One of the Gelato strain’s genetic parents is Girl Scout Cookies. Just about any cannabis strain that is bred from GSC is bound to have some unique properties and hold a great experience. Since both plant parents have names after sweet desserts, it only makes sense that this strain would be called “Gelato”. Whats even more interesting about this strain is that there are more genetics detected within this strain that are unidentified and don’t come from it’s two parent cannabis strains.
Gelato Strain Lineage & Appearance
Gelato is made from combining Girl Scout Cookies and Sunset Sherbet. By combining these two specific strains we get the shorter plant, dense buds and bushy leaves from Girl Scout Cookies with the deeper purple colors coming from the indica dominant Sunset Sherbet strain. THC levels are medium to high given that both parents have a wider range of THC, but Gelato can be on the high end in most phenotypes.
The overall result is a short to medium sized and fairly balanced hybrid plant that is very resistant to disease, given its genetic diversity, but can be difficult to grow. The buds will have deep purple hues, bright green hues, lots of orange pistil hairs and coated in white frosty trichomes.
Girl Scout Cookies
- A combination of a landrace sativa and OG Kush
- Contains high levels of THC and low levels of CBD
- Easy to grow hybrid
- Grows short plants with dense flowers and bushy leaves
Sunset Sherbet
- Combination of Girl Scout Cookies and Pink Panties
- Mid-High levels of THC from 15%-19%
- Indica dominant
- Produces a medium height plant with short flowering time
Gelato Strain Flavors & Aroma
The smoke from Gelato is just as dense and purple as the flower buds. The flavors of sweetness and berries in combination of the fruity sweet aroma is where Gelato gets it’s name. It smells and tastes very similar to the gelato dessert with a hint of earthiness.
Gelato Strain Effects & Side Effects
Gelato strain’s effects have been known to be good for stress, anxiety, pain, depression and lack of appetite. The slight numbing and relaxing qualities of this cannabis strain is what helps make it great for managing aches and pains. One of the other benefits of higher THC levels is that its also good for easing nausea.
Be aware that with this strain it can kick in quite fast with a head high followed by a light body stone. If you are more sensitive to THC it would be best to take it lightly as see how you respond. As with most strains, drinking plenty of water will help manage side effects.
Gelato THC & CBD Content
| THC Level: | 18%-25% |
| CBD Level: | <0.1% |
The levels of THC in it’s genetic parents are medium to high and thanks to the higher levels of THC in the Girl Scout Cookies strain, THC in Gelato will be north of 18% and reach as high as 25%.
The CBD in Gelato will be fairly low usually less than 0.1%. So the Gelato strain will be more ideal for those looking for effects more associated with THC. Since they’re are so many different phenotypes of Gelato both the CBD and THC levels will have a wide range but generally on the higher end.
Some popular phenotypes of the this strain are: Boysenberry Gelato, Crystal Gelato, Watermelon Gelato, Gelato Cake, Mochi Gelato, Bacio Gelato, Lemon Cherry Gelato, Black Cherry Gelato, Mango Gelato TKO, Apricot Gelato, Gelato Pie, Gelato 45 and Blue Gelato 41.
Gelato Strain Terpene Profiles
| Alpha Pinene: | 0.078% |
| Beta Pinene: | 0.145% |
| Beta Myrcene: | 0.07-4% |
| Limonene: | 0.19-927% |
| Ocimene: | < 0.0002% |
| Terpinolene: | 0.014-0.16% |
| Linalool: | 0.080-0.35% |
| Beta Caryophyllene | 0.25-2.5% |
| Alpha Humulene: | 0.1-0.615% |
How to Grow Gelato & Gelato Strain Growing Guide
Growing Gelato indoors is the best method for growing this strain unless you live in a consistently humid and warm climate. Since this can be a difficult strain to grow its best to have control over as many growing factors as possible. This is an important tip in this growing guide: When you plant the Gelato seedling, plant it in a large container that it will stay in instead of transplanting it later. This will prevent any complications from “transplant shock” since Gelato can be a sensitive cannabis plant. While the Gelato strain may be harder to grow compared to other strains the reward for growing it right is some of the largest, highest THC buds on the planet.
Once you have the Gelato seedling watered, fertilized and growing… its fairly straight forward until the flowering period. Just let the plant do its thing, monitor the temperatures (which should be around 75° F) and give it the water it needs along with some nutrients. Dried seaweed that has been sanitized through oven baking provides really good nutrients and is relatively inexpensive or free.
There’s a trick to turning indica dominant cannabis plants like Gelato purple and it can only be done 1 way, right after flowering period starts and you have some large buds. Don’t do this too early which will result in lower yields.
During the plant’s night cycles (after your plant has produced large flowers) drop the temperatures down 10-15° F lower than your daytime temperatures. For example, if your daytime growing temperature is 75° F then drop it down to around 65° F at night. This will stimulate the plant to create more of the pigments that all purple plants (including some cannabis) produce. This process is how the Gelato strains in the photos of this article produced such deep purple colors. Now that we’ve fine tuned growing Gelato, this brings us to harvesting time.
Harvest Gelato when you see the calyx (flowers) stop swelling and the pistil hairs begin to recede. This is when the flowers have reached their peak and will be as big as they can get. Another way to check when the cannabis flowers are ready for harvest is to check them with a magnifying glass. Take a look at the trichome crystals under a magnification and when most of them have turned amber and cloudy they’re ready to go. If you see most of the trichomes are clear then its way too early to harvest the Gelato flowers. When they’re clear they will have less THC than mature flowers so it’s best to hang on until you see some coloration in the trichomes.
Gelato is another one of those strains that shows it’s strengths from genetic diversity as it’s very resistant to disease. From sprouting Gelato seeds and planting them in their medium, this strain will flower in about 7-10 weeks. The yields from this cannabis plant are are higher than most others with dense buds. The Gelato strain yield produces and average of 17oz per 3 sq ft. While it can be a difficult plant its fun to grow and very rewarding with the large harvest it produces. If your up for the challenge, I’d recommend growing this strain just to gain the experience. Once you can grow strains like Gelato, you can grow just about any other cannabis strain.
Since the Gelato strain is more compact and grows quite dense, you wont need too much space for this strain. It grows much better indoors with a humid environment so if you have a small grow room, growing tent or grow box in your apartment this strain of hybrid cannabis is ideal. While some phenotypes can be hard to find, you can find a varieties of Gelato seeds from a few growers online.
Tags:High THC Strain
