Red Congolese Auto

South Africa is really two growing countries, and Red Congolese does not behave the same way in both. North and east of the escarpment the rain arrives in summer, so this 10/90 sativa does its flowering while the air is still heavy; in the Western Cape the rain comes in winter, so the same plant ripens through a dry autumn instead. An open sativa canopy is the right structure for a humid coast, which is roughly how Durban Poison ended up the shape it is — air moves through the plant instead of sitting in it, and the botrytis pressure that ruins denser cultivars through a KwaZulu-Natal February mostly passes it by. The trade-off is the calendar. A 65-75 days bloom on the Highveld has to start early, which in practice means seedlings out by October, or the closing weeks run into frost. pinene expression is strongest where day-to-night swings exceed 10°C, and at altitude that is simply what autumn does.

Leading with Pinene, then Limonene, and Caryophyllene underneath.

Difficulty: easy. In flower for 65-75 days. Stands Short. Indoors it returns up to 400 g/m2. Outdoors, up to 400 g/plant a plant.