There are some pretty “out there” strain names out there. So many that at some point, most people have probably stopped to think, “Where do these bonkers names come from?” Well, we can’t answer for everyone else, and we can’t even answer for all the strains we grow at Glass House, but we can tell you how our most recent release got its name, so that’s what we’re gonna do. We pride ourselves on the craftsmanship and greenhouse growing expertise that goes into our California cannabis, and once in a while we allow ourselves to take a little pride in the strain naming process too.

For better or for worse, people usually expect a strain name to tell them something about the experience they’re going to have. When it comes to your decision making at the dispensary, especially when the BTOD (Budtender On Duty) hasn’t tried everything on shelf themselves, the name can sometimes be the difference between a done deal and a deal breaker. We get that.

Naming can be sort of like being on Jeopardy — you start with the answer (the properties of the strain and its lineage) and work backwards to figure out the moniker (though not usually in the form of a question). The best names set an accurate expectation of a flower’s effects or flavors while conveying something about the strain’s parentage. It’s tough to nail, the trends are always evolving, and nobody gets it right every time. But without strain names, we think the world of cannabis gets a lot less fun.

Typically, whoever breeds a particular strain christens it with their name of choice. But if they don’t, it can fall to whoever’s growing it to do the honors.

Recently, we had a new variety in the greenhouse that smelled incredible and looked very, very promising — a cross between Orange Apricot x Orange Cookies. We had a hunch it might even qualify for some special treatment.

So we reached out to our friend, influencer Erick Khan, and invited him for a tour of the farm. At the end of his visit, we surprised him with something we’d never done before: the opportunity for him and his fans to name our newest Grower’s Choice strain themselves.

Simply put, it’s our best of the best. Our highly-selective Grower’s Choice batches are the finest flower we grow on the farm. They’re our pride and joy. Our blue-ribbon batches. Our favorite
children (jk, they’re all our favorites of course). Grower’s Choice is the truly outstanding batches of flower our cultivation team select for special recognition. Since the standards are so high, we base our Grower’s Choice selections on the quality of each individual batch, not just a particular strain, which is why Grower’s Choice isn’t available all the time.

This particular flower’s standout aroma caught the attention of Kirk, one of our greenhouse experts. When he smoked it, he found the flavor and steady, even high to be standouts as well. Our group of in-house cannasseurs then tested it, rated it, and debated it too, and they arrived at the same conclusion. It’s outstanding.

Erick Khan @Erickkhan_ is already familiar with our Grower’s Choice quality; he was actually a “blind” product tester for the very first Grower’s Choice launch in 2020. Since we know he loves fruit- forward terpene profiles, we suspected he’d enjoy this citrusy, juicy-flavored bud and decided to bring him and his fans into the fold to help us name it.

The response was tremendous. We received over 900 suggestions and narrowed them down to only a few. First though, we had to go through the worst part of the naming process: scouring the internet to make sure the chosen name isn’t already taken — sorry, Citrus Mistress.

That’s how we landed on Channel Orange, a nod to Frank Ocean’s debut album. Ocean was inspired by the color he saw when he first fell in love and used this expression to embody the idea of channeling that orange feeling. It’s a thing of legend, just like this strain. And, like Ocean’s album, the effects of this flower are comfortable, silky, and smooth.

The name was a perfect fit and we couldn’t have done it without the wisdom of the cannabis-loving public.

We truly love getting real input from people who love cannabis as much as we do, and it’s something we’re looking to do more and more, so we’ll continue to find ways to get you involved. In other words, start thinking of some good names!