Anyone can breed plants, but few are willing to put in the years of work to properly hybridize.

I started High Power Genetics in response to the lack of knowledge in cannabis breeding. I received a bachelors in horticulture from Michigan State University, and began working in cannabis compliance labs 6 years ago, specializing in High Pressure Liquid Chromatography and Gas Chromatography. The quality of seeds being sold today is very low; many are not bred with an education in genetics. So what do these letter and number notations mean?
F# seeds? What does Bx, RBX, IBL, or S# mean? What is a polyhybrid cross, and why do I want to avoid these?

# = Number of times you've crossed the same strain's siblings, identical clone(s), or different strain's siblings. 
F = Regular Seeds, Male and Female. AKA filial generations. Brothers and sisters are used in this cross (Progeny pollinate progeny)
R = Feminized Seeds; only sisters are used in this cross. Again, kids pollinate other kids of the same generation (Progeny). 
S = Feminized 'Selfed' Seeds; Only the same cultivar pollinates itself. No other plants are used. May have consequences. 
Bx = Back Cross; breeding the children with the original mother clone, or a strain with the immediate mother in common.
RBX = Feminized Back Cross

IBL = Inbred Line (at least 5 generations of inbreeding)
Polyhybrid = Unstable Parents breed with each other

Keep reading to understand the differences and advantages of these different seed types. 
 

A stabilized genetic line refers to plants that have bred only with their brothers and sisters for many generations, an exact clone of their mother or father, or a strain with a common parent. All landrace cannabis plants are inbred, since they can only breed with the plants from the same region, and they're all 'siblings'. All of the seeds produced in a given region have very similar DNA code, resulting in a common set of traits among the thousands of plants. Each year, the similar plants within the region breed with one another, and each year the most desirable traits for survival in that region are carried on. Thousands of similar males and females cross breed; each female has thousands of ovaries and randomly rearranges it's DNA with the DNA of the males, and each ovary exchanges these genes based purely off chance. Each speck of pollen from one male has an identical genetic code, but with thousands of males, and thousands of females, totaling billions of ovaries, the cannabis plant ensures genetic diversity through sheer numbers. And when the pollen interacts with the ovaries, traits swap at random. Genetic diversity refers to a pool of common traits that rearrange themselves at varying  degrees in each plant. Random clouds of pollen on the wind randomly pollinate billions of the little hair like pistils on the female. This regional DNA pool is created through natural selection - where plants specially adapt to a unique environment. Because of all the random crossing over of chromosomes and DNA, the code re-orients itself at random in each plant, so although the seeds are incredibly similar, each one is also slightly unique. Cannabis has been doing this for 35-25 million years. That's right, cannabis is estimated around 35 million years old. Cannabis plants that originate from mountainous dry regions like Afghanistan, for example, have drier resin in response to the dust and sand, shorter height due to the intense sunlight at high elevation, and wider leaves because of less neighboring plants. In contrast, cannabis from the Vietnam jungle have a taller height and thinner leaves to grow between the dense vegetation, sticker resin to trap and kill bugs, and higher THC / trichome mass in response to the intense equatorial sunlight. The hours of daylight at the equator are also much longer, so plants from Africa and Vietnam will flower into December. Plants from colder regions have adapted to flower much faster, since the cold of winter comes much earlier and will kill them. Since only plants in these regions can breed with one another, these unique traits remain with the plants exclusive to these regions.

True F1 hybrids are created when regular seeds (males AND females) from different regions breed for the first time. Using the example above, let's say an Afghanistan seed hitches a ride on a bird to Vietnam. These two species have very different genetic codes; their DNA was enforced by juxtaposed geography and climate. Since the Afghan plant only bred with its brothers and sisters for thousands of years, its DNA is nearly devoid of any codes not required for survival in its homeland. BUT, lurking hidden in this Afghan plants DNA, are recessive and heterozygous traits awaiting the proper environmental stimulation to activate them. Once this plant interacts with the wet, hot. crowded jungle, these genes will change the proteins and therefore functions of the plant, and it will narrowly survive, taking longer to flower due to decreased sunlight, and being pollinated by a vietnamese plant for the first time in its family history. When these new species cross, their chromosomes cross over and exchange parts of their DNA at random. The resulting offspring will have what's known as codominance; a blend of traits from both parents, and Hybrid Vigor (Increased Growth). 

