NL5 HAZENORTHERNLIGHTS #5 X HAZE

NL5 Haze (Northern Lights #5 x Haze)

Genetics

Northern Lights #5Haze

Best-supported account Β· 5 sources

Bred by Nevil Schoenmakers

Genetics

Family tree

NL5 Haze (Northern Lights #5 x Haze)
  • Verified
  • Well-supported
  • Reported
  • Folklore
  • Disputed

Offspring

Bred from NL5 Haze (Northern Lights #5 x Haze)

No documented offspring yet.

Lab data

Cannabinoids

No lab data yet.

Bar = median; line = lowest to highest test. Values vary by grower and lab.

Lab data

Terpenes

No lab data yet.

Good for

Use cases

Not enough data yet.

Ranked against other strains from user reports and lab terpenes.

All reported crosses & sources (1 cross)

  1. Northern Lights #5 Γ— Haze

    Well-supported

    Tier A dossier nl5-haze

🧬 Look for DNA test reports on Kannapedia β†—

Type (Type not reported) is a reported label, not chemistry.

Full history

1. Summary

NL5 Haze is the F1 cross of the Northern Lights #5 clone with a Haze male. Nevil Schoenmakers made it at The Seed Bank in the late 1980s, and Wikipedia calls it the cross he is "best remembered for".1 Its existence by late 1988 is verified by the Seed Bank's own advertising: "Haze x Northern Lights #5" appears in High Times in February and March 1989.23 It was entered in the 1989 Cannabis Cup as sample MS-5, which one judge called "the sweetest, tastiest, most active high".4 Wikipedia lists "Haze x Northern Lights #5" (Sensi Seed Bank) as the overall 1993 Cup winner.5 The creation year (1988 or 1989) and which Haze male was used are not documented in any source I read. The NL #5 parent's own genetics are disputed; see northern-lights.md.

2. Identity

  • Aliases: NL5 Γ— Haze, NL#5 Γ— Haze, Haze Γ— Northern Lights #5; "NL5 Haze Mist" (Mr. Nice name).
  • Type: sativa-leaning hybrid. Sensi says 70% sativa;6 Mr. Nice's family field says "50% Afghan, 50% Haze".7
  • Breeder: Nevil Schoenmakers (The Seed Bank). The cross was later continued by Sensi Seeds (after the 1991 sale) and by Mr. Nice Seedbank (Nevil & Shantibaba).1768
  • Propagation: F1 seed; elite clones circulate (Wikipedia claims, without a citation, that original-plant clones still win).1

3. Genetics & lineage claims

3a. NL #5 (female clone) Γ— Haze (male)

Confidence: well-supported. The Seed Bank's 1989 ads name the cross.23 Nevil wrote in 2010 (as compiled) that NL5 "when crossed with the Haze, it expressed the various genotypes behind the Haze very well".9 Mr. Nice traces NL #5 to Purest Indica Γ— Hawaiian and Haze to O Haze.7 A Leafly snippet says 1989 and a "Haze A" male; I could not open it.10

3b. Date of creation

Confidence: disputed. "1989" (Leafly snippet),10 "late 80s" (Mr. Nice),7 or after Sam gave Nevil Haze males in 1987, with Haze hybrids in the 1988 catalogue (McCormick).11 The February 1989 ad implies seed was available by the winter of 1988–89.2

4. Timeline

  • 1987 β€” Sam gives Nevil Haze males (McCormick).11
  • 1988–89 β€” Cross made; the Seed Bank advertises "Haze x Northern Lights #5" with its free 1989 catalogue.23
  • 1989 β€” Ask Ed: the hybrid is "very potent" but stretches 3.5–4 ft.3 The 1989 Cup includes NL5 Γ— Haze (MS-5); the Seed Bank takes all five prizes.4 The overall winner listed is Early Pearl/Skunk #1 Γ— NL5/Haze.5
  • 1991 β€” The Seed Bank is sold to Sensi.18
  • 1993 β€” Haze Γ— NL5 (Sensi) is the overall Cup winner (Wikipedia list).5
  • 1994+ β€” Green House and Mr. Nice use Nevil's NL5 Haze in Super Silver Haze, Mango Haze, G13 Haze and others.178

5. Notable cuts / phenotypes / remakes

  • Sensi Northern Lights #5 Γ— Haze β€” 65–75 days; 120–170 cm indoors; about 450 g/mΒ².6
  • Mr. Nice NL5 Γ— Haze β€” 9–11 weeks; 450–650 g/mΒ²; "experienced to advanced" growers.7
  • Descendants include Super Silver Haze (see super-silver-haze) and many Mr. Nice hybrids.7

