Top 15 Runtz Strains!

Runtz, a strain whose infamy has far exceeded what anyone could have predicted, is reportedly a cross between Gelato and Zkittlez, with some sources initially attributing it to the Gelato 41 parentage whilst others point towards it being a Gelato 33 hybrid. Notably, one of the Runtz founders Ray Bama, recently spoke on the First Smoke of The Day podcast and suggested the lineage stemmed from the Gelato 33 but admitted that, ultimately, this is what the breeder informed them and that they couldn't say absolutely that those constitute the genetics. Whilst candy dominates the edibles market, it only truly began to dominate the cannabis cultivar market following the emergence of the Runtz strain in 2018. Runtz's spiritual home is in Los Angeles, where it first hit the streets and has since spawned several hybrids/ phenotypes, such as White Runtz, Pink Runtz & Runtz OG.

Runtz might be one of the most popular strains in modern times, with them partnering with Cookies- the brainchild of rapper/ cannabis mogul- Berner, the first cannabis CEO to grace the cover of Forbes magazine- it's clear that anything Berner touches turns into gold. So despite Runtz already being notoriously famous when they partnered with Cookies, it's evident that this partnership helped boost Runtz to the lofty echelons of Cannabis hall of fame strains. Berner and Cookies have long been associated with new elite cultivars and terp profiles, and this association has undoubtedly helped solidify Runtz's enduring popularity. However, the majority of Runtz hype has nothing to do with the branding, name or partnering companies; instead, they've built loyal fans of the fruity candy flavour profile, a wide array of intense, mesmerising colours & evenly balanced effects. Typically Runtz grows a bit lighter and wispier than most of the boulder-like Cookies hybrids, with big calyxes covered in distinctive glandular trichomes that are sandy to the touch, like the trichomes found on strains typically washed for water hash.

In recent times Runtz has proven to be an excellent strain to breed with, and several of our breeders have worked with it to bring their own unique twist to that tantalisingly sweet candy gas terp profile. So have a read through the selection of our top 15 Runtz strains & see if one could be the next strain for you! 

Rare Dankness is a cannabis brand heavily rooted in Cannabis genetic history, with the founder Scott Reach having been the founder of Moonshine Seeds which predates Rare Dankness being available from legendary forums such as Overgrow and Seebay between 1999 and 2007. Eventually, this became the fully legit operation of Rare Dankness and forever cemented his name and his incredible genetics in modern Cannabis's history books. Rare Dankness is well known for their ludicrously potent OG hybrids, such as the Rug Burn OG, Scott's OG, Venom OG & countless other gems, as well as more racy sativa-leaning strains, aka Narrow Leaf varieties, such as their Somali Taxi Ride & Tangerine Somali. However, one of their flagship strains is the culmination of both sides of the genetics spectrum with their Ghost Train Haze.

Ghost Train Haze fuses the infamous Ghost OG genetics with the special haze notes found in Nevil's Wreck; this high-yielding strain gives beautiful sour lime haze tones and produces a crazy, racy high and plants littered with gorgeous sugary trichomes. So this beauty of strain was a no-brainer to combine with the Runtz to create an incredibly smooth, sweet terp profile that induces euphoric racy & uplifting effects. Ghost Train Runtz is the product of this powerhouse cocktail of strains and is certainly one that is bound to please even the most discerning of palettes. 

Next on the Runtz hybrids, we have the Peach Runtz from Spitfire Genetics, a breeder who, as their namesake suggests, is born out of the UK, just as Pure Sativa does. Spitfire Genetics is known for its stellar regular seeds that have been bred to provide unique exotic terpene profiles to the people whilst also giving the potential to find great hash-washing strains. Peach Runtz is a strain bred by crossing the infamous Runtz cut to Spitfire Genetics' in-house creation Peach Cubez; Peach Cubez is a heavily Zkittlez-infused strain that crosses a Dying Breed Seeds Z Cube male with a special cut of the Peach Ozz that has long been making waves in the UK and Spain. Peach Runtz produces a range of terpene profiles that blends profiles from Runtz, Zkittlez & Peach Ozz.

Next up, we have Grateful Seeds, which have three crosses using the Runtz clone as the mother: Runtzbert, Runt-Zu & Tha Gelee, all of which are feminised. Runtzbert is a cross of Runtz with their Key Lime Pie reversal; most of the resulting progeny will be dominated by that delightful candy gas flavour that all fans of Runtz know and love. However, around 30% of the offspring will add luscious lime pastry notes to the flavour profile. Next is the Runt-Zu; Runt-Zu is a cross of Runtz pollinated by Lemon Shocker; the Lemon Shocker is a unique fruity lemon candy dominant cultivar that blends Z with lemon and gelato notes. Most of the strains that Grateful Seeds pollinated with the Lemon Shocker were too prevalent in Lemon Shocker terps, but the Runtz was the perfect partner for the Lemon Shocker and resulted in an even blend of the two strains. Finally, Tha Gelee is the newest Runtz hybrid from The Grateful Seeds team, Tha Gelee uses Grateful Seeds Banana Gelee, a cross of Strawberry Banana x Grape Gelee. Tha Gelee packs a beautiful mix of the parents together to produce an irresistible terp profile that is equal parts bitter grapes, candy gas & a decadent creaminess.

