White Russian Feminized Seeds

White Russian is an indica-dominant feminized hybrid, a cross of AK-47 and White Widow with a sweet, fruity aroma and notes of citrus and spice. Serious Seeds, which bred it, calls it its most typically indica strain, though it says the high is more cerebral than numbing. It won the 1996 High Times Cannabis Cup, and it flowers in about 8 to 9 weeks indoors.

History & lineage

White Russian was created by Serious Seeds, the seed company Simon founded in Amsterdam in 1995. Serious describes it as a stable cross of its original AK-47 and the famous award-winning White Widow clone of the 1990s, and puts the more cerebral side of its high down to the White Widow. Serious calls it mostly indica; Leafly lists it as sativa-dominant.

It made its name straight away. Entered by the De Dampkring coffeeshop, White Russian won both the overall Cannabis Cup and the Bio Cup at the 1996 High Times Cannabis Cup, and it placed 2nd in the Hydro Cup the following year. Both parents have Cup records of their own: White Widow, one of its parents, won the 1995 High Times Cannabis Cup (Green House’s entry), and AK-47 placed 2nd in the Indica Cup at the 2003 High Times Cannabis Cup and 3rd in the 2011 Hybrid Cup (Serious Seeds’ entries).

Aroma & flavour

Serious Seeds describes the taste and aroma as sweet, fruity and slightly floral, with notes of citrus, including a bit of orange, and spicy flavours. Leafly calls it extremely fragrant, with fruity, sweet and skunky aromas, and its users most often report earthy, sweet and pungent flavours, followed by woody and citrus. In a grow report on Serious Seeds’ site, the grower noted a strong honey aroma in the flowers and a smooth, full-bodied sweet taste. Leafly’s lab data lists myrcene, caryophyllene and pinene as its leading terpenes; our guide to cannabis terpenes explains what they add.

Effects, as users report them

Those are Leafly users’ reports for White Russian as a strain, most common first. Serious Seeds describes a very strong, long-lasting high that is more cerebral than numbing. Dry mouth and dry eyes are the downsides users mention most, and smaller numbers report dizziness, paranoia or headaches. Serious Seeds gives White Russian about 22% THC, and Leafly’s strain data puts it at about 21%; Leafly advises new consumers to take caution because of its potency, so if you are new to cannabis, start with a small amount.

Growing White Russian

White Russian is a feminized photoperiod: it grows leaves until the light drops to 12 hours a day indoors, or until the days shorten in late summer outdoors. Serious Seeds gives 53 to 63 days of flowering, about 8 to 9 weeks, and a mid-to-late October harvest outdoors in the Northern Hemisphere. Our seed-to-harvest timeline shows how that fits a whole grow.

Serious describes fast-growing, medium-sized plants that are not too leafy, with dense, very resinous tops that are easy to manicure; crystals start to appear after about five weeks of flowering. Expect indoor yields around 350–500 g/m² (about 1.1–1.6 oz/ft²); data sheets for other White Russian seed lines list about 500–600 g (about 18–21 oz) per plant outdoors. In a grow report on Serious Seeds’ site, four indoor plants finished at 80 to 90 cm (about 2.6 to 3.0 ft). Serious says it is very popular for outdoor growing in Spain, France, Italy and California. The same report notes a strong smell even in the vegetative stage, so plan for odour control early; our guide to controlling grow smell covers the options. Judge when to harvest by the trichomes rather than the calendar.

Is White Russian right for you?

Questions buyers ask