Iced Widow

The starting point for Iced Widow is ICE, a breeding line from the breeder Ferry. According to the breeder's description, he crossed a selection of Skunk Special and White Widow with Blueberry, picked one plant out of 500 females and stabilized it over a period of years through backcrossing. ICE first appeared via a different seed bank; in 2003 Ferry released the strain at Female Seeds. Iced Widow comes from the same company, a renewed cross of ICE with White Widow, which means it traces back to White Widow through both parents.

Genetics and Origin:

Female Seeds describes Iced Widow as an F1 hybrid of White Widow and ICE and lists it exclusively in feminized form. It is regarded as predominantly indica-leaning; one strain description puts the ratio at 90 % indica and 10 % sativa. In pedigrees, White Widow is traced back to a Brazilian sativa and an Indian indica, and the Blueberry share of ICE to DJ Short.

In several user reports, White Castle appears as a local name for Iced Widow. Under that name, however, Nirvana lists its own cross of a White Widow mother and an Ice father that is traced back to Growi Seeds.

Aroma and Flavor:

Female Seeds describes the scent and taste as a combination of diesel and hashish, while another strain description adds sweet and spicy tones. Still other profiles emphasize skunk and diesel with a hint of lemon and pine, with the diesel gaining the upper hand on the exhale. In grow reports, the dried buds are noted as smelling earthy and musky. Consumers mention fruity notes reminiscent of strawberry, occasionally also tropical touches, pine, or earthy sweetness with citrus. An overview based on laboratory tests of products lists limonene, caryophyllene and pinene as the predominant terpenes.

Effects:

The user reports do not paint a uniform picture. Some consumers describe the strain as relaxing with a pronounced body effect, up to couch-bound heaviness and drowsiness, and associate it with the evening. Others report an uplifted, euphoric mood with giggling, talkativeness and tingling, consider the effect more that of a hybrid than of a pure indica, and also call it suitable for daytime. Occasionally, concentration, creativity or energy are mentioned. On potency, the grow reports diverge: several describe the effect as strong and lasting, one as very weak and short.

Consumers name dry mouth and dry eyes as side effects; individual reports also mention dizziness, mild paranoia, the sensation of an enlarged head and a scratchy throat when vaporizing.

THC Content:

The figures in strain descriptions contradict each other: one gives 18 to 20 % THC, another 24 %. The latter additionally lists 1 % CBG.

Cultivation:

Female Seeds states a flowering time of about 55 days and a height of 60 to 80 cm and rates the yield as very high. The breeder lists Iced Widow as a strain for indoor cultivation; individual retailer descriptions additionally mention outdoor and greenhouse.

The documented indoor grows, at 56 to 68 days of flowering, ran longer than the breeder's figure. Between initial and final height the plants gained about 150 to 250 % and reached 70 to 100 cm. Observations on growth habit diverge: described are short, compact plants, bushy ones with a fir-tree-shaped structure, and sturdy ones with many side shoots, and in one case also a lanky habit with a disappointing yield. The reports agree on the buds, which come out hard and compact when dried and carry little leaf mass. One strain description, by contrast, portrays them as airy and leafy, with dense trichome coverage.

One grower credits the strain with tolerance of temperature fluctuations as well as heat and cold and considers it suitable for beginners; another found it high-maintenance and sensitive to over- and underfeeding. A report on maintaining it from cuttings over several years describes good growth in soil and hydroponics, markedly higher yields outdoors than indoors, a preference for lower humidity and a need for pest control.