Super Lemon Haze Strain Review: The Cup-Winning Sativa from Green House

Super Lemon Haze, or SLH if you have spent any time around it, is one of the most successful sativas Green House Seeds ever released. It won the High Times Cannabis Cup in 2008 and again in 2009, and at the time Arjan Roskam announced that this would be the strain of the next ten years. He was probably right. SLH became a fixture on coffeeshop menus across Europe, a top seller in California dispensaries when those still existed in their original form, and a regular feature in vape carts and concentrate menus once those formats took over the market.

Two decades later it is still in catalogues everywhere, still winning awards in regional cups, and still showing up in the daily rotations of growers who have tried hundreds of newer hybrids and keep coming back to this one.

Genetics and origins

Super Lemon Haze was bred at Green House Seeds by Franco Loja and Arjan Roskam, with the cross being Lemon Skunk crossed with Super Silver Haze. Both parents are heavyweights. Lemon Skunk brings the zesty citrus terpene profile, and Super Silver Haze brings the long-flowering psychedelic edge that Green House had already used to win three consecutive Cannabis Cups in the late 1990s.

The result is an 80 percent sativa hybrid that combines the best of both. The lemon comes through clearly on the nose and the smoke, but the cerebral effects belong to the Haze side of the family. If you have spent time with Super Silver Haze, you will recognise the underlying high. SLH just delivers it with a sharper terpene wrapper.

Aroma and flavour

The smell is the first thing people remember about Super Lemon Haze. Open a jar of it and the room fills with a sharp citrus note that is closer to lemon zest and lemon candy than to actual lemon juice. Underneath the citrus there is a hint of spice and a faint herbal funk that gives the strain its complexity. One thing worth noting for the geeks: most of the citrus character comes from terpinolene, not limonene as you might expect from the name. This is part of why SLH smells "sharp" rather than "sweet", and part of why it tastes the way it does.

On the smoke, the lemon translates almost directly. The inhale is bright and zesty, with a slight herbal sharpness that builds across multiple hits. The exhale is sweeter, closer to lemon candy than lemon peel, and it lingers on the palate for a while. Vape users get even more of the terpene profile because terpinolene is volatile and the high temperatures of combustion can burn off some of the delicate notes.

Reviewers on Leafly and AllBud consistently rank the flavour profile as one of the best in the sativa category. One long-time grower described his first SLH plant as having over 3.5 percent terpenes by weight, which is exceptionally high for any cannabis cultivar. The strain just has a lot to say.

Effects

This is where SLH earns its reputation, and where the reviews split slightly. The high comes on fast and hits hard. The first wave is energetic and almost giddy, with a clear cerebral lift that some users describe as bordering on psychedelic at high doses. There is a creative edge to it that makes Super Lemon Haze a popular choice for artistic work, social settings, and physical activity.

THC levels typically run between 19 and 25 percent. The effects last several hours, with the initial energetic phase tapering into a more relaxed but still functional middle stretch. Most reviewers describe it as a daytime strain that you would not want to smoke close to bedtime.

The split in reviews comes down to anxiety tolerance. Users who handle sativas well almost universally love SLH and treat it as a desert-island strain. Users who are prone to anxiety or paranoia sometimes find that the cerebral push of Super Lemon Haze tips them over the edge into uncomfortable territory. One Leafly reviewer who deals with social anxiety called it the rare sativa that calmed them down rather than ramping them up. Another, posting on the same page, said it triggered fifteen minutes of foggy paranoia before settling into clarity. Both experiences are real and both happen with this strain. If you know you tend to spike anxiously with strong sativas, start with a small amount.

Growing Super Lemon Haze

SLH is not the easiest strain to grow, but it is not particularly difficult either. The genetics are stable, the plants respond well to training, and the yields can be excellent under proper conditions. Where it earns its moderate difficulty rating is in the long flower time and the need for consistent feeding and lighting throughout the cycle.

Indoor flowering takes 9 to 10 weeks. The plants stretch noticeably during the first two weeks of flower, often doubling or more in height, so plan vegetative time accordingly. SCROG and LST both work well for managing the canopy. Yields under good conditions can reach 800 grams per square metre, though most growers see closer to 600 grams in real-world setups.

Outdoor performance is impressive when the climate cooperates. SLH wants warmth and light, and in Mediterranean or Californian conditions she can produce up to 1200 grams per plant by mid October. In cooler or wetter climates the long flower window becomes a problem, since you are pushing right up against autumn rain and mould pressure. Greenhouse growers have a real advantage with this one.

The plants are tall and lanky in classic Haze fashion. They take well to topping, fimming, and aggressive defoliation if you are comfortable with those techniques. Pest pressure is moderate. Smell is heavy throughout flower and you will absolutely need carbon filtration if stealth matters.

Why Super Lemon Haze still matters

Twenty years into its run, Super Lemon Haze is in the unusual position of being a classic that has not been displaced. Most of the trophy strains from its era have been replaced by newer crosses with bigger THC numbers, candy-sweet terpene profiles, and shorter flower times. SLH has held on because the combination it delivers is hard to replicate. The flavour is distinctive in a way that newer strains rarely match, the high is genuinely useful for daytime activity, and the genetics are stable enough that the version you buy now is still recognisably the same plant Franco Loja was working on in the early 2000s.

For background on the people who built this strain and the seed bank behind it, see our profile of Arjan Roskam, the King of Cannabis.

Quick Stats

• Type: Sativa-dominant hybrid (80/20)
• Genetics: Lemon Skunk x Super Silver Haze
• Breeder: Green House Seeds
• THC: 19 to 25 percent
• CBD: Low (under 1 percent)
• Flowering Time: 9 to 10 weeks
• Indoor Yield: Up to 800 g/m²
• Outdoor Yield: Up to 1200 g/plant in warm climates
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Best For: Daytime use, creative work, social settings, physical activity
• Awards: 1st place High Times Cannabis Cup 2008 and 2009, 1st place IC420 Growers Cup 2010

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