Origins and Backstory: This is a rare one, and it was a combination of vigilance and luck that brought a package of seeds into my possession. It is DJ Short’s self-proclaimed Holy Grail of sativa plants. Named F13 as an almost anonymous plant from DJ Short’s floral line (think Flo and others), these seeds are actually an F5 selection. After being unavailable for many years, the man himself released some packs from his personal vault. I got my green thumbs on a pack and germinated them shortly thereafter. I grew out four plants, all of which were female. I first read about this strain in Jason King’s Cannabible. King raves about this one as if it is the greatest weed on earth, and I’ve been intrigued ever since reading his review.
Appearance: These were some of the most visually appealing plants I have grown, and the flowers certainly have a bag appeal as well. The plants had a lot of variation, and were unbelievably beautiful in the garden. I could see these being ornamental someday. Plants were every combination of green and purple you could think of, with some fading toward black at harvest, others displaying neon greens and yellows. The pistils are a bright fire-orange, and the structure of the flowers was either short stacks of calyxes reminiscent of Bubba Kush, or tall stretching foxtails—both ends of the spectrum. There was a lot of variation here in terms of structure/color, but all seemed to pull from the same color palate. Some plants had green flower and purple leaf, others had the opposite, and still others mixed. There really was every combination of colors and structure between the females, but you could easily see they were all sisters. All in all, gorgeous plants. The finished flowers look like skimpier cookies in a bag—they aren’t as chunky as most commercial designer strains, but the color is attractive, and they have a great frost-factor as well.
Aroma: While anyone who has grown DJ Short gear will be able to tell these come from the same pool, they are incredibly unique, and I have never really smelled weed like this before. Up front is the tell-tale velvety, floral, “blue” smell that DJ Short strains exhibit. There are definite musky notes of leather and cologne as well, and strong notes of almost every berry you can think of—blue, rasp, black, and other exotic variants like bilberry and probably others I’m not personally familiar with. There is a sour/tart back-end as well, that makes me think of currants and elderberries. The incense tones and body odor are also pretty strong on my favorite pheno of F-13, with notes of nag champa, patchouli, garlic, and homeless hippy odor. Some phenotypes tilted one way or the other, with some leaning to gummy bears, Flintstone vitamins, geranium, marigold, vanilla, and even rose. The geranium/rose/marigold phenotypes are really fun to smell in jars, but my ultimately-favorite plant has a great balance of all of the aforementioned aromas. It is musty with notes of body odor, eastern incense, sour berries, and flowers. There is a ton of variation in the smell, and I can see why this strain received such mixed reviews over the years. If I hadn’t found my winning and evenly-balanced plant, I’d be disappointed with this strain.
Flavor: Well, this is a strange one! The overall mouthfeel is soft and velvety, but the actual flavor of the smoke is pretty wild. It tastes like a cola-flavored drink, and reminds me of Dr Pepper. I’ve probably had a single can of Dr. Pepper in my life, but this just really tastes like a generic cola beverage with a hint of wood-based incense. It is pretty wild, but unfortunately is not incredibly intense. I recently reviewed Triangle Kush, and have been smoking a lot of Limepop Kush x Sky Jaro—compared to these two, F-13 is muted and subtle. The character of the flavor is definitely unique and interesting, but the lack of intensity is a moderate letdown. If the flavor were as lip-smacking, intense, and lingering as the current cutting edge of American ganja, this would be a popular elite.
Effects: This herb is enjoyable, functional, positive and pleasant. F-13 immediately feels happy and uplifting, with an emphasis on optimism and euphoria. There is a sensation that reminds me of psilocybin mushrooms—this is unfortunately lost if you smoke a lot. F-13 is really best enjoyed in moderation, as I feel the finer points of the smoke are lost to overindulging, and the effect becomes much more generic. The high point of the effect for me is the trifecta of relaxing, psychedelic, and euphoric traits. F-13 emphasizes all three of these things, and is a lovely choice for daytime or morning smoking. It is surprisingly strong, and a little bit can go a long way. If I smoke this on a Saturday or Sunday morning, I just like to take 2-3 hits from a bowl to sail through my morning and brighten the day.
Overall: F-13 is on the more unique end of the spectrum in every category. Unfortunately, I think these plants lack the traits needed to make them popular and commercially viable. After growing these, it is apparent why this has never become a people’s strain, in spite of every aspect of the experience being enjoyable. The aroma and flavor are pleasant, nuanced, delicate, and subtle. The effect could be described similarly—while not lacking in potency, I do think the best traits of the high are lost after smoking heavily. While the plants are incredibly beautiful, none of these factors are appreciated by the market, and therefore are not appreciated by commercial cultivators. While I enjoy smoking this weed and certainly enjoy growing it, it is not something I need to have on my shelf all the time. And on top of all the aforementioned reasons, I might’ve gotten lucky with my single “keeper” phenotype—there was really only one female I had that was worth even considering growing a second time, with each of her sisters basically being fractions of her. For example, imagine an athletic, intelligent, and sociable human with an athletic sibling, an intelligent sibling, and a sociable sibling—only one is the complete package, while the others are all somewhat unremarkable on their own. F-13 is unique enough that I hope it is preserved for the long term in seed, but the gene pool does need to be narrowed down in my opinion, even at F5.