Stem Rubbers and Sniffers, are you one of them?

You rub the stem and smell it in veg & early flower? Which strain had the best smelling stem? My blueberry Gum stem smells like an unsweatend hubba bubba gum, my void male stem smells so grapey. What strains do you like to rub and smell the stem?

I almost responded in haste.

After rereading and processing the question on multiple levels I have changed my answer from yes to absolutely not.

My NL 1 absolutely reaks in veg,like a skunk/mustard funk lol and my Golden Goat has quite a lovely musk as well, very sweet.

prefer to rub on of the top cola leaves and kinda smash the resin while leaving the leaf unharmed. that smells super

Stem rubbing and sniffing? Wow i love growing but that just seems a bit fetishy for me. Ill leave you guys be so you can get back to your rubbing.

yep ... I do that all the time , thats about the only way to get a good smell of it before you start flowering .....

Just rubbed and sniffed one out while reading this

I have to admit I did too...

SMELLS DANK!

I too do it, my afrodite smells great I thought the lemon skunk would have smelled better but I was wrong Afrodite is the loudest smelling in my grow room.

i do this all the time. i've had a few strains where the stems smelled like tooth decay which was pretty gross. the stem always has its own distinct smell depending on the strain.

I've never heard of this, but it sounds stressful as hell to the plants.

...I think I might try it though...although I don't really need to, my MK has had a powerful smell since it was about 2 weeks old (they were clones so) and the clones I took of them are already producing their own crazy good smell too. But I think i might try rubbing a stem and seeing if the smell is much stronger.

I rub the stems every time I see em.
Its like I masterbate with there colas.

dajosh42069 said:

I've never heard of this, but it sounds stressful as hell to the plants.

...I think I might try it though...although I don't really need to, my MK has had a powerful smell since it was about 2 weeks old (they were clones so) and the clones I took of them are already producing their own crazy good smell too. But I think i might try rubbing a stem and seeing if the smell is much stronger.

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really ?? you have seriously never rubbed a stem just to smell it ?? ... thats like one of the little rights of passage to a ganja grower.... now go rub that stem ! youll like it - just be gentle with the girl as it will be her first time too !

suTraGrow said:

Just rubbed and sniffed one out while reading this

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LMFAO!!
I couldn't stop laughing.........

Total Head said:

i do this all the time. i've had a few strains where the stems smelled like tooth decay which was pretty gross. the stem always has its own distinct smell depending on the strain.

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Until I saw this.....

Tooth decay??? EEEEEEEEWEW!

Wow...not something i'd do all the time, but def increases the smell my several magnitudes.

I've been rubbing and smelling my girls for as long as I've been growing.
The Kandy Kush and White Rhino I have going right now both smell great.
The Kush has a rather sweet scent to it and doesn't smell like cannabis at all.
While the Rhino has that wonderful hash smell, with a faint hint of sweetness.
I'll be planting my Lemon Skunk seed tomorrow, can't wait to see what she smells like when rubbed the right way.

I gotta bring this thread back from the dead. I've used stem rub to confirm identity of my keepers after cloning or if I'm unsure I might have mixed them up. I can EASILY tell which of my keepers it is from a simple stem rub.

No, stem rubs don't smell exactly like the final flowers. BUT...there is definitely a distinct stem rub to many cultivars, and this can be very helpful.

Here are my observations from cultivars I've grown:

SFV OG (Cltvtd TC): piney, "green"
Cherry Pie (Sac Dispo): Bitter Cigars, Burnt something (Flowers are very similar smell but with cherry fuit)
Purple Urkle (Santa Rosa Organicann pre-64): Piney, bitter cigars, menthol (Flowers are grape candy and skunk)
Gushers (PCG): Piney, bitter cigars, slight menthol (Flowers are grape, pine, GAS, incense)
Ultraviolence (PCG): cheesey lemons, a little spice (Flowers are cheesey, urine, orange juice vomit ammonia)
Chem 91 (Harborside Farms): Pickles, lemon, pine (Flowers are solvent glue, lime, pickles, garlic)
Headband (Elemental Wellness Nursery): Lemon, pine, herbal/medicinal (Flower is floral, herbal, lime)
Legend OG (PCG): Same as headband
Tahoe OG (Roots Nursery): Same as headband
AJSD (PCG): Citrus and holiday spice, quite lovely

Obviously, there is a limit to what you can do with a stem rub...It's not very easy to tell the difference between very closely related cultivars like different cuts of OG/headband/idk maybe fake headband. It also depends on the stage of growth. My observations are usually on a smallish plant or clone; I like to rub pretty vigorously on a smallish branch that is still green, but has some stiffness to it...usually ~0.25-0.75 cm...I think the bigger or smaller stems don't smell as reliably.

Strangely, it seems like a slightly mentholy pine stem rub might indicate grape, as I've noticed that similar characteristic to the stem rubs on Grape Ape, Purple urkle, and Gushers.

-gNs