White Widow Strain : An In Depth Review

The famous White Widow strain.

The origin surrounded in mystery and some controversy.

White Widow was made public in 1994 from GreenHouse Seeds.

Which then won first place at the BIO Cup(High Times Cannabis Cup) in 1995.

The history of the White Widow marijuana plant has two different stories from two sides of the same coin.

There is always three sides to every story.

And I am on the side of the plant.

From the information that is out there on the web and that has been around for the past two decades from different sources, and all the rumors.

Here is a brief look into the history,

white-widow-strain

Around the year 1987 a breeder named Ingemar De Sjamaan who developed a strain called Arnhem’s Wonder which later went on to win the High Life Cup in 1989.

In a German magazine publication called GROW, it is noted that Ingemar stated as the creator of White Widow. See full translated version here:

On the De Sjamaan webite

screenshot-www-sjamaan-com1

According to Arjan from Greenhouse Seeds he purchased some plants from Ingemar in 1992.

Quote from SeedFinder EU

Ingemar (De Sjamaan) invented WW already in 1987. […] It was called Arnhem’s Wonder and already won the first HL cup in 1989. […] For those who don’t believe this, please call Coffeeshop Catweazle or Roger from the grow shop; they worked with Ingmar for a long time. Roger has always sold the clones he had. He had a famous grow shop in Nijmegen. I bought the male and female among other plants in 1992 and only crossed them in 1994. I did not have to do any breeding on the White Widow at that time because Ingemar had already done it for us. And to this day, you can still buy original clones of the White Widow in that area of Holland.”

Which later were bred on to be White Widow in 1994 and then onto win the BIO Cup in 1995

Alternate version of White Widow

Enter another breeder who at the time in early 1990’s was working at GreenHouse Seeds an Australian Scott Blakey or AKA Shantibaba.

When traveling to Southern India one year came upon a farmer in the Keralan region who stuck up a conversation and offered a joint.

Then took Shantibaba back to his farm and showed him his marijuana plants a type of Indica.

white_widow_grow

Shantibaba was impressed by the strength of the plant offered to buy some seeds and brought the seeds back to the Netherlands.

Later it is believed the seeds had been crossed with a pure Brazilian Sativa, the landrace Manga Rosa or similar.

Shantibaba has been very outspoken on the origin of the White Widow marijuana plant.

Soon after there was disagreement within Greenhouse Seeds and Shantibaba for what is unknown.

In 1998 Shantibaba left GreenHouse to go on to form Mr. NIce Seeds with Howard Marks and Neville Schoenmaker .

Taking the White Widow he bred and then named it under the name “Black Widow”.

Because GreenHouse Seeds was already marketing it under the strain White Widow.

So there you have a two different short stories on the history of this strain.

As stated earlier, I am not on either side except that this is a classic from 1990.

That has stood the test of time and now has many phenotypes underneath its genetic profile.

Lineage of White Widow

The genetics originated from an Indica plant in the Southern India Keralan region.

Crossed with a pure Brazilian Sativa presumably the landrace Manga Rosa or similar.

White-Widow-Hybrids

White Widow is the parent to a number of great hybrids that include :

Black Widow to White Rhino, White Cookies

Profile Count

Indica: 60%  Sativa: 40%

The White Widow THC Level starts at 16 % and goes up to 27%

Terpene Profile

The terpenes of the White Widow consists of the following markers:

Reported flavor of woody , pepper, and hint of citrus

  • A-Pinene 3.44% – Pine
  • Caryophyllene 1.22% – Pepper
  • Humulene 0.23% – Hops
  • Beta-Caryophyllene 0.08% – Cloves
  • Isopulegol 0.02% – Mint
  • Guaiol 0.15% – Pine
  • Neryl-acetate 0.01% – Citrus

Medical Uses

medical-marijuana

White Widow is a great for medical issues that include:

  • Depression
  • Stress
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder
  • Chronic pain
  • Anxiety
  • Relieve headaches, migraines.

Effects / Experience :

The effect of consuming White widow are a Happy, Euphoric, Uplifted with being Relaxed, Creative.

Evening use recommended. Or daytime use for some.

Growing White Widow

The White Widow marijuana plant is perfect for beginners and is very easy to grow.

The plants can grow in any medium from hydro to soil. And also, works well with the SCROG method.

The strain can also be grown indoors or outdoors with great success. The white widow yield varies from 300- 500 grams per plant on average.

Grow to a height of three to six feet or 1-2 meters tall.

When the white widow flowering time takes around eight to nine weeks.

When growing white widow outdoors the plants are usually ready around the end of September or early October for the Northern hemisphere.

