Strains & products

Leafly Buzz: 12 trending cannabis strains for Green Wednesday and the holidays

Published on November 23, 2021 · Last updated December 1, 2021

Green Wednesday is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving when everyone realizes, ‘Oh man, I have to hang out with my family tomorrow. I better buy some weed.’ So it’s a good time to run down to the store and load up.

The result? The second-largest sales day of the year behind 420—50% more than an average day, according to analysts at BDS Analytics and LeafLink.

During Year Two of the pandemic, we’ve all earned some Me time. Schedule the staycation, because Leafly Buzz #11: Holiday Edition is here.

Independently reported without fear or favor, your weed sommelier highlights the top of the crops west of the Rockies.

Order up. Load a bowl. Set your phone to airplane mode, and inhale. You’re welcome.

leafly buzz data grinder

Data Grinder: Strain trends

Weed strains go up and down in popularity like rappers. Every month is different. Data Grinder breaks it down.

● Gelato 41 ⬆️ +18%

● Strawberry Cough ⬆️ +6.6%

● Wedding Cake +/- 0.0%

● Runtz ⬇️ -8%


Gelato #41

Gelato terps will never go out of style. (David Downs/Leafly)
Gelato terps will never go out of style. (David Downs/Leafly)

Win Thanksgiving with this all-American dessert strain, up 18% month over month in search interest, thanks to its creamy, fruity, sweet dank mix of Sunset Sherbert x Thin Mint Cookies. Gelato #41 comes from breeder Jigga and the Cookies fam. Pair with some philosophical cartoons like The Midnight Gospel.

Strawberry Cough

Strawberry Cough. (DavidDowns/Leafly)
Strawberry Cough. (DavidDowns/Leafly)

An oldie but a goldie finds new friends this month; up 6.6%. Strawberries and hazy grass terps go great with a beach clean-up and your buddies, giggling the whole time. Strawberry Cough is Strawberry Fields x Haze, from an unknown East Coast grower, popularized by celeb grower Kyle Kushman.

Wedding Cake

wedding cake marijuana strain
Wedding Cake from Bay Area CRAFT Delivery. (David Downs/Leafly)

Consummate the evening with a phat slice of America’s number one Cake. 2019’s Leafly Strain of the Year was also #1 in 2021, budding not an inch month over month. The people have spoken and they want sweet, earthy, vanilla cookie terps, plus chest-biting THC. Wedding Cake can be either Animal Mints x Triangle Kush, or GSC x Cherry Pie—it depends.

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Runtz

Ridgleline’s 2021 outdoor Runtz is the way. (Photo by Redwood Country Photos, Courtesy Ridgeline Farms)
Ridgleline’s 2021 outdoor Runtz is the way. (Photo by Redwood Country Photos, Courtesy Ridgeline Farms)

The hype on this Leafly Strain of the Year 2020 cools a bit, but Runtz remains a superb way to get zooted during some well-earned downtime. Zkittlez x Gelato yields syrupy, sweet tropical fruit over thick, dank, creamy cookie—so yeah, it’s good. Especially the award-winning Ridgeline cut.

leafly buzz new strains

New in the strain database, and on shelves

Every month, Leafly adds dozens of the most-searched and most-stocked new cultivars to its strain database. Here are four new heaters.

Zlushi

Zlushi takes super-Z terps and adds Mimosa. (David Downs/Leafly)
Zlushi takes super-Z terps and adds Mimosa. (David Downs/Leafly)

There’s no shame in hogging these top-shelf Zkittlez terps. Tony Mendo and The Original Z team conjure up the olfactory sensation of the original, iconic, frozen treat. The Original Z team tells Leafly that Zlushi is a cross of Z3 x Mimosa. This super tropical hybrid goes great with days or nights.

Carbon Fiber

Get some Phinest+Cannarado Carbon Fiber in your diet. (David Downs/Leafly)
Get some Phinest+Cannarado Carbon Fiber in your diet. (David Downs/Leafly)

Here’s how to disappear completely. Expect deep, dank cookie funk, finishing with grape drank from this new strain. Phinest in California is growing Colorado breeder Cannarado’s clone-only Biscotti x Cookies & Cream x Grape Pie. Carbon Fiber offers new technology to win the space race behind your face.

