special result known as Auto Critical Orange Punch.
Not only is she as easy to grow as the rest of the Orange strains, but Auto Critical Orange Punch made it to the highly prestigious High Times Top 10 Strains of 2018. Many top quality photoperiod strains were edged out of this list by Auto Critical Orange Punch!
The High Times judges loved the chunky aromatic buds, the exhilarating high and of course the delicious citrus taste. The photoperiod feminised seed version, Critical Orange Punch is every bit as good as the autoflower version!
The ongoing success of Orange strains and the consistently powerful THC levels across all the various strains are not a coincidence. They are due to the inherent quality and stability of Orange cannabis genetics. One other important reason for Orange strain popularity is their ease of growth. Whether you opt for photoperiod feminised seeds or autoflower seeds you can expect an uncomplicated grow experience, heavy yields and a strong, stress-busting cannabis with a refreshing citrus taste.
2020’s and on: The Orange weed strains legacy lives out loud
Some 50 years after it all began, Orange weed strains are more popular than ever. The boom in home growing and the love of fresh fruity flavours has appealed to generation after generation of growers. Great quality cannabis genetics never go out of fashion!
Growers simply can't go wrong with cannabis seeds from the heavy yielding Orange family. They are famously easy to grow, proven over many decades with multiple cannabis cup wins and are a solid choice for any quality-conscious grower. The rich cannabinoid content and mouthwatering terpene profiles mean these cannabis seeds will remain popular for many more decades to come.
Get your Orange Family cannabis seeds here and enjoy some of the most delicious weed you have ever grown!