Hello Fam, @barefootgrow here, im from SouthAmerica and we are just at the stage that we are actually phenohunting and saving moms for prosperity. Ive been in the smoking game enough and have smoked allover.
Regarding your opinion what does it take to be called an Elite cut?
Does rooting stage count?
Must an Elite Cut comply with all A’s? rooting time and dificulty?
I guess we all agree that terps, flavonoids and some decent levels of flower or resin production is needed to be called an elite cut?
Elites are just exception smokes they have been kept and passed around. Most are elites due to hype from some influencer, mostly due to bag appeal these days. Many of them are just bag seeds grown out and kept, given a name and passed around. As far as growth and rooting, many of them are actually kinda weak in that sense. Like OG Kush/ghost takes 2-3 weeks to root a cut, grows very lanky and needs support.
Elite cuts are more about elitism then anything, its really a marketing position for those that hold the cuts to make crazy money off them.
Most elite strains come from bag seeds and have herm issues also.
So what does it take to produce elite cuts? Its taking simple bags seeds finding a frosty plant and then having a great promotional team or bots talking shit 24/7 about some hermie meh strain all over IG, Twatter, and Faceborg.
If you’re asking what do I look for it’s all about the flavour first and foremost.
For commercial growers it’s weight and finish time.
imo there’s two sides of the spectrum to elite cuts… Firstly elites must be sought after, the rarity factor. Elites are either old school classics like the Og’s, Ghost, Chemdog’s, Sour D - or They’re the modern day hype strains Cookies, Project 4516, Gelato, etc.
…and of course as you mentioned, the smoke and bag appeal etc have to check the boxes.
Half the reason they are “elites” is because of rarity. Either can’t reproduce since it’s bag seed and at least one of the parents is unknown, or the seeds were too expensive/rare that any plant out of the pack could be an “elite” if you have some marketing skills. Slurricane is often thought of as an elite clone, since it’s easier and cheaper to get a clone than to get a pack of slurricane seeds from inHouse. So there are several different cuts/phenos being sold. Same with peanut butter breath by pug thug. Hyped to the point that packs of their seeds are being auctioned for over $1000 when they originally sold for 150-200.
That’s the other thing, “breeders” that get such hype and have such an inflated ego that they charge over $150 for 10 seeds. Since they all start doing it, it’s become competitive even at those prices for those new and hyped breeders
Nothing to do with rarity… ANY pheno of ANY genotype can be called rare!
Nothing to do with price or expense, that simply implies how greedy(or not) the seller is.
An elite is whatever you deem it to be because everyone is different. Some like terps some like weight, some like THC content and some like rocks or fluff!
Elite is only what you like as a smoker or your clients like as a supplier!
Take it from CAP himself lol. I think he grew out like 6 of the original seeds and found MAC1. The original OG Kush was one of two seeds I believe. Other plant was used to breed Bubba Kush. One of our favorites of my plants so far came from two seeds I found in a bag of banana kush. Neither one of them tasted like banana, and they’re both better than the bag I found them in. Only one of them successfully rooted and was saved though. If I got someone to hype it, it would be right up there with the some other named Kush elites. She tastes like fruit loops with marshmallows. Her sister (that didn’t get saved ) was more fruity pebbles and bubblegum.
Though I may be a bit of a hypocrite here, I’m a bit of a collector of cuts
Id have to say i agree with all the above. Elite is just something someone found that is good and kept. Hype definately plays a big part. Just plant the seeds and copy the females. Youll have something special “elite” its on you to already have copies of it and make its presence known. But seriously ive seen random plants from many varieties that would bitch smack half the “elite” cuts out there.
I think you have a unique opportunity to actually line breed these “keeper” moms with “keeper” fathers. I wouldnt worry about the Elite part of the cloning world. Focus on producing a unique strain or 5. Onward through the fog…
I’d have to say my stuff puts elite cuts to shame and its never circulated. I have a seed run coming up with some killer crosses for the pheno hunters OG only.
I run the hype seeds sometimes yes to hunt out desired cuts for head stash. But usually after a few runs they phased out try to seed them with good males so those traits and more come back in the latter.
Without lab testing you cant call any cut hype or elite…the commercial market is driven by numbers, specifically THC%, cannabinoid ratios and %. Check out the DjShort potcast about how he chooses future males and females to keep breeding. And check out others that are doing lab testing to choose, then look up how the customers feel about the final products. Lots of smoke reports out there on these breeders and their strains.
More then one way to skin a cat…
My double serrated crunchberry is a bag seed and grows faster, and bigger buds than almost anything I’ve ever grown. Double the yield of other plants grown in the same size container and at the same time. But it lacks density, smell and strength and takes 14 weeks to finish. I’m saving it to breed with.
Everyone has their own interpretation of what an elite cut is. For me personally, this refers to the end product - the flowers/resin. I think “elite” gets thrown about too loosely, lots of hype strains are pushed as being elite when they lack in some areas.
For me personally, an “elite cut” doesn’t refer to the growth habit of the plant itself…ie. rooting time, plant structure, flower time etc. are irrelevant. It’s all about the quality of the final product…I don’t care how great a plant grows if the flowers are “meh”. To qualify as “elite” in my books, the flowers need to be special, and a tier above normal top shelf smoke:
jar appeal: colour, trichome coverage, bud structure
smell and taste: need to both be prominent, as well as desirable and/or interesting/unique.
potency/effects: has to pack a punch and get the job done. Lab %s aren’t the be all end all.
overall smoke quality/enjoyablitity (the grower plays a role in this as well obviously).
Lots of pretty/hype Instagram strains are labelled “elite” and look insane, but are majorly lacking in terps/flavour and sometimes effects. I need to be blown away/wowed in every category to consider a cut to be elite. And a cut usually has to be grown at least twice to get a full and proper assessment.
In my opinion, truly elite cuts/plants are quite rare. So from a breeding and/or pheno-hunting standpoint, it’s very much a numbers game. The bigger the population to select from, the greater chance of finding truly special parent plants to breed with.
Elite cuts. Hahahah all it takes is a salesman. For me growing is about the journey. And if you got skills and a dialed in room you should be able to make any plant shine.
) was more fruity pebbles and bubblegum.
