White Widow

Sold as flower, White Widow is the Dutch hybrid that Leafly says Green House Seeds first bred in the Netherlands during the 1990s. AllBud says the name comes from buds blanketed in white crystals.

Shantibaba and a 1995 Cannabis Cup

Wikipedia credits Shantibaba (Scott Blakey) with creating and developing the strain during his time at the Greenhouse Seed Company, and records a Cannabis Cup win in 1995. It also cites Popular Science magazine, which counted White Widow among the most popular strains in the world. After Shantibaba took his genetics over to Mr. Nice Seedbank, Wikipedia says, the original White Widow was renamed Black Widow.

From Brazil and South India

Leafly, AllBud and Wikipedia all trace White Widow to a Brazilian sativa crossed with a South Indian indica. Leafly describes the Brazilian parent as a landrace and the Indian one as heavy in resin, and both Leafly and AllBud give the split as 60% sativa and 40% indica. Wikipedia calls the result a balanced hybrid of indica and sativa. The labels themselves are unpacked in our indica vs sativa vs hybrid guide.

Weeds, rap and 4,657 Leafly ratings

AllBud says White Widow has been known since the early 1990s and that the TV show Weeds and references in rap spread its popularity. Leafly calls it one of the best-known strains in the world and shows 4.3 from 4,657 ratings, and AllBud’s users rate it 4.5 from 132 votes.

The Widow family tree

Wikipedia lists White Russian (a cross with AK-47), Blue Widow (with Blueberry) and Moby Dick (with Haze) among its offspring, and Leafly adds White Rhino and Black Ice. Steven De Guzman’s tip in our White Widow guide is to try two of them side by side: White Russian, which smells sweeter and skunkier, and White Rhino, a cross with a North American indica that leans earthy and hashy.

Flowering time and training

Leafly’s write-up puts flowering at 8 to 9 weeks, while its grow tips say about 60 days indoors. Those tips say the plant suits sea of green and screen of green training, with moderate feeding and watering to keep mildew down and protect the flavour.