Grounded Genetics is another talented seedbank that has quickly cemented itself at the forefront of the exotic seed market, working with sought-after exclusive cuts and their seed hunts to bring you the best profiles and plants. Grounded Genetics has several strains that use the Runtz as either a direct mother or pollinator and are slightly further into the lineage. Pinata is a cross of Bacio Gelato pollinated by the reversed Runtz pollen created by Grounded genetics, Pinata grows in massive dense, rounded flowers, some of which have inherited the artificial candy and sweet gas from the Runtz with some phenos expressing the heavy hazelnut dessert type of terpene just like a fresh batch of Baklava. Some other phenotypes express the typical gelato cream flavour with undertones of candy terps from the Runtz pollinator. Grounded Genetics has also created a strain with the same two parents but with their roles reversed, so the Bacio Gelato is the pollinator impregnating the Runtz. The resulting offspring is heavily dominated by luscious gas & candy notes.

Pink Limez is another devilishly terpy strain from Grounded Genetics that fuses the infamously zesty Lemonnade cut with the reversed Runtz pollen. The Pink Limez expresses a range of terp profiles that vary from showing a perfect blend of the parent strains' characteristics that mixes the loud candy lime flavour with some extra exotic candy notes from the Runtz, as well as uplifting the resin production significantly. Most of the phenotypes lean towards the Runtz or the Lemonnade side. One of the standout phenos produces a potent Lemonnade terp on the inhales, swiftly followed by the unmistakable Zkittlez candy on the exhale. Safe to say, there is a wide variety of terp profiles that can be found across the seeds from his cultivar.

Zlurpi is one of Grounded Genetics newest releases that make up part of the Z Road line, which is underpinned by the heavily Zkittlez dominant Z road which they reversed and used as a pollinator, Z Road is bred by Jaime Kusher and consists of a great Zkittlez hybrid which brings some gas in from the Off Road lineage which itself is Face Off OG Bx2 x Road Dawg. The mother of Zlurpi is the Z Runtz, is a cross of the Runtz x Zkittlez that came from a selection of just a few viable seeds. The Zlurpi terp profile reaches intense back into the cookie lineage to unlock some unique flavours you might not expect but still have the underlying Zkittlez candy prevalent in most of the phenotypes found in the Zlurpi offspring.

Conscious Genetics is another of our newest breeders; hailing from the UK, they've been working hard to create a line of strains with heavy purple colourations for the bag appeal whilst also packing incredibly unique terps, Pink Champagne Bx1 underpins this line. Meanwhile, his other genetic line is the Sour Apple Runtz, a creamy gassy strain that can express subtle apple nuances depending on the hybrid and phenotype. Sour Apple Runtz is a cross of Apple Fritter and Runtz, and it tends to lend its out-of-this-world resin production to just about all of the resulting offspring. Sour Apple Runtz was undoubtedly one of the frostiest strains encountered by Conscious Genetics, as it tests at 30% THC, and this was part of the reason he used it to breed after receiving the cut. The Orange Runtz Cake is one of our favourites from the bunch, bringing their orange cheesecake side of the lineage thats uplifted with the creamy funk from the Sour Apple Runtz that makes for some very unique flavours. Meanwhile, the Sour Mckuntz is a cross of Mac1 with the intensely candied gas of the Gushers and Conscious Genetics' Conscious Kush V1. Sour Mckunts tends to pack on a crazy potency and mix notes of sugary sweet aromas with candied citrus and devasting gas that will keep you reaching for this relentlessly.

On the cheaper side of the spectrum, we have a couple more Runtz hybrids from Pheno Finder Seeds based in the European spiritual home of Cannabis, Amsterdam. Pheno Finder Seeds created an S1 of the Runtz strain and crossed her with the Mimosa to create a supremely candied orange-leaning cultivar named Runtzosa. Moreover, both parents pack THC levels in the high 20%s (27% for Mimosa and 25% for Runtz), so the resulting progeny of the Runtzosa should also pack a heavy THC content. They also bred the Kuntz strain; a Kosher Kush hit with the Runtz S1 pollen. The Kosher Kush is known for its staggering THC levels and multiple cup-winning pedigrees, including the 2010 & 2011 Cannabis Cups. The resulting progeny with the mouth-watering candy gas terp profile from the Runtz is sure to ensure a winner if you find the correct phenotype.

The Plug Seedbank is another established seed bank that has quickly achieved a cult-like following based out of the sunny city of Barcelona. The Plug Seedbank has released several Runtz hybrids, including the most recent Kosher Kush / Runtz hybrid, titled Jetlag, in collaboration with Malik Montana after his hit single Jet Lag. This powerhouse strain will leave you feeling dazed and confused like you're experiencing jet lag. They have also dropped several other stunning Runtz hybrids, including the Blue Sherb in the Patron strain, Biscotti with the Bruntz & Runtz S1 with the Fruit Drops.

Regardless of your choice, you're sure to find the killer candy gas terp profile that you know and love in this guide! 

Let us know in the comments if any of these strains take your fancy!