Sativa · Dutch Passion
Durban Poison
Durban Poison is the South African landrace sativa collected near the city of Durban in the late 1970s by American breeder Ed Rosenthal and brought to Amsterdam by Mel Frank and others. Dutch Passion stabilized the working line in the early 1980s and has carried it as a catalogue staple ever since, making it one of the few true landrace sativas still available in feminized seed form. Plants finish in roughly nine weeks — fast for a pure sativa — and produce tall, lanky structure with sparse but resinous buds and an anise-licorice terpene profile. The high is sharp, clear, and energetic, which is why the strain has been used as a sativa parent for so many modern hybrids including Girl Scout Cookies.
Reviewed 2026-05-23· Sources: seedfinder.eu, Dutch Passion catalogue, Ed Rosenthal interviews
Potency
- THC range
- 18–26%
- Typical THC
- 22%
- CBD
- up to 0.2%
Flowering
- Indoor weeks
- 8–9 wk
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Climate
- Mediterranean, warm dry
Yield & size
- Indoor
- 400-500 g/m²
- Outdoor
- 600-800 g/plant
- Height
- 150-200 cm
Indica / sativa ratio
Terpene profile
The aromatic compounds below shape how Durban Poison smells, tastes, and ultimately feels in the body.
- dominant
Terpinolene
Piney and fruity — fresh, slightly floral, common in sativa-leaning cultivars.
- secondary
Myrcene
Sedating, musky, herbal — commonly linked to couch-lock effects.
- secondary
Ocimene
Sweet and herbal — light, tropical, with a decongestant character.
- minor
Pinene
Alert and pine-forward — associated with mental clarity and bronchodilation.
Reported side effects
Lineage
Durban Poison traces to South African landrace. The cross sits in the African landrace family, which influences both the terpene profile and the flowering structure described above.
Genetic family tree
Documented parents for Durban Poison based on breeder catalogues. Library entries are clickable; ancestors not yet documented on this site appear in a lighter, non-linked box.
Strains crossed with Durban Poison
Durban Poison is a parent of 4 strains in the broader catalogue. These are crosses that carry Durban Poison genetics on at least one side of the cross.
Grow profile
Grow profile
- Indica / sativa
- 10% / 90%
- Flowering days
- 56–63 days
- Stretch
- High
- Pest resistance
- High
- Mold resistance
- High
- Training methods
- topping, scrog, supercropping
Feed schedule for Durban Poison
These EC and NPK targets are starting points calibrated for the strain's Sativa lean and moderate difficulty rating — not gospel. Drop 15-20% off any EC ceiling on your first run and let the plant tell you where it actually wants to feed.
Suggested feed schedule
- Late veg
- 1.2-1.4 EC
- Early flower
- 1.3-1.5 EC, NPK 2-2-3
- Mid flower
- 1.6-1.8 EC, NPK 1-3-4
- Late flower
- 1.4-1.6 EC
- Final week
- Plain pH-balanced water for the last 7-10 days; light flush if you ran nutrients on the higher end.
Full breakdown of feed math, runoff testing, and salt buildup in our nutrient guide.
What to expect through the grow cycle
Durban Poison is documented with a 9-week flower and a longer stretch phase typical of sativa-leaning hybrids. The visual below maps a documented 13-week cycle built from 4weeks of vegetative growth and the strain's published flowering window.
Published grow reports for Durban Poison concentrate the most observational notes on the stretch window. This timeline is descriptive — it reflects what reports document, not a how-to. Actual week-to-week behaviour varies with phenotype, light intensity, pot size, and environment.
Phase details
- Veg (weeks 1-4)
- The documented vegetative period for Durban Poison. Plants establish root structure, leaf canopy, and node count before flower triggering, with a moderate difficulty rating shaping how forgiving the early canopy work tends to be.
- Stretch (weeks 5-7)
- Durban Poison is documented as having high stretch. Reports describe the plant roughly doubling in height during this phase as the sativa-leaning structure establishes its final flowering frame.
- Bud sites (weeks 8-9)
- Pre-flowers form at the nodes and calyxes begin to develop. Grow reports for Durban Poisonnote this as the window where the canopy's eventual bud distribution becomes visible.
- Bud development (weeks 10-11)
- Flowers thicken and calyxes fatten through this phase. Documented Durban Poison runs show the bulk of visible flower mass accumulating here, with resin production accelerating toward the end.
- Ripening (week 12)
- Trichomes transition from clear toward cloudy and amber. Reports for Durban Poison describe the Terpinolene-led terpene profile maturing through this window, with aroma sharpening week over week.
- Final (week 13)
- Calyx swelling is documented as complete and the harvest window opens. Published Durban Poison runs end here, within the 8-9 week flowering range reported by the breeder.
Flavor & aroma
Reported effects
Common questions about Durban Poison
Is Durban Poison a true landrace?
Yes — it is one of the few commercially available pure-sativa landraces, collected from outdoor cultivation around the city of Durban in South Africa. Dutch Passion's working line is closely descended from the original collection.
Why do so many modern strains use Durban Poison?
It is the sativa parent in Girl Scout Cookies and Cherry Pie. The anise-licorice terpene profile and fast flowering for a sativa make it valuable for breeding work targeting cerebral hybrids.
Breeder of record
Dutch Passion
View breeder profile and other strains →
More from Dutch Passion
Strains similar to Durban Poison
These picks lean on the same terpene profile and parent genetics as Durban Poison — shared dominant terps, overlapping lineage, and matching indica/sativa lean. No star ratings or popularity contests, just overlap on the traits that actually drive a similar grow and smoke.