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The Official Cannabis collection · sheet 65No 65 · Watermelon ZHistory

History

The history of Watermelon Z

Watermelon Z descends from Zkittlez, which took first-place indica honors at two High Times Cannabis Cups in 2015 and won the 2016 Emerald Cup.1,2 Who made the Watermelon cross, and from which parents, is disputed; Leafly now files it as Watermelon Z, and its parent took the name The Original Z under a 2023 trademark settlement.2,3,4,5

Timeline

  1. 2010sThe Original Z, sold for years as Zkittlez, enters the market.1,2 Leafly traces it to a grower dubbed Gas Station Bob and credits the Terp Hogz growers Fields and Tony Mendo, with 3rd Gen Family’s Brandon Parker, with popularizing it.2
  2. 2015Zkittlez takes first-place indica honors at the High Times Cannabis Cups in Michigan and San Francisco.1
  3. 2016The Original Z wins first place at the Emerald Cup.1,2,6
  4. 2019The earliest strictly matched flower test in our lab dataset, from Massachusetts; no source we opened dates the cross itself.7
  5. 2021–202256 of the 63 flower tests in our dataset date from these years; Michigan and Nevada supply most of them.7
  6. 2023Terp Hogz announces it will use the name The Original Z, as part of a settlement with a candy company over alleged trademark infringement.2
  7. 2023The Original Z wins the King of Z Hill; 3rd Gen Family Farm starts a competition dedicated to Z in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, and Z crosses win at the Zalympix and the California State Fair cannabis awards.2,6
  8. Mar 2024Leafly’s HighLight on the Z strain mentions Rockin Extract’s Watermelon Z full-gram cartridges.6
  9. Feb 2025Leafly’s David Downs writes that The Original Z remains tough to beat on the contest circuit.8
  10. Oct 4, 2026Weedmaps lists Watermelon Z flower at 216 store listings in 16 of 27 US markets; 131 of the 253 menu items were infused flower.9

Why it spread

It carried its parent’s name. Zkittlez won first-place indica honors at two High Times Cannabis Cups in 2015 and the 2016 Emerald Cup, and Leafly wrote in 2024 that few strains had taken home as many awards, especially in the previous two years.1,6 Dying Breed Seeds, the Mendocino seed company to which Weedmaps says the cross is widely attributed, is led by Shiloh Massive and the 3rd Gen Family, the group Leafly credits with helping popularize Z.2,3,10

Then the name moved beyond the original plant. SeedFinder lists nine breeders’ seed versions, STIIIZY sells Watermelon Z as an infused flower, and Leafly has noted Watermelon Z cartridges.6,11,12 In state lab records more concentrate results than flower tests carry the exact name (71 against 63).7

From Zkittlez to Z

Leafly’s own pages for the two strains avoid the longer name.2,5 Its page for The Original Z says the strain is popularly known under an infringing candy name and that in 2023 Terp Hogz announced it would use the name The Original Z as part of a settlement with a candy company; its Watermelon Zkittlez page is titled Watermelon Z.2,5 Leafly handles another snack name the same way, filing Gushers as TK41 for what it calls legal reasons.13 Weedmaps still titles its pages Zkittlez and Watermelon Zkittlez, and says Zkittlez is now commonly shortened to Z.1,3

The disputed parts of the story

  • Parents: The Original Z × Watermelon per Leafly, Weedmaps and AllBud, or Watermelon Zum Zum #3 × OG Eddy per SeedFinder’s entry for Dying Breed Seeds and per Pyramid Seeds (see genetics).3,4,5,14,15
  • Breeder: Weedmaps says the cross is widely attributed to Dying Breed Seeds and 3rd Gen Family; SeedFinder lists versions from nine breeders, and none of the sources we opened names the person who first made it.3,11
  • Type: indica-dominant in the strain databases, mostly sativa or sativa-dominant in the Dying Breed and Purple City Genetics listings.3,4,5,16
  • Name: Weedmaps says a Purple City Genetics version, sometimes called Watermelon Z, descends from different parentage altogether.3

Sources

  1. Weedmaps, Zkittlez (aka Z, Zkittles) strain page. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  2. Leafly, The Original Z (aka Z) strain information. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  3. Weedmaps, Watermelon Zkittlez (aka Wmz, Watermelon Skittles, Watermelon Z) strain page. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  4. SeedFinder, Watermelon Zkittlez (Dying Breed Seeds): strain info and breeder description. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  5. Leafly, Watermelon Z (aka Watermelon Zkittlez) strain information. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  6. Leafly, March’s Leafly HighLight: the prismatically delicious Z strain (Matt Jackson) (2024-03-01). Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  7. Cannlytics (CC BY 4.0), cannabis_results: public state lab results (filtered and aggregated by Official Cannabis). Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  8. Leafly, David Downs’ sickest weed genetics picks of 2025 (2025-02-18). Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  9. Weedmaps listings, compiled by Official Cannabis, Weedmaps flower menu snapshot, 27 US markets, Oct 4, 2026. Accessed Oct 4, 2026. Latest capture Oct 4, 2026.
  10. SeedFinder, Dying Breed Seeds: breeder information. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  11. SeedFinder, All Watermelon Zkittlez strains. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  12. Weedmaps, STIIIZY Watermelon Z 7 g 40’s infused flower (brand product page). Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  13. Leafly, TK41 (aka White Gushers, White Gusherz) strain information. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  14. AllBud, Watermelon Zkittlez marijuana strain information and reviews. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  15. SeedFinder, Watermelon Zkittlez (Pyramid Seeds): strain info and breeder description. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  16. SeedFinder, Watermelon Zkittlez (Purple City Genetics): strain info and breeder description. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.