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The history of Haze weed strains are still somewhat debated and the exact story is unclear even to this day.
Today we are going to have a look at some of the major points in the history of Haze weed strains and will be covering the following:
- The Origin of Haze
- What the Haze brothers did
- Haze in Holland
- Haze Hyrbids
- Neville’s haze – The name sake
- Popular Haze strains available today
The Origin of Haze strains
The exact history of the original haze strains we know today are still a bit hazey (sorry had to be done!) with some debate surrounding the origin of some of the top hazes we have seen.
One thing we know for sure is which of the landrace weed seeds were used to create the iconic haze lines.
Southern American & Asian genetics have always been notably present in the genetics of any haze plant that has been created even up until now.
50 years on these traits can still be seen and tasted in the haze weed strains.
In the 1970s some of these seeds made their way to America and common belief is that they ended up the hands of the “Haze Brothers”.
Two farmers from California who through some breeding created the infamous Original Haze strain which swept through America and to this day still remaining one of the most well known strains all over the world.
What the Haze brothers did
As more and more of the strains from Mexico, the Caribbean and Colombia made its way to America, the casual smokers found this weed was much nicer than what they were used to. This led to them trying their hands at growing some when they found seeds in the buds they were smoking.
Two of these people just happened to be the “Haze Brothers”. After finding their seeds in the more exotic weed they were smoking they created indoor and outdoor greenhouses to work with the strains. They would mostly work with the plants that were stronger and giving more of a euphoric effect.
It is worth noting at this point the brothers were introduced to Sam the Skunkman (creator of skunk #1). They lived in the same neighbourhood and shared a passion for the cultivation and breeding of weed seeds.
The brothers went on to cross two of the Colombian seeds they had acquired and then crossed that with a Mexican sativa to create the first haze strain known to anyone.
It is believed these seeds could be Colombian Gold x Colombian Red. There is still some debate over the exact genetics and different parties have weighed in with different origins.
How Sam the Skunkman helped
Sam the skunkman took it upon himself with his team to try and preseve the genetics of the Haze created by the brothers.
They crossed the Haze genetics from the brothers with strains from South India and Thailand. This created what was known as Original Haze.
Although this plant was Homogenic it was also known to be unstable, Once it had gone through a few generations the differences from plant to plant were very noticeable bringing the birth of Lime Green Haze, Purple Haze, Root beer and many other phenotypes found in Haze weed seeds today.
The Original Haze seeds were sold in America as 100% Sativa plants with energetic effects coupled with a sweet taste. Needless to say this was something farmers were looking for. Even with its longer flowering cycle many farmers took to the Original Haze with many growing it indoors to accommodate for this.
Not long after the seeds went on sale and took America by storm, the Haze Brothers just stopped growing. One went on to become a born again Christian while the other went off to retire in Mexico leaving the rest of the Haze history in other peoples hands.
Haze in Holland
In the early 80s Sam the Skunkman travelled over the Holland and he didn’t go empty handed!
With him he had kilos of seeds he and his team had developed over the year in America. This is a real turning point and catalyst for the hybrids we have today. Skunk #1, California Orange and the Original Haze are some of the more notable strains it is believed he had with him.
Holland in the 80s was the place to be working with cannabis. The legality of weed meant breeders were able to work with cannabis plants in a safe environment. This alleviated a lot of the stress that comes with weed in many places around the world.
Notably, Eddy (The Flying Dutchmen) got his hands on some of the Skunk #1 & Original Haze seeds from Sam the Skunkman.
Having worked together previously on some projects with cultivator’s choice Eddy, took the pure seeds and put a lot of work in to stabilizing them for further sale and breeding capabilities.
Haze Hybrids
Nevile Shoenmakers furthered the development sam the skunkman had started hybridizing Haze strains (Skunk #1 x Haze amongst some others) by creating some of the most exciting and game changing Hybrids we have seen starting with NL#1 x Haze.
Legend has it that Neville had 3 different Haze plants (Haze A Male, Haze B Female & Haze C Male) he had acquired from Sam the Skunkman. It is believed Neville crossed his female Haze strain with a male NL#1 to bring us NL#1 x Haze. This strain was sold for just one year in 1988 by Neville’s renowned seed bank The Seed Bank.
Its no surprise Neville enjoyed working with the haze genetics. He was quoted saying this in one of The Seed Bank’s earlier catalogues:
“Haze is a late sativa from America, widely agreed by experts to be the best pot in the world. Very popular in the 70’s, it nearly became extinct in recent years as growers switched to easier varieties. We managed to salvage a few viable seeds from the last crop grown in America and we have used them to produce some remarkable hybrids. Haze is known for an extreme, almost psychedelic spaciness. The fragrance is complex and deep with a dry flowery perfume over a base of dark leathery animal tones. When used in a hybrid it adds fascinating notes of depth and complexity to the taste, as well as a unique addition to the high. While not for everyone, the most jaded connoisseur will often find haze irresistible.”
The next level of Haze hybrids
Next up came the legendary NL5 x Haze which remains to this day one of the most sought after and pricey seeds on the market.
