Apollo 13

1. Summary

Apollo 13 is a Brothers Grimm hybrid of Genius, a female clone that came from the same Sensi Smile Jack Herer bud as Princess, and a P.75 male. P.75 is the second backcross generation of the Cinderella 99 cubing program. A breeder description dated "circa 1998" gives 45–55 days of flowering.¹ MrSoul, quoted by Subcool in 2010, said "The father of Apollo 13 was P.75 whereas Apollo 11's dad is Cinderella 99."² Relaunch-era Brothers Grimm texts say the same thing.³⁴ A second claim, found only on forums and lineage lists, names a Princess 88 / Cinderella 88 father instead.⁵⁶⁷ The two claims are recorded as disputed. The original seed run was small: the "only 500 seeds" figure is repeated but no primary source for it was found.⁸ The line survived in three forms:

• clones, notably Subcool's cutting, which TGA used for Vortex and Apollo 13 BX;⁸⁹¹⁰
• open-pollinated seed lines carried from F1 to F6;¹¹
• a Brothers Grimm recreation made c. 2016–17 by crossing an original Apollo 13 female back to a P75 male grown from stored seed. That version is now discontinued.¹¹²

2. Identity

• Names: Apollo 13, A13, Apollo-13, "Apollo13" (SeedFinder spelling). Not the same as TGA's Apollo 13 BX or the Reserva Privada "Apollo 13 (Indica)/(Sativa)" listings.⁹¹³
• Type as reported: "delicate balance of indica/sativa" (c.1998). SeedFinder's basic info calls it "mostly indica". Growers describe sativa-type and indica-type expressions.¹¹⁴¹⁵
• Era: c. 1998 original; recreated c. 2016–17.¹¹⁶
• Breeder: Brothers Grimm Seeds (MrSoul, with Sly).
• Propagation: seed (original regulars, which were scarce) and clone (several elite cuts, e.g. Subcool's cut and a "Puffs cut").⁸¹⁷
• Region: USA, from Amsterdam bagseed through the Genius mother.

3. Genetics & lineage claims

3a. Genius × P.75 (breeder)

Confidence: verified (breeder statement, quoted). Disputed with 3b. MrSoul (quoted by Subcool, 2010): "Apollo 11 & 13 are from the same mother plant (Genius). The father of Apollo 13 was P.75…"² Relaunch-era BG texts give the same father: "P75 is also the father of Apollo 13"³ and "Apollo 13 (genius x p75)".⁴ Subcool's 2008 article,⁸ DNA Genetics' Reserva Privada store (2008, "Genius mother x P75 father")¹³ and the Mota Rebel F4 line¹¹¹⁸ all repeat Genius × P75. P.75 = Princess × P.50 (a P.50 male backcrossed once to Princess), per the C99 dossier.¹⁹

3b. Genius × Princess 88 / Cinderella 88

Confidence: reported (forum and lineage lists only) A long-time Overgrow grower wrote in 2018 that MrSoul probably no longer has "the C88 father of Apollo 13".⁵ A THCFarmer lineage list (seen only as a search snippet) gives "Genius X Princess 88",⁶ and Strainpedia (snippet only) gives "Genius × Princess".⁷ No breeder text supporting a C88 father was found.

3c. Origin of the mother (Genius)

Confidence: verified that this is the breeder's account. Contested at its root (see princess dossier). MrSoul (quoted 2010): Apollo 13's mother "was bred from a mysterious hybrid of Jack Herer crossed with an unidentified male".² Genius is a sister of Princess and Café Girl.¹⁹

3d. "Only 500 seeds"

Confidence: folklore Subcool (2008) attributes the figure to "the original information on this Brothers Grimm strain".⁸ NorStar's copy repeats it.¹⁵ No primary BG text containing the figure was found.