 

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               True F1 Hybrid Codominance     ->

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A trait is expressed (incorporated into the plant's growth) when the gene becomes Homozygous Dominant, Heterozygous Dominant, or Homozygous Recessive. Heterozygous recessive traits are the hidden traits not used by the plant, but are still part of the genetic code. See the punnett squares below to understand homozygous and heterozygous further, or skip ahead to understand the differences between F1-F5, Bx, RBX, IBL, RIBL and S1-S5. 

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R is the dominant trait

r is the recessive trait

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RR = Homozygous Dominant, R is expressed
Rr = Heterozygous Dominant, R is expressed
rr = Homozygous Recessive, r is expressed
 

Notice that both parents are Rr. But one parent could have been rr, or RR. 
Now try to Imagine this with millions of traits...
Let's try to consider just 4 of these traits. Let's pretend R = Potency, B = Height, Y = Color, G = Smell and Z = Flavor
RRbbYyGGZz x RrBByyGgZZ. would be quite the punnett square! Nature is crazy intelligent!

 

True F1 Hybrids, & F2-F5 Explained

In today's commercial cannabis, none of these plants have inbred with their siblings for even 15 or 20 years, much less millions of years. To create a true F1 hybrid with today's plants, a grower must imitate the geographical inbreeding themselves. True F1 hybrids are the result of two inbred plants (from regular seeds, male and female) coming together for the first time. This requires starting with seeds from two different strains. Before crossing these two strains together, both of them need to be inbred only with their siblings first. Each time you inbreed the brothers and sisters from the same strain, a new filial generation is made. This is where the F# comes from, and the number of generations is the #. For example, when I bred Cologne F3: Seed Junky RBX2 was crossed with Ice Cream Cake Bx3. Both second/third generation plants I selected from seed were the result of inbreeding with the original clone, three times for Ice cream cake and twice for seed junky. I used one Seed Junky Bx2 male and one ICC Bx3 female to create the first generation of Cologne seeds. This was the true hybrid generation. When I grew these Cologne F1 seeds, and selected a F1 male to pollinate the F1 females, I created the F2 generation. In the F2 generation seeds, I found a very unique female, Cologne F2 #39, and pollinated her with an F2 male of similar smell and morphology, creating the Cologne F3 generation. When I planted the F3 generation, I was expecting to continue on to F4. However, the F3 generation was surprisingly very uniform in terms of potency, smell and bud size, only height among the plants varied. I was pleased with the results, and so the project was complete. The more you inbreed, the plants, you run the risk of slowing the growth speed and disease resistance of the plants, especially if only one male and one female are continually chosen. This inbreeding is what we call stabilization, it refers to mimicking the natural inbreeding process that occurs in nature, where each local plant breeds only with plants in the same vicinity, and since they all have common parents, they're all siblings and cousins. This forms a special gene pool in that isolated ecosystem. Dominant traits become homozygous and more prominent, and recessive traits become heterozygous and hidden. 

Fillial Generations (F#) - progeny breed 
True F1 Generations are very uniform; there's little difference between seeds, and they are a blend of both parent's dominant traits. There are only one or two phenotypes. 
F2 Generations F2 generations are best suited for growers who want variety. F2 has 4-6 phenotypes depending on the number of males you use, as recessive traits occasionally become homozygous and express themselves.
F3 Generations have 2 sometimes three phenotypes (Depending on the number of males you use)
F4 Generations have 1 or 2 phenotypes
F5 Generations should have only 1 phenotype, and are considered true breeding plants

S1-S5; Feminized Filial Generations. This notation follows the same rules as F1-F5, except they're created with feminized pollen, and no males are present. A single plant pollinates itself, or other clones of itself. Things are typically great in S1 and usually S2, but selfing a plant three or more times may create seeds with strange mutations and bad recessive traits. 
 

