Take Chem D, the Chem family's workhorse and the cut most breeders reach for first, and put it over Purple Urkle, a select phenotype of Mendocino Purps out of the Emerald Triangle around the turn of the 1990s. That is The Purple D (Chem D x Purple Urkle). Humboldt CSI work almost entirely from clones they hold themselves, so both sides of this are the real thing rather than a seed-line approximation of it.

Order matters in a cross name. In The Purple D (Chem D x Purple Urkle) the Chem D side supplied the seed and Purple Urkle the pollen, and the reciprocal - the same two plants the other way round - is a separate breeding decision with its own results.

Genetic Lineage

• Mother: Chem D. The workhorse of the Chem family and the cut breeders reach for most. Built from another phenotype from the same 1991 seed lot. It is the Chem half of Giesel, and one of the most widely used Chem cuts in American breeding.
• Father: Purple Urkle. The Emerald Triangle purple keeper that most of California's colour reputation rests on. Dense purple flower in a closed canopy is where mould starts.
• How to read it. Everything below splits into what one parent gives and what the other does. Plants that take from both are the ones to keep.

Flavor and Aroma Profile

Two profiles that stay distinguishable rather than collapsing into one.

• The Aroma. Chemical fuel over dark turned earth from the Chem D side, against sweet grape and dark berry over earthy skunk, myrcene-dominant from the Purple Urkle side.
• The Taste. Fuel and earth, greasy and coating, finishing sour up front, turning to dark fruit up front, musk and earth behind it through the exhale.

Where the parents disagree

• What to budget. The documented side, Purple Urkle, runs around eight weeks indoors, inside a seven to nine week window. Set the room to that and let the plants correct you.
• Two noses, one pack. Chem D contributes chemical fuel over dark turned earth. Purple Urkle contributes sweet grape and dark berry over earthy skunk, myrcene-dominant. Which dominates is the main thing that varies.
• Build. On the Chem D side: open and loose rather than compact, wants support once the colas load. On the Purple Urkle side: compact and indica-built; deep purple colour hardest where night temperatures drop late. Select early rather than trying to train your way out of it.
• They pull differently. Growers put Chem D at alert and head-forward rather than heavy and Purple Urkle at settled and unhurried; the heavy, physical end. Which end a plant lands on is the main variable.

Cultivation and Growth Traits

• Plant Structure. The two parents disagree here, so plan for range. Chem D is a sprawler that needs propping once weight goes on the branches. Purple Urkle is compact and indica-built; deep purple colour hardest where night temperatures drop late.
• Vegetative Phase. Top or train before you flip rather than chasing the canopy afterwards.
• Flowering Time. Purple Urkle runs around eight weeks indoors, inside a seven to nine week window. Start checking trichomes a week before you expect to be ready.

Effects and Experience

• The Mind. Growers describe Chem D as alert and head-forward rather than heavy.
• The Body. Purple Urkle is reported as settled and unhurried; the heavy, physical end, and that is the side supplying the weight here.

In the pack

Feminized seeds from Humboldt CSI. What they sell is preservation work: old clones reversed into seed so the line survives past whoever is currently keeping it alive. Genuine Humboldt CSI stock.