Northern Lights Skunk Feminized Seeds

Northern Lights Skunk is an indica-dominant feminized cross of Northern Lights and Skunk #1, 80% indica and 20% sativa, with a skunky, sweet taste. It pairs two of the most widely used parents in modern cannabis breeding, and more than one company sells the pairing. It flowers in about 8 to 9 weeks indoors and is listed at up to 19% THC.

History & lineage

Northern Lights Skunk brings together two old names. Leafly says Northern Lights was made from Afghani and Thai genetics, and Sensi Seeds says it is thought to have originated in the States before being taken to the Netherlands; Leafly adds that it has given rise to famous hybrids such as Shiva Skunk and Super Silver Haze. Skunk #1 grew out of Sacred Seeds’ late-1970s Skunk work in California, built from Colombian, Acapulco Gold and Afghan genetics, and Leafly says it has been parenting a horde of Skunk crosses since it first bloomed.

Both parents have Cup records. Skunk #1, one of its parents, won the first High Times Cannabis Cup in 1988 (Cultivators’ Choice’s entry), and a Northern Lights entered by Bluebird placed 2nd at the 1992 High Times Cannabis Cup. Other breeders have made the same pairing: Sensi Seeds’ Shiva Skunk, for example, is a Northern Lights #5 × Skunk #1 cross.

Aroma & flavour

Expect a skunky taste with a sweet edge. Leafly has no page for this exact cross, so its parents are the best guide to the smell: Leafly users most often report skunk, earthy and pungent flavours in Skunk #1, and earthy, pine and sweet flavours in Northern Lights. Leafly’s lab data lists myrcene as the most abundant terpene in both parents; our guide to cannabis terpenes explains what it adds.

Effects, as users report them

Leafly has no user reports for this cross, so these are Leafly users’ reports for Northern Lights, one of its two parents, most common first. Skunk #1 users most often report feeling happy, euphoric and relaxed, and a cross won’t always feel like either parent. Dry mouth and dry eyes are the downsides reported most for both parents, and paranoia is among the more reported ones for Skunk #1. Leafly’s strain data puts Northern Lights at about 18% THC and Skunk #1 at about 17%. Effects vary with the person and the dose, so if you are new to cannabis, start low.

Growing Northern Lights Skunk

Northern Lights Skunk is a feminized photoperiod plant: it stays in vegetative growth until the light drops to 12 hours a day indoors, or until the days shorten outdoors. Expect about 55 to 65 days (roughly 8 to 9 weeks) of flowering indoors and an October harvest outdoors in the Northern Hemisphere. Our seed-to-harvest timeline shows where that sits in a whole grow.

Leafly rates its Northern Lights parent as easy to grow and short, with a high calyx-to-leaf ratio that makes for easy trimming. Plants of this cross run about 100–130 cm (3.3–4.3 ft), and bending the stems with low-stress training keeps the canopy flat. Expect indoor yields around 350–450 g/m² (about 1.1–1.5 oz/ft²) and up to about 450 g (16 oz) per plant outdoors. Outdoors, a Mediterranean or temperate season that runs into October suits it. Keep air moving through the canopy and humidity under 50% in late flower, and check the trichomes to decide when to harvest.

Is Northern Lights Skunk right for you?

Questions buyers ask