Bx1-Bx3: When a breeder crosses the children back to a clone of the original parents, this is called a back-cross. Those initial seeds would be known as the Bx1 lineage or line. Theoretically, the seeds of the Bx1 generation would posess 75% of the original clone's traits. In other words, the seeds are 75% similar to the original clone. When crossing the Bx1 generation with the original parent once again, you arrive at Bx2 with ~95% of the original parent's traits contained in the new seeds. Bx2 is sometimes known as cubing. This continues until Bx5, at which point there would be no more reason to continue the back crossing without risking undesirable recessive traits coming out. I would not go past Bx3. Many times Bx1 plants will be slight variants of the original mother/father and be very desirable  for pheno hunting. 

A back cross can also be done with two separate strains so long as they have an immediately common parent, often resulting in 50% of that parent's traits. It would be useful to ask a breeder if a Bx was done with the original clone or from another strain. For example, If you cross GMO with Grease Monkey, you have created Girl Scout Cookies Bx1, since both strains have GSC as an immediately common parent, and those seeds would possess (roughly) 50% gsc traits, 25% Chemdawg and 25% GG4. 

RBX: Feminized seeds; using female pollen, a grower back crosses one or more of the children to the original clone, or another strain with an immediately common parent. 

IBL Generations
Uniform; 1 Phenotype. IBL simply mean you've done at least 5 filial generations of inbreeding. Some growers may inbreed a strain 10 times or more. These would also be known as true breeding plants. The more you select and clone different females and males for your breeding population, the greater the genetic diversity will be. I will always specify in heirloom preservation plants, like Apollo 13 for example, all details of the breeding project, especially the number of males and females that were selected. In the case of Apollo 13 F3, there were three males chosen. In the Case of Apollo 13 F4, I chose one male, which marks the end of my stabilizing process for this strain. The less genetic diversity you have in your population, the lower the health and potency of your seeds will be once they grow up. When only one male is chosen, this should be done towards the end of the project, as it will essentially end the possibility of genetic diversity in the F5 and future generation.s The F4 generation however, still retains diversity through the initial difference of the females having three different fathers. The final and 

RIBL Generations of seeds follow the same rules as IBL except are created with feminized pollen. 

Polyhybrid Generations occur when crossing two different F1/F2 strains. Many breeders today are doing this because it takes a lot of time and effort to inbreed a plant to F5 or Bx2/Bx3. A grower may get lucky with F3 generations, but typically at least F4 is recommended before crossing new strains together. Polyhybrids are a mixed bag of totally random traits from the entire genetic history of both parents. Remember, there are millions of genes, and without inbreeding, you have no control over which traits are passed on to the resulting seeds. You will likely end up with plants completely different from the parents. Popping these is literally like rolling multimillion-sided dice. Many times today you can get lucky, as many cannabis plants in America today have a common parent, especially blueberry. The advantage of stabilizing lines is that you remove the need to clone

Huge Advantages of True F1 hybrids over F2-F5
Uniform; 1 phenotype
-Grow around 20% faster than other seeds and therefore will almost always be the highest yielding generation.
-Higher potency and terpene content
-Pest/disease resistant and highly adaptable 
-F1 seeds should be grown if one is looking for uniformity and faster growing / bigger plants with a blend of both parents. 
On some instances, one parent contains far more Homozygous Dominant traits than the other, and the resulting F1 generation's gene expression leans heavily toward that one parent. However, take these F1 plants and breed them together for F2 seeds, and those F2 plants will display a population with 25% Dad traits, 25% mom traits, and 50% combinations of the two. More on this below. 