ZMO

It’s ZMO-time: Tony Mendo's Z3 x GMO. (David Downs/Leafly)
It’s ZMO-time: Tony Mendo’s Z3 x GMO. (David Downs/Leafly)

A Hall of Flowers’ 2021 best in show Tony Mendo and The Original Z team took their Hindu-tinged Zkittlez cross ‘Z3’ to the savory strain of the moment—GMO Cookies. The resulting ZMO keeps things pungent and biting, with that chem stank. The nighttime is the right time for this racy, heavy indica-hybrid splurge.

Violet Fog

Soak up some precious rays on a lazy Sunday under a layer of PDX Organics’ velvety Violet Fog. Fuel, mint, and grape spirit you away, thanks to breeder Compound Genetics’ work with Cannarado.

Compound swirled Khalifa Mints into Cannarado’s Grape Gasoline. Now you know who really controls the weather.


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New on dispensary shelves—Forbidden Runtz by Freddy’s Fuego, WA

Runtz crosses are so hot right now. Tiki Madman’s Forbidden Runtz. (Courtesy Freddy’s Fuego)
Runtz crosses are so hot right now. Tiki Madman’s Forbidden Runtz. (Photo by Just Fuego 360; Courtesy Freddy’s Fuego)

Get cozy, warm, and then a bit naughty with a bite from this complex fruit. Forbidden Runtz from Freddy’s Fuego offers even more fruitier Z terps with a dash of gas and cookies. Bred by Tiki Madman from ​​Forbidden Zkittlez x Runtz. Share a late-night date night joint for the win.

Rocketing up the charts—Beam Me Up Scotti by Insane, CA

Bag game on fleak. Biscotti to back it up. (Courtesy Insane)
Bag game on fleak. Biscotti to back it up. (Courtesy Insane)

Twist up some doinks with your tightest crew members. B-Real from Cypress Hill’s got his own legit Biscotti for your body. That Cookies with a dash of OG depth, courtesy of breeder Jigga and the Cookie fam.

leafly buzz best sellers

Bestsellers

Ballin’ out—Caps Frozen Lemons by Billo, CO

Top-shelf Capulator terps in Colorado. (Courtesy Billo)
Top-shelf Capulator terps in Colorado. (Courtesy Billo)

Lemony fire for deep yoga poses and scary tarot readings. This awardwinning splurge from Billo in Colorado is breeder Capulator’s cross of Freezer Burn x Lemon Fire. Caps Frozen Lemons Tastes of Lemonheads, lemon cleaner, lemon slushie, and haze.

Ballin’ on a budget—Light dep everything by various brands, USA

Grab your jars, the flood’s here. Rimrock Hell’s OG from The Green Cross, SF (David Downs/Leafly)
Grab your jars, the flood’s here. Rimrock Hell’s OG from The Green Cross, SF (David Downs/Leafly)

Grab your jars—the US is awash in affordable light-dep pot. Farmers report wholesale prices are down 60% year over year. The least you can do is stock up and help smoke through the oversupply.

Pre-game Thanksgiving the OG way with bargain cuts of Hell’s OG from Rickrock Farms in Calaveras County, CA. It’s OG Kush x Blackberry for appetite and inner peace.

leafly buzz high note

High Note

We always like to end on a high note. Something from the frontier of THC maximalism.

Fidel’s Hash Hole, various strains, CA

Fidel offers 2021’s infused pre-roll to beat. (via Fidel’s)
Fidel offers 2021’s infused pre-roll to beat. (Courtesy of Fidel’s)

Show up and show out at the holiday function with this beast of an infused pre-roll. Fidel’s Hash Holes in California run average $100 per joint—why? There’s 1 gram of hash rosin running down the center hole of this joint.

And the flowers always feature some primo collaboration, like Golden State Banan Animal Mints x Dolce & Banana and Garlic Cookies x Garlic Truffles. That’s how you end the party on a super high note.

How do I get mentioned in the Buzz?

Just be undeniable. If you’ve got the terps, we’ll find you. Mentions cannot be bought. Each month, Buzz sources include:

  • Trying samples
  • Dispensary shopping
  • Leafly.com traffic data
  • Grower interviews
  • Leafly staff and reader tips

Buzz back issues

Get more fire flower shopping ideas from Leafly Buzzes past

What’s bussin’? Shout out faves in the comments below.

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David Downs
David Downs
Leafly Senior Editor David Downs is the former Cannabis Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. He's appeared on The Today Show, and written for Scientific American, The New York Times, WIRED, Rolling Stone, The Onion A/V Club, High Times, and many more outlets. He is a 2023 judge for The Emerald Cup, and has covered weed since 2009.
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