The new Cultivar Collection from Trulieve demonstrates how a multi-state player can stay craft at its core.

Good things don’t always come easily but are always worth the wait. Nowhere is this truer than in the cultivation of craft cannabis. Not an overnight process, success takes time—and plenty of actual human touch. Breeders must painstakingly identify and select ideal combinations of cannabinoids and terpenes, while cultivators carry the torch, ensuring that the chosen genetics grow into consistently perfect and utterly maximized flowers. 

As the cannabis industry matures and companies scale across state lines, not all will be willing or able to keep quality at the forefront, but brands and customers alike can look to Trulieve—already a household name for quality cannabis—to see how scaling and superiority can stay wed to a company ethos. Skyrocketing from its home state of Florida into California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania (with more in the works and nationwide availability as the goal), you might not expect extreme hyper focus on quality to remain a priority. But that’s exactly what’s happening for this seed-to-sale leader that’s paving the way in the business.

Crafting the Cultivar Collection

The proof is in the pudding with Trulieve’s new Cultivar Collection. Grape Cake, Sunset Sherbert x Kush Mints, and Rae Bae are the first three strains in this premium grouping of small batch, top-shelf cannabis, showing just what can happen when resources meet research and dedication to craft from start to finish.

The Cultivar Collection was no overnight feat. After all, there is no finger snapping when it comes to great cannabis. Step one: You’ve got to have great genes. Trulieve’s team germinated over 2,000 seedlings from 70 distinct cultivars to cast a wide net for genetic exploration. The team then meticulously pheno-hunted for ideal potency, captivating terpene profiles, and pleasing aesthetic appeal. Multiple harvest cycles ensured rock-solid stability of each strain’s unique attributes.

Step two: Cultivation. Trulieve’s dedicated team of Master Growers were given the opportunity to experiment with conditions to maximize the potential of each winning strain. The resulting data was compiled and analyzed, becoming custom regimens for each cultivar—down to temperature, humidity, light intensity, feed schedule, and pruning technique. The three strains in the Cultivar Collection are grown by the most skilled growers in the company’s best performing grow rooms, all upgraded with cutting-edge LED lighting to take everything to the next level.

And it doesn’t end there. Knowing that post processing is everything, Trulieve puts the utmost focus on hand-manicuring the harvest to preserve trichome integrity. Then a low, slow dry ensures maximum cannabinoid and terpene retention.

Exceptional strains, hand-picked with care

All in all, the Cultivar Collection is the product of nearly two years and thousands of hours by Trulieve’s top talent. “Absolutely no corners were cut,” says Cory Williams, part of the Plant Health Management team. “In fact, our cultivators have devoted more personal, hands-on care for each individual plant. At every point in the lifecycle there is an essential and direct human element ensuring the Cultivar Collection meets and exceeds the highest possible standards.”

These strains are no joke. Sunset Sherbert x Kush Mints was the first that the Trulieve team developed. “Watching her grow was almost like seeing the moon landing on TV,” says Charlie Field, another member of the Plant Health Management team. “It was the intersection of our skills as growers catching up to the genetic potential of today’s best cannabis cultivars. We knew we had something special, and it was going to elevate patient expectations for product quality in the Florida market.” Sunset Sherbert x Kush Mints is covered in trichomes, as frosty as can be and packing a punch at nearly 31.59% THC.

Grape Cake weighs in at 20% THC and over 2% total terpenes. A hybrid, Grape Cake elicits a relaxing high. Expect both aroma and taste to be nuanced, but heavily influenced by sweet and musk. At 36% THC, Rae Bae dishes a heavy dose of citrus and gas smells and flavor, plus trichomes so thick, you can see them pulling apart as you dig into your stash. Clear your schedule and expect heavy indica effects.

Innovation that won’t quit

Top-shelf genetics, small-batch cultivation, and Master Grower handlers combine to make the Cultivar Collection a winning trio from Trulieve. And we shouldn’t be surprised that they’re leading the way. “Innovation is what drives us as a company,“ says Valda Coryat, Chief Marketing Officer at Trulieve. “We’re constantly looking for additional ways to bring new products, new strain profiles, and even new flavors of classic favorites to patients, ensuring every patient can find the relief they’re looking for.”