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F2 (The pheno hunt lineage)
The magic generation; 4-5 phenotypes
When breeding the offpsring of True F1 hybrids from above, the result is the F2 generation. If one male is used, you will find 3-6 phenotypes. If more than one male is used, it's possible to find even more. The more seeds you plant, the more variety you may find. Variation is expected and is somewhat predictable. F2 Genetic recombination occurs where plants acquire single random traits from both parents. The breeder has a chance to find completely new strains. This generation is where you will find "clone only strains" or "breeder cuts". This is the distinction between GG4, GG12, Dosi#22, Dosi #18, Gelato 33 vs 41, etc. In addition, if breeders are using more than one male, that will increase the number of phenotypes by anywhere from 100-50% for each male used. If the breeder plans to continue stabilizing the new* F2 strain in seed form, they must select the best male(s) and female(s) plants with the same traits (or phenotype) and continue through F3-F5, or back cross to the original F2 clone. It is usually better to back cross for preserving the unique traits of the new strain, but filial generations can also accomplish whatever the breeder's goal might be. 

 

F3 - F5 (stabilizing lineages)

The selection in the F2 generation will determine the direction of the rest of the stabilizing process. F3-F5 continues to create seeds of increasing uniformity that will either put your new F2 strain into a stable seed form, or the breeder may select plants to represent the mother or father, this is all dependent on the selection of traits by the breeder and their goals. A word of warning, as mentioned above, when you continue to inbreed the plants, you run the risk of slowing the growth and disease/pest or drought/heat resistance of the next generation. This is for the same reason that humans should not inbreed. If you were to select multiple males, when inbreeding, you have much better genetic diversity. This diversity of traits is what allows plants to adapt to their environment with a larger pool of traits to call upon should the environment change or become harsh. This is not to say selecting only one male is a bad idea, especially in the case of creating the F1 generation. When growers select several males (or sometimes leave all of them) and allow them to breed with all of the females, this is known as open pollination, and it is the same way plants preserve genetic diversity in nature even though they are inbreeding. The sheer number of different ovaries on a female plant ensures different seeds will have different traits, especially with several males present--the different combinations really add up fast, and by chance some of the seeds produced will have different traits and be able to survive variable conditions as environments, pests and diseases come and go. 

 

Why do living things even have recessive traits?
All plants have a set of hidden codes lurking in their DNA that you don't see, called recessive traits. The traits that you DO see, and are expressed by the plant as it grows, are called dominant traits. The hidden recessive traits ensure the survival of at least a small handful of plants if they were to somehow end up in a different climate, or if there was a sudden climate change in their current home. These recessive traits would then express themselves in response to the quick environmental change, and only some of the plants would have enough of these recessive traits to survive the change. The expression of DNA code means the genetic code chemically stimulates special proteins in the plant to turn on, and create morphological changes like resistance to cold, drought, pests, and more. This process is totally dependent on the environment, and the number of dominant versus recessive traits each plant happens to contain. The environment totally shapes the organism - this is the basis of natural selection and evolution. So in the case of a sudden change to their environment, only the plants that happen to have (by chance) more recessive traits would adapt and survive. Those with more of the dominant regional traits would die. As time goes on, the next generation of seeds by default would contain only the recessive traits necessary for survival, and so the strain has now adapted and become a new strain altogether, making these once recessive traits the new dominant traits. For example if a bunch of Vietnamese seeds hitched a ride on some migrating birds to the cold mountains of Nepal, a small handful of the plants would still be able to survive due to having a higher number of hidden recessive traits. Those survivors would reproduce, and the next generations of plants will continue to respond to the new environment and mutate their DNA codes over the course of their lives, thus ensuring their children have the best chance of surival. The direct affect of the environment on an organism's DNA is called epigenetics - the mysterious histone proteins responsible for these mutations are still not fully understood by scientists, and continue to be an exciting field of research to this day. 

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All High Power seeds are bred only with stabilized lineages, and are heavily tested. Plants have been purposely subjected to both indoor and harsh outdoor conditions. Plants area adapted for intense heat, cold, rain, mold/disease, pests and high-intensity LED/HPS grow lights.