Origins and Backstory: A collaboration of two exceptional breeders, Cherry Royale is a play on Cheese Royale from Pulp Fiction (or Royale w/ Cheese…?). A cross of the famed Royal Kush and Mean Gene’s Cherry Limepop, there’s really no way to lose here. These two varieties are proven outdoors, equally full of color and aroma, and certainly not lacking in effect. A friend purchased these seeds and generously gifted me a portion of the pack to look through. I felt obliged to breed with them, and so I made many F1 outcrosses as well as F2s with my favorite female of the bunch.

Appearance: These are really beautiful plants, especially when grown outdoors and subjected to varying temperatures. My plants finished in October with reds, purples, violets, greens, and yellows all present to some degree, parts of the plant looking like a package of skittles the color is so diverse. Buds are dense and well-formed, and the plant itself has a sturdy structure with relatively low leaf-to-calyx ratio. In fact, the only plant that was more eye-catching in the garden this year was Pyxy Styx, due to her exceptionally dark and purple coloring, bordering on black at times. Royale with Cherries was only slightly eclipsed by this plant, but she was stunning in October exhibiting purples, blues, reds, yellows, and of course many shades of green—truly a full spectrum of color and vibrancy!

Aroma: Absolutely my favorite aspect of this weed, Royale with Cherries is packed with aromatic sensation. Diverse and complex, I will do my best to describe some of the subtleties. Royale with Cherries pulls notes from both parents. Fairly reminiscent of Royal Kush, there are notes of fuel, skunk, and rubber. I would say the aroma is funky and “dank” more than fruity, although some sweeter fruit tones are present as well. There are fruity notes that are enjoyable and very present, yet vague at the same time—is it grape? Cherry? Hard for me to say, and seemingly shifting at times.

Flavor: Mouth-coating and pleasurable, like a sweeter and fruitier Royal Kush. My mouth is coated in skunk, gasoline, and “dank” flavor, while the vague fruitiness is also secondarily present. There are burning rubber notes as well, pushing the whole petrol vibe, yet remaining sweet with the kind of candied grape/cherry generic fruitiness with it too. Like a remixed Royal Kush.

Effects: At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is not all that much unlike Royal Kush! This is mellow and relaxed, great for a day on the beach or staring across mountain views. It’s a warm effect which blankets the consumer with a sense of ease, well-being, and peace, and is somewhat euphoric too. The happy and relaxed vibes are an ideal combo, and part of what most of us really love about ganja to begin with. Personally, I think that sometimes euphoric weed has a place—sometimes relaxed weed has its place—but most often, it is the varieties that can emphasize both euphoria and low-stress feelings that I appreciate the most. For effect alone, this was my personally favorite plant of the season.

Overall: One of my favorites from the outdoor season, Royale with Cherries is a unique and enjoyable variety. Featuring some of my favorite traits of Royal Kush, smoking Royale with Cherries is simultaneously both nostalgic and novel for me. The aroma, flavor, and character of effect that I associate with Royal Kush are all here, but with added nuance and detail. The colors on the plant and finished flowers are truly stunning, and I imagine the flowers in an indoor garden would be incredibly resinous, colorful, and beautiful. The structure is nicely dense, with a relatively easy trim. However, my favorite aspects of this plant are really the aroma and effect. The smell is almost intoxicating in itself; maybe this is because it is so clearly recognizable as a relative of Royal Kush, which I have always thoroughly enjoyed. However, the added fruit tones and sweetness are great compliments to the funky, skunky, gassiness of Royal. I’d love to look through more of these seeds as well as see them in an indoor setting. I believe the F2s I made, as well as the F1 with the Pyxy Styx mom, will be really worth running.

Origins and Backstory: Grown indoors by my friend @beneath_the_dirt, I gifted him these seeds after I acquired them from @freebornselections. The 707 Headband was used, in contrast to Loompa’s or the Underdawg OG. I believe Meangene used the SCDK to pollenate a variety of plants, and I have some of the other crosses of the Sky Cuddler Double Kush.

Appearance: The plants and flowers are reminiscent of Headband, clearly exhibiting many traits from their mother. However, the plants are more vigorous than Headband, higher yielding, and the buds are much beefier. No purple or blues arise even in cold temperatures, and these plants remain a strong healthy green with vibrantly-orange pistils all the way to harvest. As can be seen in the photos, there is no lacking of cola buds here! The plants grow large with massive, thick, and towering floral structures—potential home defense items in a pinch! Seriously though, the yields and structure are quite impressive. These plants offer robust frames that fill out with massive buds, relatively easy to trim.

Aroma: Again, resembling mostly Headband, these plants are stinky and skunky, with some sweetness. Skunk, gasoline, and sweet burning rubber are prevalent, but none jump to the fore of consciousness. The WD-40 and melon notes, characteristic of SCDK, are sadly missing. Rather than combining in a novel way, it seems that Headband aromas dominate the cross. I am not complaining about it, but nothing was really added to the Headband aroma via SCDK. To be very honest, it does not seem quite as profoundly heady as Headband either—some of the nuance and character is lost, and these just smell slightly more generic than the 707 Headband clone to me (although to be fair, it has been years since I have seen or smoked 707HB). This is classically dank weed, skunky, funky, burning rubber and nasty feet—but I was hoping for a bit more terp “pop” that I am accustomed to getting from Meangene.

Flavor: Following in the aroma’s footsteps, this is classic dank weed. The flavor is relatively intense, and the mouth is coated in that sweet skunky, gassy, burning rubber, acrid flavor that most smokers know well and associate with OGs or Headband. The burning rubber and a sense of asphalt or some kind of artificial, petroleum-based product is notable.

Effects: Similar to Headband, but somewhat reminiscent of GMO—odd, because this same grower had GMO and Donny Burger in his garden. The effects are indica-dominated, not quite as heady as headband, but more chill, relaxing, and “down.” This weed is for low-energy activities indoors, at least in my estimation. I imagine this could be quite effective for physical pain management, but is lacking some of the euphoria that I personally love to experience from ganja. Primarily, Headband x SCDK is sedating, numbing, sort of dumbing, anxiolytic, and relaxing. Great for a night in, but keeping on theme, missing some character.

Overall: Overall, this cross was really dominated by the Headband. Headband’s influence can be seen in the appearance and growth characteristics, and even more profoundly in the aroma and flavor. I love Headband, but it does seem like some of Headband’s finer points and subtleties are lost in this cross. The aroma is dank but not quite as enticing as pure Headband; I feel the same about the flavor and effects. All of it is good, and it’s not lacking in anything I can put my finger on, other than the unique, kind of mind-boggling factor that I so frequently experience with @Freebornselections seeds. If you are a commercial cultivator, these plants could be incredible for you. Due to the impressive structure and yields, these could also be a building block for a breeding program—a few off-the-beaten-path terps thrown in, maybe some color or some other factor, and all the sudden I think there could be something special produced from these. That said, I personally will be moving onto other terpene monsters from Meangene.