Not only is NL5 x Haze noted as one of the top strains of all time. It is also the reason we have the strains Super Silver Haze, Nevilles Haze & Mango Haze today.
Following some trouble with the DEA from the work Neville was doing sending these seeds across the world he sold his “Cannabis Castle” where he developed these strains and sold his genetics to the founders on Sensi Seeds.
Neville went on to work with the breeders at Sensi Seeds and further developed the NL5 x Haze into the strain we would see win the Cannabis Cup in 1990, 1993 & 1996.
Sensi Seeds took the development of the Haze hybrids to a new level with Silver Haze. They had managed to cross a pure sativa Haze with a non dominant indica plant. This created a sativa hitting smoke from a more indica looking plant. This changed the game for indoor growers as previously sativas had not been preferable due to their long flowering time as well as tall and skinny growth. This meant lower yields and needing more room which isnt always easy when indoors. The Silver Haze grew faster, smaller and bushier than a pure sativa and gave good yields while still brining the taste and effect of the desired sativa plants.
Neville also had a hand in the creation of Jack Herer, which is to this day still one of the top sativa plants out there. It recreated the desired effects of the early Haze strains.
Although released after Neville left Sensi Seeds, it was from his breeding genetics that the infamous Jack Herer was born.
After Sensi Seeds
During the 90s Greenhouse Seed Company was founded. They started with a couple of coffeeshops which in turn became one of the biggest seed companies in the world. Greenhouse at the time was being run by Arjan with Shantibaba taking care of the breeding. He created strains such as White Widow, White Rhino, El Nino & many more. Much like Neville had done previously the Shantibaba strains were taking the Cannabis Cup by storm winning multiple cups.
At this point Neville had retired from breeding and just had a part in the coffeeshop with Arjan. This didn’t last long and soon after Neville and Shantibaba starting working together. They both selected a female plant each from a crop of over 1000 NL5 x Haze (A) plants. From the selections of each of these the infamous Super Silver Haze & Mango Haze were born.
Neville’s choice led to the creation of Super Silver Haze and Shantibaba’s choice led us to the Mango Haze.
When talking to on the mrnice.nl forum in 2007 Shantibaba had this to say about the breeding selection:
“SSH is just one of those seed F1s that you are guaranteed of finding something great in every packet. Of course it is a small sample but you should have no problems. Consider this, to find the SSH female parent it took Nev over 1000 seeds flowered out over several years. Then doing the progeny test, which ultimately is the only true test of breeding, took a lot of us several attempts to be sure the selection was true . This strain has had alot of breeding work over a lot of years and it is not for no reason that it is so close to so many people worldwide.”
Super Silver Haze is the successful cross of Nevilles Nl5 x Haze crossed with his Skunk x Haze. Super Silver Haze is known around the world and one of the most famour Haze strains to ever be bred. It is no surprise that it managed 3 years in a row (97, 98, 99) of winning the Cannabis Cup Hydro category.
The name sake – Neville’s Haze
While working together at Greenhouse Seed Company Neville and Shantibaba worked on many ventures crossing the 3 Haze varieties. Neville had previously worked with these but only one of them managed to get named after Neville himself. Searching for more and more Haze dominant hybrids they crossed the original Haze C male with an NL5 x Haze Female. This brought us Nevilles Haze. Nevilles Haze was known at the time to be the most haze dominant cross that will perform well indoors under artificial light.
As this strain contains genetics from 2 of the original Haze strains you can get a real mix of phenotypes. Some lean towards the Colombian genetics with others lean towards the Thai genetics and characteristics.
Neville’s Haze is still sold today by Greenhouse Seed Company as well as being bred by many others. Even amongst some of the new hybrids Neville’s Haze is considered one of the stronger and harder hitting strains around.
Some of the most famous Haze strains available today:
Super Lemon Haze – Greenhouse Seed Company
Possibly the most well known Haze strain around today. Super Lemon Haze has always been a big hitter within the Cannabis industry. Looking more likely that it will be another famous Haze strain to stand the test of time.
Super Silver Haze – Greenhouse Seed Company
Where would we be without this wonderful strain? Probably in a word with less of the amazing Haze strains we have today. Super Silver was the beginning of a lot our favourite Haze strains available today.
The Haze hybrid. As you can tell from the price of this strain, the NL5 x Haze still holds its value 30 years on from its creation. One for all the collectors out there.
It swept the globe starting the trend of the hugely popular purple weed. It paved the way for some of the more funky purple strains developed over the years.
Amnesia Haze was gifted to the world on a commercial level by the great Soma Seeds. This strain can be found all over the world from the coffeeshops in Amsterdam to dispensaries all over America.
G13 Haze – Barney’s Farm Seeds
G13 Haze is a definite favourite of ours. Always one to look out for on our trips over to Amsterdam. Giving us a bit of a switch up from the well known Amnesia Haze. G13 packs a heavy hitting high with great flavour profiles to match.
We hope you enjoyed this look into the history of Haze – If you have any questions or comments please feel free to post a comment below.
