Sour Diesel strain: every version compared

Which Sour Diesel should you grow?

The right Sour Diesel comes down to space, patience and how hard you want the fuel nose, and the table above has the figures.

Photoperiod or autoflower? Photoperiods give the full plant, run on a timer across 63–70 days of bloom, and list THC 19–26%. Autoflowers finish on their own clock from seed over 56–84 days, at 17–26%, so strength is much the same either way. For a first grow, an auto spares you the light timing.

Feminized or regular? Feminized packs grow out all-female, so there are no males to pull before they pollinate the room. Reserva Privada's regular Sour Diesel is here too, for breeding or taking cuttings.

Sour Diesel photoperiod (feminized and regular)

The photoperiod versions are the full Sour Diesel: kept on 18/6 until you are ready, then switched to 12/12 to bloom, which repays the effort in a full plant. Flowering runs 63–70 days, with listed THC 19–26%. Heights are listed at 120–160 cm.

Sour Diesel autoflower

The Sour Diesel autos finish on their own clock, no flip to time: handy for a pungent sativa you would rather not fuss over. There are 8 autos here, and they keep the sharp, fuelled Sour Diesel character: Herbies call theirs a proper wake-and-bake. Seed-to-harvest times run 56–84 days, so read that figure carefully, as the spread is wide. Heights are listed at 120–160 cm, much the same as the photoperiods. Listed THC on them runs 17–26%, right alongside the photoperiods. Breeders cross in an auto line (Ruderalis, a Super Auto, Haze 2.0 Auto or Super Skunk Auto) to set the clock, some adding Northern Lights or Haze. For a first grower who wants Sour Diesel without a light schedule, begin with the autos.

How Sour Diesel grows

Sour Diesel's nose is the first thing to plan for. The fuel-and-diesel nose is the whole appeal and the whole problem: Cali Connection say theirs is noticeable from a kilometre off and no friend to a household without a carbon filter, and Barney's and Herbies both tell you to plan a filter for the pungency. If you share walls with anyone, that matters from the day you germinate, not the day the smell arrives.

She is a sativa at heart, so patience is part of the deal. The photoperiods and the slower autos run long: Barney's and Cali Connection both list theirs at 70 days in flower, and Herbies' auto is a genuine wait, listed at 82 days from seed. That sativa lean also means height: Fast Buds tell you to manage it early and the aroma throughout. Heights across the family run 120–160 cm, so check the height on your version and plan the headroom.

Dinafem say their auto's airy structure and slim, sativa-style leaves make her less prone to humidity trouble and mould; it is listed at 160 cm and 70 days from seed. Seedkeepers' auto is listed at 56 days from seed and 120 cm, and Seedkeepers say it does better still under full sun. So the Sour Diesel job is the smell first, then the long flower on the sativa cuts, then the height. Do that and the sharp, energetic character arrives as described.

Where Sour Diesel comes from

The best-known telling crosses Chemdog 91 with Super Skunk: the combination behind the sour, fuelled, skunk-edged nose the type is known for. Breeders word it a few ways: a '91 Chemdawg over a Super Skunk and Northern Lights line, a Super Skunk crossed with Chemdawg, or an Original Diesel over a Northern Lights, Shiva and Hawaiian base. Most breeders quote her sativa-leaning, around 30/70; Reserva Privada (two versions) list her 60/40 indica, and the spread runs out to a 10/90. We don't pick between Chemdog and Diesel accounts; each version's page keeps its own.