Belladonna

There are 2 conflicting statements about the ancestry of Belladonna. Paradise Seeds names White Widow on its own strain page, crossed with a line from Malawi and Skunk. Other strain descriptions instead list Super Skunk as a parent, combined with an unnamed sativa. The breeder is undisputed: Paradise Seeds released the sativa-leaning hybrid in the late 1990s, and by its own account it first spread through outdoor cultivation in Spain.

Genetics and Origin:

Paradise Seeds gives the ratio as 60 % sativa to 40 % indica. A differing strain description arrives at 85 % sativa, places the unknown sativa parent line in Brazil and dates its creation to 1999. The breeder itself mentions neither Super Skunk nor Brazil.

At the Highlife Cup at the Highlife Feria in Barcelona, Belladonna took 3rd place in 2005; a single strain description gives 1st place instead. As a parent, the strain appears in Crazy Miss Hyde by Samsara Seeds, a cross with a line of Northern Light, Skunk #1 and Haze.

Versions from Different Breeders:

Strains from other breeders are listed under the same name and need not have anything in common with the original. Pacha's Select uses it for a cross of Spooky Sunset and a Lilac Poison male, which appeared only as regular seed and is said to be ready for harvest after roughly 60 days of flowering. BellaDonna from The Bakery Genetics is an F2 of Kumquat and Grand Daddy Purple, which the breeder crossed further into GGWhore. From Pro Seed comes a regular Bella Donna of unknown ancestry, for which about 9 weeks of flowering, 12 % THC and an indoor height of around 150 cm are stated.

THC and CBD Content:

For its Belladonna, Paradise Seeds states 22 % THC on the strain page, and in another product description 18 to 22 % THC with less than 0.1 % CBD. Another strain description puts the THC content considerably lower, at 15 %.

Aroma and Flavor:

The breeder describes scent and taste as fruity and sweet with a sugary note, elsewhere as fruity and pungent. User reports add earthy, cheesy and buttery tones; one consumer was reminded of peach by the taste. Grow reports list blackberry, blueberry and cookie dough. Strain descriptions give limonene, caryophyllene and myrcene as the characteristic terpenes.

Effects:

Paradise Seeds speaks of a stimulating, euphoric sativa high that emphasizes creativity and mental clarity and later gives way to relaxation without fully sedating. An older description from the breeder goes further and calls the effect psychedelic, with a strong rush on the senses.

Consumers describe Belladonna as energetic, euphoric and creative, in part also as giggly, focused or libido-enhancing. One report, however, describes a heavy body effect to the point of reluctance to move, another a strange high with anxiousness. Dry mouth, dry eyes, paranoia and mild head pressure are listed as side effects.

Cultivation:

Paradise Seeds lists the strain exclusively as feminized seeds and states 55 to 60 days of flowering indoors and up to 450 g/m². Outdoors it ripens, according to the breeder, by mid-October in the Northern Hemisphere and yields up to 800 g per plant. The breeder highlights the compact stature and the firm flowers with little leaf, to which it attributes good resistance to mold and fungi, and names the strain as suitable for Sea of Green. As climate it recommends Mediterranean locations, but also temperate regions with an unsettled autumn.

In its own test grow with 5 plants and a 4-week growth phase, the plants stayed short and bushy with strong lateral branching, according to Paradise Seeds. At harvest they measured 60 to 75 cm and yielded 21 to 32 g per plant. The flowers turned out firm, broad and resinous, with a favorable calyx-to-leaf ratio.

Community Experiences:

Grow reports confirm the undemanding care; one describes the strain as forgiving of over- or underfeeding and insensitive to temperature swings. The dried flowers are described in the reports as hard and compact, and because of their weight the plants needed nets or stakes in 2 cases. Indoors, flowering took 60, 65 and 70 days in 3 documented grows. The plants grew from 15 to 20 cm at the start of flowering to 65 to 100 cm.

Reports differ on yield: growers describe it from average to very high, and some harvests fell short of expectations. The reports also contradict each other on mold; one notes susceptibility, another no problems at all. One consumer found the flowers airy, strongly scented and densely covered in trichomes, while another criticized the few resin crystals.