Strawberry Amnesia Grow Report: Haze's getting fruity!

Text & Fotos: Green Born Identity – G.B.I.

Playing guessing games

"Prize question: What happens if strawberry meets cedarwood and incense?", The Doc recently asked me. With that question the old grow veteran could hardly have referred to the latest Gucci or Armani perfume, that much was obvious. No, his question revolved around a cannabis strain of course and made me frantically wonder which strain stands for strawberry and which for cedarwood and incense… Oh, sure thing! Strawberry Cough meets Haze! Haze in the form of Amnesia, namely – The Doc, a big fan of Dinafem since a couple of years, must have meant their Strawberry Amnesia strain.

"Bingo! You hit the bull's eye, Geebi", The Doc laughed, "And guess what? This variety is on the homestretch in my grow room right now, you should pass by next week to take some photos." As a matter of course, I didn't need to be told twice to do so. In the meantime, I informed myself about Strawberry Amnesia. Dinafem enthuses about an "unforgettable perfume", characterised by Haze overtones combined with hints of fruit.

Indeed, giving that bitter-sweet haze aroma a fresh fruit infusion seemed a very appealing, exotic idea to me. Needless to say that only original first-hand genetics were used to create Strawberry Amnesia, Original Amnesia x Original Strawberry Cough, two exceptional premium sativa varieties. Which, crossed with one another, gave birth to a sativa-dominant plant, too, of course. Accordingly, Dinafem describes Strawberry Amnesia as a plant with potentially exuberant growth that may require taming by means of training techniques such as trimming or bending.

Unforgettable perfume, characterised by Haze overtones combined with hints of fruit.

Alternatively, gardeners may keep her in the veggie stage for no longer than three weeks and thus prevent her from growing into a real sativa beast. Above-average fertilization is needed to tap her full potential as her vigorous growth goes along with a "hearty appetite" for nutrients. With 65-70 days, flowering times are very moderate for such a sativa-dominant variety, the more so because Strawberry Amnesia plants are able to produce copious 625 grams per square metre within this period of time. Dense resin-drenched buds with an exotic flavour are the final result.

A slender Sativa with a heady perfume

Fueled by a THC count of about 20%, this weed delivers a shot of mood-boosting sativa energy, clear and euphoric, causing a blissful feeling. A kind of feeling that also outdoor growers in Mid Europe can experience – maturing from mid to end of October under natural light, Strawberry Amnesia is a good outdoor performer, too, preferably in a protected environment though. Under optimum conditions, she can reward the grower with yields of 700-1100 grams per plant. The two Strawberry Amnesia seeds The Doc had entered into the grow race (together with four other varieties) sprouted in a mere two days, proving to be the fastest out of the blocks.

Early growth revealed very short internodal spacing which in view of the strain's sativa nature came as a surprise to The Doc. When he started to trigger the plants into flowering after two weeks (he didn't want to pinch the plants or bend them down), their height was 16 and 18 cm only. But a lot of side branch onsets were emerging from the axises already, and The Doc had no doubts that the plants would rocket upwards in the flowering stage.

This exactly was going to happen then, in the course of the first four weeks of flowering, the lateral branches popped out of the axises like cruise missiles and were soon decorated with ample early flower formations bearing the promise of a real bud explosion. One of the plants displayed somewhat stronger horizontal growth than the other, but their growth and blooming pattern was basically the same: After seven weeks of flowering, a splendorously big and dense head bud sticked out of the centre, further down surrounded by 10-12 lateral branches lined with fat tops.

Top-quality crops in record time

Reported The Doc, "flower production is in full swing, with the plants boasting numerous clunky buds covered with a most appealing resin blanket. They also have a high calyx-to-leaf ratio and I am impressed how dense and tight they are at this point already. Their rich aroma profile is hallmarked by precisely the notes stated by Dinafem, with a pronounced haze scent in the foreground, refreshingly countered by a sweet fruit infusion.But there are still a few weeks left on the road to maturity, I am hoping for a spectacular finish…"

Well, spectacular was quite the right word for what happened in the end – the buds of both the plants swelled further upwards and outwards, their mouth-watering odour became even more intense and the resin glands abundant, with the most resinous buds to be found below the head bud. The final height score was 46 and 51 cm, so also in terms of height, the plants had proven to be pretty homogeneous.

There was a slight difference though in the time they took to fully ripen: one of the plants was ripe after already 63 days - even two days earlier than officially stated - while the other one needed 70 days which precisely hit the end of the maturity window. With regard to those thick hard buds, The Doc had envisioned an excellent dry yield outcome, but what the weighing process revealed to him a few weeks later then, even exceeded his high expectations: together, both plants tipped the scales at amazing 223 grams which made The Doc glowingly laud Strawberry Amnesia:

"Now this is an absolutely outstanding result! I cannot recall a case of strain cultivation where plants of such a comparatively low height did achieve such an opulent yield, clearly more than a hundred grams per plant, really wicked! And then the buds have this most enticing flavour… which also in dry condition has kept its aroma dualism, making Haze aficionados cheer, but also attracting fruit loving cannabists."

Time for tasting!

After he had put half a gram of Strawberry Amnesia into his Mighty vaporizer, The Doc got the psychoactivity and flavour test started. When he pleasurably sucked the vapor in, the sweetish air stream dazzled the taste buds in his mouth. Like a streaming river leaving sediments on its way, the Strawberry Amnesia aroma stream seemed to deposit flavouring substances on The Doc's palate that made for an intense aftertaste. But while the weed's fruity sweetness was dominant on the inhale, the very persistent hazey aftertaste displayed earthy and musky notes with a tinge of black pepper.

Already while reflecting on these flavour sensations, The Doc noticed that a fresh sativa breeze was about to blow through his head. Shortly afterwards, that typical breezy cheerfulness of an intense sativa flash came over him and after a few more hits grew into a real wave of euphoria. It was only fitting then that the sun came out of the clouds outside, and The Doc spontaneously decided to talk a walk in the park, with the vaporizer in his coat pocket.

There it was again, that feeling of floating lightness, of also mentally soaring in higher regions that he likes so much about top-quality sativa strains. It carried him several hours, on the way revived through more vaporizer hits. The Doc's conclusion: "With Strawberry Amnesia, Dinafem has pulled another high-class strain out of the hat that is not only extremely productive, but also possesses an exquisite flavour and delivers sunny sativa fuel of the highest order. Stop moping around the house – this strain, literally, gets you going and throws a party in your head."

Green Born Identity – G.B.I. Cultivation data:

• Genetics: Strawberry Amnesia (OG Amnesia x Strawberry Cough)
• Vegetative stage: 2 weeks (after germination)
• Flowering stage: 63 and 70 days / 65-70 days in general
• Medium: Plagron Grow Mix-Erde, 11 litre pots
• pH: 6.2-6.6
• EC: 1.2–1.8 mS
• Lights: up to 12 x SANlight S4W = 1680 watts
• Temperature: 18-27°C
• Air Humidity: 40-60%
• Watering: manually
• Fertilisers: Organic Bloom Liquid from Green Buzz Liquids
• Stimulatoris/Aditives: More Roots, Humin Säure Plus, Big Fruits, Fast Buds and Clean Fruits from Green Buzz Liquids
• Height: 46 and 51 cm
• Yield: 223g (together)