The Official Cannabis Independent strain guides
Sour Diesel No 04 Shop
The Official Cannabis collection · sheet 04No 04 · Sour DieselFAQ

FAQ

Sour Diesel: frequently asked questions

Short answers to the questions people search most about Sour Diesel, each with its sources.

Is Sour Diesel indica or sativa?

A hybrid that leans sativa: AllBud lists it as 90% sativa, and Barney’s Farm and Royal Queen Seeds sell 70% sativa versions.1,2,3

What strain is Sour Diesel?

A hybrid from 1990s New York, usually traced to Chemdog’s Chem 91 and Super Skunk, known for its fuel aroma and also called Sour D.4,5

How much THC is in Sour Diesel?

The median is 21.68% across 1,071 state lab tests; half of all results fall between 19.00% and 25.30%.6

What does Sour Diesel smell and taste like?

Diesel and chemicals first, then lemon and citrus; Weedmaps users most often report diesel, lemon and citrus flavors.4,7

What terpenes are in Sour Diesel?

By median, β-caryophyllene 0.40%, limonene 0.37%, β-myrcene 0.26% (percent by weight).6

Does Sour Diesel have CBD?

Almost none: 358 of the 972 tests that reported CBD found none; 2 of 972 tests that reported CBD reached 1%.6

Does Sour Diesel make you sleepy?

It is not known as a sleepy strain. Leafly rates it mostly energizing, and AllBud says it does not bring couch lock or a heavy feeling.1,4

Who created Sour Diesel?

No breeder has been proven. Most accounts credit a New York grower known as AJ, working from Chemdog’s Chem 91 cut; Leafly calls the original breeder unknown.5,8,9

When did Sour Diesel come out?

In the 1990s, but accounts differ: Leafly says it became popular in the early 1990s, High Times dates the name “Diesel” to late 1994, and Barney’s Farm says around 1996.2,4,5

Is East Coast Sour Diesel the same as Sour Diesel?

Mostly treated as another name for it: High Times says the original became famous as East Coast Sour Diesel, and Weedmaps lists ECSD as an alias. Leafly keeps a separate ECSD entry, a sativa it lists as a Sour Diesel descendant.5,7,10 Our lab figures leave it out: 93 results carried that name.6

What is the difference between NYC Diesel and Sour Diesel?

They are listed as different strains. NYC Diesel is Soma Seeds’ strain, which Leafly lists as a cross of Mexican and Afghani landraces with a grapefruit and lime aroma; SeedFinder records High Times Cannabis Cup placings for it from 2001 to 2004.11,12 The names overlap: Leafly lists “NYC Sour Diesel” as an alias of NYC Diesel, and Top Dawg Seeds told High Times the original “New York City Diesel” was the Chem 91 cut.11,13

What is AJ’s Sour Diesel?

A name tied to AJ, the New York grower most accounts connect with the original.2,9 High Times lists AJ Sour Diesel among the names the original became famous as, while Leafly keeps a separate entry for it as a cross of Sour Diesel and an unknown strain; in December 2023 Leafly reviewed a version grown in Flowerhouse’s New York greenhouses.5,14,15 Our lab figures leave it out: 50 results carried that name.6

Is Super Sour Diesel the same strain?

No. Leafly lists Super Sour Diesel, also called Super Sour or Super Diesel, as a sativa bred from Super Silver Haze and Sour Diesel, at 23% THC.16 Our lab figures leave it out: 153 results carried that name.6

How long does Sour Diesel take to flower?

About 8–11 weeks indoors for seed versions; Leafly gives 77 days, and outdoor harvests run from late September to early November.4,17,18,19

Sources

  1. AllBud, Sour Diesel marijuana strain information and reviews. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  2. Barney's Farm, Sour Diesel strain: the East Coast strain that took over America (2026-05-21). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  3. Royal Queen Seeds, Sour Diesel feminized cannabis seeds. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  4. Leafly, Sour Diesel strain information. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  5. High Times, 25 years of Chem Dog (2016-09-07). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  6. Cannlytics (CC BY 4.0), cannabis_results: public state lab results (filtered and aggregated by Official Cannabis). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  7. Weedmaps, Sour Diesel strain page. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  8. Weedmaps, Chemdog and 7 strains that come from it (2021-01-28). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  9. Leafly, Are you smoking the 'real' Sour Diesel strain? (2020-07-28). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  10. Leafly, ECSD (East Coast Sour Diesel) strain information. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  11. Leafly, NYC Diesel strain information. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  12. SeedFinder, NYC Diesel (Soma Seeds). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  13. High Times, The High Times interview: Top Dawg Seeds (2016-10-12). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  14. Leafly, AJ's Sour Diesel strain information. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  15. Leafly, AJ's Sour Diesel—Flowerhouse, NY, fall/winter 2023 (2023-12-14). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  16. Leafly, Super Sour Diesel strain information. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  17. Crop King Seeds, Sour Diesel feminized marijuana seeds. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  18. DNA Genetics, Sour Diesel cannabis strain: a legendary sativa with electric energy (2025-06-05). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  19. Humboldt Seed Organization, Sour Diesel #2 (feminized seeds). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.