On November 13, three cultivars picked by one of modern cannabis breeding’s most respected names arrive in Europe as verified, pathogen-tested clones. Boston Clone Co. is launching its European nursery service with Austrian partner Jungle Cuts, opening with Lion Strength, Coolio and Cap Junky, all selected by the breeder Capulator.
For anyone who has smoked a jar of MAC, the name needs little introduction. Capulator bred Miracle Alien Cookies, the award-winning cultivar that spread through gardens around the world, and his catalog has followers on both sides of the Atlantic. He is also famously camera-shy, showing up to events in a disguise to keep the attention on the plants instead of himself.
The launch is built around a problem both partners raise without prompting: in a market crowded with mislabeled seeds and sick clones, knowing exactly what is in the pot has become the premium. Rooted clones will ship to EU growers where permitted, each with hop latent viroid and Fusarium test results no more than 30 days old, according to Boston Clone Co.
Why Europe, Why Now
The timing is no accident. In the United States, a rewrite of the federal hemp definition is scheduled to take effect December 11, after Congress pushed most of it back from November 12. Among other changes, it removes viable seeds from high-THC plants from the hemp category, which means those seeds would be regulated as marijuana under federal law and could no longer move legally across state lines.
Attorneys disagree on whether clones fall under the same rule, and Boston Clone Co. reads the law narrowly. “Classifying something based on its future potential isn’t scientific. It’s unprovable,” said Thomas Rogers III of Boston Clone Co. “You can only test the plant material you have present. Baby plants have very low THC concentration.”
The company also sees a new opening for the people behind the genetics. With the U.S. seed trade facing new limits, Boston Clone Co. is positioning licensed international distribution as another revenue stream for breeders. “The time is now with more European countries legalizing,” Rogers said.
Capulator’s Case for the Real Thing
Of the three launch cuts, Lion Strength carries the most personal weight. Capulator crossed Super Lemon Haze with MAC and dedicated the result to his late father, and he wants it in as many gardens as possible. “That plant was literally born from my father’s ashes, and this is the best way I could think of to spread his memory around,” he said. The plan, he added, is for growers to “flower her out, enjoy her greasy lemon goodness, and make some cool projects with her.”
The new U.S. seed rule is not changing his course. “I am in a legal state, and will continue to pursue my passion regardless,” Capulator said. “Trying to make a seed illegal is ridiculous. The seed has been around long before the government, and will be around long after.”
He does see the market tilting toward clones, and a problem riding along with it. “Clones are so accessible now. The trend to clones will continue,” he said. “The problem with clones is verification and cleanliness, meaning you don’t always know if what you are getting is what you purchased, and it may come with pests and disease that will certainly do your garden more harm than good.” That is why he steers growers toward verified resellers, and why he is careful about whose name sits next to his. “For me, I won’t vouch for anyone that doesn’t have properly sourced material and follow a strict IPM [integrated pest management] protocol,” he said. “There are too many terrible people out there just trying to make money with no regard for the end user.”
Overseas, the appetite runs toward whatever is moving in the States. “Good weed is good weed worldwide, and everyone wants what they think is hype,” Capulator said. Some old favorites have lost their shine along the way. “Funny enough, most Europeans that I see at shows are not interested in haze anymore because for them it is played out,” he said. Growers hunting specific profiles, hazes and older genetics included, are still out there, but by his estimate 95% are chasing the poly-hybrid market “instead of their own palate.”
That demand has drawn its share of counterfeits. Over the past five years, American classics like Glue and Cookies, followed by Runtz, Sherb and Gelato, have dominated the European market, he said. “The problem is there are too many fake white labelers taking any bulk seed and labeling it some bullshit American candy name just because it will sell,” Capulator said. “It’s a real shame and a huge disservice to new growers. I can’t tell you how many fake MAC and Cap Junky gear I have seen.”
He is quick to credit European breeders doing their own work, naming Bask Triangle Farms and Author Seeds among those “making their own wave.” He just doesn’t expect American genetics to lose their pull. “American weed will always be in demand,” he said. “We have too many growers and breeders with deep, old roots here that are pushing out the dank.”
Capulator still turns up on the European circuit, at Mary Jane Berlin and Spannabis in Barcelona, in the same disguise that keeps his face out of the press. As for clones, the vouching he described has narrowed to two names. “100% go with Boston Clone Co. in the States or Jungle Cuts in Austria,” he said.
Boston Clone Co. on Clean Plants and a “Horrible Business”
Boston Clone Co. frames its European pitch around proof of identity and plant health. “Sick and dirty plants with questionable authenticity have become the status quo for many nurseries across Europe,” Rogers said. “That severely reduces the potential of the grower.”
Every plant in the launch ships with test results for hop latent viroid (HLVd) and Fusarium that are no more than 30 days old, according to the company. HLVd is a pathogen linked to stunted, underperforming plants, and Fusarium is a fungus behind root rot and wilt. “Cultivators can be 100% confident they are growing the official strain and they will be supporting the creator of the genetic,” Rogers said.
He is also refreshingly blunt about the economics of the work. “No one should start a nursery. It’s a horrible business,” he said. He makes the case for nurseries anyway: with strict canopy limits and the cost of licensed real estate, cultivators should be able to “source starts from an outside nursery to enable them to focus their space and labor on producing more flower.” Introducing genetic diversity, he added, “is crucial for cultivators to stay competitive.”
On November 13, Lion Strength goes live alongside Coolio, a 2024 cross of Cap Junky and Cap’s Frozen Oranges, and Cap Junky itself, Capulator’s collaboration with Seed Junky Genetics. Rooted clones will ship to EU growers where permitted, each one tested and tied back to the breeder who chose it.
For Capulator, that traceability is the reason his name is on the launch at all. In a market where any bag of seed can borrow a famous name, he is betting that growers will pay attention to where a plant actually came from. The cut he dedicated to his father is about to take root in gardens he will never see, and he wants every one of them growing the real thing.
Images courtesy of Boston Clone Co.
Sponsored Content Disclaimer: This article is sponsored by Boston Clone Co. Details on product availability, shipping, pathogen testing and cultivar licensing, along with the characterization of other European nurseries, were provided by Boston Clone Co. Views on how federal hemp law applies to clones are those of the people quoted.