4. Timeline

• c. 1998: Apollo 13 description written (45–55 days; 120–150 cm; 400 g/m²).¹
• 2008: Subcool writes about his "old and hard to work with" original Apollo-13 cutting, used to make Sputnik, Vortex and The Void.⁸ DNA Genetics / Reserva Privada lists Apollo 13 (Indica) and (Sativa), both Genius × P75.¹³
• by 2010: TGA offers Apollo 13 BX (Apollo 13 × a Vortex male).²⁹²⁰
• 2011–2012: Growers discuss A13 BX and Vortex as the available ways into the line.²¹¹⁴
• 2012–13: Mendel releases an Apollo 13 F4 under the Motarebel label. It came from NorCal growers' F1→F3 greenhouse populations.¹¹
• c. 2016–17: BG recreation (original A13 female × P75 male). Packs and freebies appear in shops by May 2017.¹¹⁶²²
• 2024: "Even" auctions an open-pollinated F6 line.¹¹
• 2026: Apollo 13 and "A13 Haze" are on BG's discontinued list.¹²

5. Notable cuts / phenotypes / remakes

• Subcool's cut (TGA): vine-like, needs nutrients, fox-tails when warm, peppery rotting-fruit smell, harvest window day 54–65, famous for red bubble hash.⁸
• TGA Apollo 13 BX: the Apollo 13 cut × a Vortex male, which took 60 plants and a year to select. Mostly sativa, 55–60 days, "rotting fruit, citrus, and baby poo".⁹²⁰
• Vortex (TGA): Apollo 13 × Space Queen.¹⁰
• Mota Rebel F4 → Even F6: kept through open pollination with no culling. Phenotypes: gorilla-arm (~1/6), pineapple (~1/4), fewer Genius types than in A11, "baby dump" (~1/10).¹¹
• BG recreation (2016–17): original A13 female × P75 male. Squat, citrus-mango, 50–60 days.¹
• Duke Diamond: "Apollo 13 x SSGH" and "Apollo 13 Puffs Cut x TGA Vortex".¹⁷
• X13 (Webfish, Cannabis World era): Airborne G13 × Apollo 13.²³

6. Historical descriptions by era

• c. 1998 (breeder): "This skunky girl will make your eyes water with her pungent perfume". The high is clear and cerebral "without a hint of paranoia", citrus flavour, 45–55 days.¹ MrSoul describes a "Lemon Pledge" citrus scent over acrid skunk, and says A13 is as strong as Cinderella but a more "happy, social high" with no couch-lock.²
• Original-era grower memory: it stretched more than his other BG cut, "but still manageable".²⁴
• 2008–2012: see §5. One grower found A13 had more body buzz than A11, with fox-tails and a spicy funk.¹⁴
• 2016–2024: recreation at 50–60 days, 4–8 oz per plant.¹ F6 line at 55–60 days.¹¹

7. Cannabinoid & terpene profile

Caveat: strain names are not reliable chemotype identifiers. None of these lots can be traced to Brothers Grimm seed or to an original clone.

The maximum values (THC 36.7%, CBD 17.8%) are outliers. A terpene panel of n=6 is too small to define a profile. Growers describe the aroma as lemon and pepper, but myrcene and caryophyllene lead in these panels.

8. Community sentiment

Sample: about 40 forum posts (Rollitup 2008, 2011 and 2012; MarijuanaPassion 2010; Overgrow 2017–2026) and about 15 Reddit post titles. No aggregator ratings were read.

• Grail status and scarcity: common.⁸²¹¹¹
• Clear, social, less paranoid than C99: common.²¹⁴
• Lemon / peppery / rotten-fruit funk aroma: common.²⁸²⁶²⁷
• Finicky, floppy clone: occasional, negative.⁸
• Doubt that relaunch versions match the original: occasional.²²⁵
• Hash quality: occasional, positive.⁸²¹

Representative paraphrases:

• MrSoul: A13 and Cindy are equally strong, but A13 is the happier, social one.²
• A TGA A13 BX keeper rated "better than 90%" of high-grade weed.²¹
• The original A13 was mostly fruity, with an underlying skunk funk from Genius.²⁶

Score: 80/100 (sample small).

9. Open questions / could not verify

• Was the father P.75 (MrSoul as quoted) or P.88/C88 (forum claim)? No 1998–2001 catalog page for Apollo 13 was read.
• The exact release date and seed count. The "500 seeds" figure has no primary source.
• Where Subcool's cut and the "Puffs cut" came from.
• Whether the 2008 Reserva Privada versions were seed lines made from BG stock.
• Seeds Direct 2001 items bg03–bg08 and bg12–16 were not re-fetched (Wayback 429).

10. Sources