Win the holidays with Lemon Cherry Gelato—December’s Leafly's Highlight (2024)

Deck the halls with Lemon Cherry Gelato—this berry, creamy, and fuel-smelling indica-hybrid became a crowd favorite in 2023, and now it’s our Leafly HighLight for December.

Let’s get this right out of the way: Lemon Cherry Gelato is not Leafly Strain of the Year 2023. We announce that winner on Tuesday, December 5.

But LCG has had a heck of a year either way, so singling it out for our monthly spotlight, Leafly HighLight, felt right. Around since 2016, LCG is now the #4 strain in the US. It started as #3 in New York, took the first spot by May 2023, and has stayed there since. It’s second in Cali after starting in fifth.

Propagated by the LA crew Backback Boyz from a bagseed of Connected brand Gelato #33, LCG is a coastal metro thing. It’s not in the top 10 in Oregon, or in Washington (where Runtz is #5). LCG is in fourth pla e in Michigan (where SuperBoof Rules) and is number 6 in Illinois. LCG is so popular—it’s become a strain critics love to hate. It’s like the Macarena of modern weed.

More than 425 Leafly reviewers give Lemon Cherry Gelato an average score of 4.6 out of 5.

In terms of effects, LCG is everything to everybody—some report sleeping on it, others report chores.

“Very balanced hybrid, that can compliment any activity. But, if you stay still, you might get stuck and drowsy.”

“This is dog pettin’ weed. make sure you have a dog handy,” says one reviewer.

People report getting tingly, relaxed and giggly on this high-THC indica hybrid. One reviewer says, “BLAMO I haven’t been this high and feeling like laughing and loving on people since the 90’s!”

Who’s got LCG? Best Lemon Cherry Gelatos in the US

So, pretty much everyone should have a little LCG. We’ve seen 10-point buds from Fig Farms in Oakland, CA. We’ve seen serviceable LCG on the streets of NYC. With a strain this hype, expect quality to vary and charlatans to abound.

In California, UpNorth surely has a fire version, and we’d hope the Backpack Boyz version is fire, too.

Also, don’t miss it from Sherbinskis.

Portlanders have 205 LCG options, where grams hit $4—that’s a commodity crop.

Seattle gets Backpack Boyz LCG, and don’t miss Constellation Cannabis’ infused 2-packs, or the Oleum 1-gram live resin.

In Phoenix, the Mojave Cannabis Co 1-gram LCG crumble, or MFUSED 1-gram disposable should hit the spot.

Detroiters will want the Pressure Pack LCG eights and hashholes, and the Backpack Boyz eighths.

Chicagoans have 52 LCG options—so go straight to the Fig Farms in flower and carts.

And the nascent legal New York market has LCGs from Zizzle, Flowerhouse, Urb, and carts from Select Oil.

Shout out more fire LCG in the comments below.

Where to buy Lemon Cherry Gelato seeds and clones

According to Leafly freelancer Jimi Devine, writing in High Times in 2022, the Backpack Boyz started the LCG wave with a Gelato #33 bagseed in 2016. Since then, it’s also been deemed a version of Runtz (Gelato x Z). So if you want to bring the LCG vibe to your garden, that’s the direction to take.

We get the sense that LCG seeds and clones sell quickly online and in stores. Of note this month, Cookies Seed Bank has Lemon Cherry Sherb 12-packs of feminized seeds for $175. And Seed Junky Genetics already sold out of their drop of Permanent Cherries (LCG x Kush Mints Bx1) x Permanent Marker. Raw Genetics made Lemon Cherry Pie. We’d get the Tiki Madman LCG x Alien Sherbert for $85, and Lemon Cherry Fire F2. The re-sale market for LCG packs includes peer-to-peer weed genetics marketplace Strainly.

Ask your local dispensary or licensed nursery for more fresh LCG genetics.

Has LCG won any trophies?

Does Barry Bonds hit home runs? Since LCG is basically Gelato #33—yes it’s one of the winningest strains of all time. High Times made LCG their strain of 2022. It took 18th in indoor flower in the Emerlad Cup. Leafly made it a Strain of 4/20 this year. Look out for THC Design’s Blue Cherry Gelato (Blue Nerdz x Lemon Cherry Gelato).

Other strains to try in December

Sour Diesel

Let’s keep the New York hits flowing with Sour Diesel, specifically AJ’s Sour Diesel, which debuts for all adults 21 and up in New York this winter. Since the ‘90s, so-called Asshole Joe helped drive the Sour D wave that made East Coasters fanatical for sour. AJ made a deal with Flowerhouse NY to grow hundreds of pounds of AJ’s Sour D for the common masses, and the batches are starting to hit stores. They sell out in a day, so stay on the Flowerhouse Instagram to get the next drop.

AJ’s Sour D is greenhouse-grown in the punishing New York summer and fall. It’s big, a little less dense than indoor, but sparkling, green, and gassy with the signature diesel aroma. It hits like a ‘90s strain with a thinner body, but undeniable New York potency. Often considered a sativa, AJ agrees that it’s more of a hybrid with roots in Chem and Skunk. Either way, you can roast a fatty and hit the subway for pizza, the sights, and New Year’s Eve craziness—all legal and as it should be.

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Gas Face

Eschew the crowd favorites like LCG, and get into the offensive weirdness with Gas Face—Seed Junky Genetics’ Face Mints x (Biscotti x SherbBx). The key here comes from the Face-Off OG in Face Mints. Those face-melting genes carry over to the progeny where they supply the 91 octane-rated potency required for a Seed Junky strain. The Mints, the Biscotti, and the Sherb are all there to add sophisticated mint, cookie, and creamy-berry hints to the smoke. Get blasted like a Space X rocket. “Usually not a morning person but smoking this changes all that,” says one reviewer. Gas Face!

Blue Lobster

Pray for a Christmas miracle. Grower Umma Sonoma’s first batch of three pounds of Blue Lobster sold out in a day at Greenwolf, LA. Maine’s winning combo of Eye Candy x Apples & Bananas—so-called Blue Lobster—has found its way out west for a Los Angeles debut this winter, thanks to a collab between Maine Trees and Cipher Genetics’ Chris Lynch, formerly of Compound Genetics. A Blue Lobster is a rare, gorgeous east coast crustacean. Here, the term is applied to the Compound Genetics strain “Facade”—the drop-dead gorgeous Eye-Candy cross with its deep purple leaf, and large, glimmering buds, and whiteout trichome coverage.

We get grape, blueberry, and savory spice off this Blue Lobster—a 3x East Coast Zalympix award winner from 2023, winning 1st place in Best Terps, Gassiest Flower, and 2nd place Best Overall. The indica hybrid will make you languorous and ravenous for Christmas dinner, so hide that cheese plate. The next batch comes in January, and will be 10 pounds. In the meantime, get at all those Eye Candy crosses, including Facade, and Pave.

And that’s Leafly Highlight! Enjoy the LCG. Don’t skip the Sour D, and Gas Face, and pray you’ll find the Blue Lobster.