In the Southern Hemisphere, around spring time

The temperatures for the plant are suitable for mild temperature areas

Grow Points​​​​​

  • Yield: Up to 400gr indoor / 300 gr outdoor
  • Height: 3 feet tall indoors, reaching 6 feet tall outside.
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Flowering time: 8-9 Weeks
  • Outdoor Harvest North hemisphere: End of September early October
  • Outdoor Harvest South Hemisphere: varies upon climate.
  • Climate: Good for mild, temperate areas.
  • Growing Medium: Soil or Hydroponic with Scrog
  • Environment: Indoors or Outdoors

Check out the video below for a better feel on the growing this fantastic strain,

Top Awards

White Widow has won countless awards approximately over 25 from various seed houses and competitions here are just some of them:

1996: 1st Place – High Times Cannabis Cup

1995: 1st Place – High Times Cannabis Cup (Bio Cup)

1989: 1st Place – High Life Cup with the name Arnhem’s Wonder

Where to buy White Widow

​If you live in the United States and live in a state where it is legal for purchase please check out Weed Maps for White Widow price, stock levels and locations nearest you !

Where to Buy White Widow Seeds

If you are interested in growing the White Widow here is a list of the reputable online seed shops that I recommend.

It’s very easy to grow give it a try.

SeedsMan

It’s one of my favorites.

Have you tried the White Widow or grown it before?

Let me know in the comments.

15 thoughts on “White Widow Strain : An In Depth Review”

  1. I’m on my first crop of white widow from clones. I have 4 plants that are almost 3.5 feet tall and have been in 24 hour light veg for about 8 weeks and I’m just wondering when I should put them in to flower. Are they going to double their size if I start now? Is it too late to the them down to train them?

    Reply
    • Hi Amy,

      To answer your question about your white widow’s . If your plants are 3.5 feet tall and you have been in veg state for the past 8 weeks under 24 hours of light . I would recommend to change to 18 on 6 hours off for at least a week. Then switch to flower and go with 12 on / 12 off for flower.
      Yes they may double in size and maybe not , but your can still train them a little by bending the branches to the horizon as they grow.
      Hope this helps

      Reply
    • ou can do a take some leaves off lightly the 1-2 weeks left on veg cycle then around 2 weeks into flower do another leaf strip

      Reply
  2. I’m growing 1 plant for my first time. I started it indoors until it was about 18 inches in height and then transplanted outdoors with a pre-prepped spot where it had good drainage. It is now September 23rd and it has sugar leaves with nice flowering. I snipped one stem with one flower to look at the trichomes under a microscope and found them to be a milky white color. A friend said I need to let them go to amber, but I’m going to dry this one stem for about 6 days in a warm dry barn atmosphere. I trimmed the non-sugary leaves and left the other baby leaves on then hung upside down with a clothespin, suspended in the air. This is all very experimental to me but I’m excited about the outcome. Can’t wait to try it. My guess is a couple more weeks but I check it every 2 to 3 days. Hoping a frost doesn’t come too early to Vermont. We’ll see!

    Reply
    • Take her right before shes gonna turn amber, thats peak. And no need to ship to look, get a little portable scope… no need to cut her while she’s trying to grow, that can be a stressed and she will try to heal the worst part first.

      Reply
  3. Hi John,
    Sorry for the late reply. It worked out very well and here I am in July of 2020 with a Plant that is approximately 5 feet in height and still growing. No signs of flowering yet but its still early. Several weeks after I started the Widow….I started a Plushberry as well. Both are doing very well and believe it or not, I go so much yield off the One I did last fall, We are still using it and love it. White widow is my favorite so far. Good luck!

    Reply
  4. First time growing ww. I’m in Rhode Island and it’s the end of July. I have 6 in 20 gallon bags and 8 in 10 gallon bags, the 30 gallon are between 6-7 foot tall. Absolutely gorgeous. Just going into flowering as of now.

    Reply
  5. First grow,got seeds from ILGM,sprouted on 4/13/21.Planted out doors on 5/13/21. I used Coast of Maine Stonington blend in a 3’x12′ bed[approx 40 bags]. I have let them grow naturally {no cropping or trimming] and they are 12′ tall!! Initial flowering started 2 wks ago and they are exploding with with flowers.I had not used any fertilizer until first signs of flowering.Starting 2 wks ago I applied bat guano{repeated once].Can’t find any info about White widow growing this tall.These are BEAUTIFUL plants.Will keep you posted

    Reply
  6. 1st. time we have grown white widow fem. The germination was 80 percent . When they grew to a stocky 18 inches,I made clones. They turned out to be beautiful branched bushes about 2foot and loads of buds. Last night we brought 6 plants in and decided that we had to try some. After waiting 16 weeks, it was V for victory. This crop is so smooth you take abig hit on the bong and the flavor is dank and citrusy with piney taste, so yummy. Definately worth the wait and chronic pain gone. We started buying seeds a few years ago . They are much better than the old bag seeds. One pre caution, after rain gently shake or risk losing out to bud rot. Enjoy!

    Reply

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