6. Historical descriptions by era

1989. "The sweetest, tastiest, most active high" (Cup judge).4 Very potent, stretchy, long internodes, not very productive indoors (Rosenthal).3 2015–2023 (Seedfinder growers). 9–16 weeks, most plants over 12; several phenotypes; relaxing body effect followed by a clear, euphoric head high; sweet, floral smell.7

7. Cannabinoid & terpene profile

LabelMeasurenSource
"NL5 Haze"/"NL#5 x Haze" (Smith 2022)THC mean 17.7% (15.1–21.6); terpenes myrcene 0.74, Ξ±-pinene 0.30, limonene 0.27, caryophyllene 0.246 (4 terp)Smith 2022 data
Same (WA I-502)THC mean 22.3% (median 22.3)14WA I-502

The samples are too small to be meaningful. Strain names are not reliable chemotype identifiers.

8. Community sentiment

The sample is small: the 1989 Cup judges, Ask Ed letters, and about five Seedfinder reviews and comments. Leafly returned 403 and Reddit was not sampled.

  • Potent, active, euphoric head high β€” common, positive.437
  • Stretch and long, variable flowering β€” common, negative.37
  • Foundational Haze hybrid β€” common, positive.112

Paraphrases: a 1989 judge rated it the most active sativa high;4 a 1989 reader asked how to fit the "very potent", stretchy hybrid into a short room;3 a 2015 grower found most plants needed more than 12 weeks and the best took 16;7 a 2023 grower reported heavy yields and a clear, euphoric high.7

Era shift. Cup sensation (1989–93), then parent stock of the 1990s Green House and Mr. Nice Hazes, then a niche heirloom grow.

Overall score: 82/100 (low confidence; small sample).

Conflicts with lab data. Too few samples to test.

9. Open questions

  • The exact year and the Haze male used.
  • A primary 1993 Cup report.
  • The provenance of the Sensi and Mr. Nice lines relative to the 1989 F1.

10. Sources

Lab: src-chem-smith2022-data, src-chem-wa-i502-jikomes2018 (key nl5-haze).

Footnotes

  1. Wikipedia, "Nevil Schoenmakers". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevil_Schoenmakers β€” secondary_database. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  2. The Seed Bank ad, High Times No. 162, Feb 1989. https://archive.org/download/high-times-magazine-1980s_202401/162%20High%20Times%20February%201989_djvu.txt β€” seed_catalog. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  3. High Times No. 163, March 1989 (Ask Ed "Grow Haze?"; Seed Bank ad). https://archive.org/download/high-times-magazine-1980s_202401/163%20High%20Times%20March%201989_djvu.txt β€” news. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  4. Ed Rosenthal, "The 1989 Cannabis Cup Awards", High Times No. 169, Sept 1989. https://archive.org/download/high-times-magazine-1980s_202401/169%20High%20Times%20September%201989_djvu.txt β€” news. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  5. Wikipedia, "Cannabis Cup". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_Cup β€” secondary_database. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  6. Sensi Seeds, "Northern Lights #5 x Haze". https://sensiseeds.com/en/regular-seeds/sensi-seeds/northern-lights-5-x-haze β€” seed_catalog. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  7. Seedfinder, "NL5 x Haze (Mr. Nice Seedbank)", breeder info and comments 2015–2023. https://seedfinder.eu/en/strain-info/nl5-x-haze/mr-nice-seedbank β€” seed_catalog. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12

  8. Leaf Magazine, "Cannthropology: The Original King of Cannabis". https://leafmagazines.com/learn/history/cannthropology-the-original-king-of-cannabis/ β€” news. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  9. Mr. Nice forum compilation of Nevil's posts (2010-08-25 quote). https://mrnice.nl/forum/threads/the-real-history-of-northern-lights.19340/ β€” forum_post. ↩

  10. Leafly, "Northern Lights #5 x Haze". https://www.leafly.ca/sativa/northern-lights-5-x-haze β€” secondary_database β€” unverified_url: true. ↩ ↩2

  11. Todd McCormick, "The Primary Colors of Cannabis", High Times, 2023-06-06. https://hightimes.com/culture/the-primary-colors-of-cannabis/ β€” news. ↩ ↩2

  12. SunGrownMidz, "Breeding the Culture: The Northern Lights Crew", Beard Bros, 2021-04-14. https://beardbrospharms.com/breeding-the-culture-northern-lights/ β€” news. ↩