Siberian

Description

Genetics: Ruderal Siberian Cannabis
Sourcing: Russian Landrace Bureau, Chebarkul, Chelyabinsk, southern Russia
Purpose: n/a
Latitude: 54° N
Harvest: August to September
Height: 1 to 2.5 metres
Aroma: Intense pine, sweet floral, citrus
Characteristics: Very early, quite resinous, very hardy, ‘autoflowering’, CBD
Grow Type: Outdoors, greenhouse, or indoors

A ruderal Siberian accession from a day-neutral (‘autoflowering’) population from Chelyabinsk, close to Kazakhstan. This population neighbours some of the most ancient Asian centres of cannabis culture, namely the Central Asian steppe, once home to history’s original dope fiends, the Scythians.

These plants are something of a mystery. A theory among local people is that they may have originated from seed recently introduced from Kazakhstan. Several characteristics suggest they may indeed be descended from an imported hashish landrace: pink stigmas, domesticated seed syndrome, intense resin, powerful aromas, and definite psychoactivity. Conceivably this population originated as a hybrid between an introduced Kazakh landrace and local Siberian wild-type populations.

Seeds are quite small, silver, and mottled, with somewhat elongated horseshoe bases on some individuals, all of which indicates the presence of ruderal (‘wild’) genetics. Cold-treating is advisable for best results, on which see this ‘Note on germinating wild Cannabis seeds’.

A majority of plants within the population are likely to exhibit chemotypes with a high ratio of CBD to THC, some probably also with high CBD levels per se.

Very fast flowering and very hardy, these plants are well-suited for northern latitudes. See new seeds from a breeding project working this line at 50°N and 1200 metres.

Crucially, note that seeds of ruderal Cannabis typically exhibit highly variable and uneven germination. Do not germinate using nutrient-rich grow media, plastic bags, tissue paper, or other fad techniques found on grow forums. Always follow advice from qualified experts such as horticulturalists and in particular work with real seed compost.

The current seeds are from the first reproduction of the original accession to be made outside Siberia.