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The Official Cannabis collection · sheet 70No 70 · Runtz CakeHistory

History

The history of Runtz Cake

Runtz Cake has no founding date: Leafly says its original breeder is unknown, Weedmaps credits Farmer and the Felon in California, and the earliest dated mention we found is Leafly’s October 2021 harvest report, which listed it among that year’s Cake strains.1,2,3 It brought together two lines Leafly had just honored: Wedding Cake, its 2019 Strain of the Year, and Runtz, its 2020 pick and the family White Runtz belongs to.4,5,6

Timeline

  1. 2010sZkittlez, now listed on Leafly as The Original Z and named as a parent of White Runtz, emerges.7,8
  2. 2016Zkittlez wins 1st place at the Emerald Cup.7
  3. 2019Wedding Cake, a Triangle Kush × Animal Mints hybrid also known as Triangle Mints #23, is Leafly’s Strain of the Year, the first for Seed Junky.4,9
  4. 2020Leafly names Runtz, Cookies Fam’s Zkittlez × Gelato cross popularized by the Runtz crew from Long Beach, its Strain of the Year.3,5
  5. Oct 2021Leafly’s harvest report sees “a tsunami of Runtz crosses like White Runtz, Pink Runtz, and Blue Runtz” and lists Runtz Cake among the year’s Cake strains, the earliest dated mention of Runtz Cake we found.3
  6. Mar–Apr 2023The 51 Runtz Cake flower tests in our lab data date from these months, all from one Washington producer, tested by one lab on 4 days.10
  7. 2023Zkittlez’s growers adopt the name The Original Z after a trademark settlement with a candy company.7
  8. 2025Wedding Cake is #3 in Leafly dispensary orders nationwide and the top strain in Washington; Runtz is #1 in Michigan and Nevada.11
  9. Jul 2026Leafly’s list of the 100 best strains includes Wedding Cake and Runtz, noting that Runtz has been crossed to make White Runtz; Runtz Cake is not on it.6
  10. Sep 2026The Marijuana Herald’s state-by-state top sellers, built on August sales, put Wedding Cake first in Washington and Runtz first in Michigan; Runtz Cake does not appear.12
  11. Oct 4, 2026Weedmaps shows Runtz Cake flower at 19 store listings in 6 of 27 markets, the most (7) around Los Angeles.13

Where it comes from

It sits where two waves met. Leafly calls Wedding Cake “the strain that started the cake craze” and Runtz “the strain that launched a million crosses”, and its 2021 harvest report saw “a tsunami of Runtz crosses like White Runtz, Pink Runtz, and Blue Runtz” in the same season it listed Runtz Cake among the year’s Cake strains.3,6,11

It has stayed small. Runtz Cake does not appear in Leafly’s best-selling strains of 2025, The Marijuana Herald’s September 2026 list of top sellers by state or Leafly’s 100 best strains, while Wedding Cake and Runtz appear in all three.6,11,12 Weedmaps says it is not available as seeds or clones, and Leafly lists 41 ratings for it.1,2

The disputed parts of the story

  • Breeder: unknown per Leafly; Farmer and the Felon, California, per Weedmaps (see genetics).1,2
  • Second parent: White Runtz is Gelato × Zkittlez on Leafly, while Weedmaps also tells it as Runtz crossed to The White or as a selected Runtz phenotype.8,14
  • Type: a hybrid that is mostly calming (Leafly), an indica-dominant hybrid (Weedmaps) or a 50/50 hybrid (AllBud).1,2,15
  • Flavor: diesel with floral and pine notes (Leafly), woody, sweet and berry with sweet and sour lemon aromas (Weedmaps), or berry candy with a vanilla-citrus exhale (AllBud).1,2,15
  • Date: no source we found dates the first Runtz Cake; Leafly’s October 2021 harvest report is the earliest dated mention.3

Sources

  1. Leafly, Runtz Cake strain information. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  2. Weedmaps, Runtz Cake strain page. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  3. Leafly, 11 best cannabis strains of the 2021 harvest (David Downs) (2021-10-19). Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  4. Leafly, A look back at the Leafly Strain of the Year hall of fame (Morgan Rosendale) (2026-02-27). Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  5. Leafly, Runtz (aka Runtz OG, Gelato Zkittlez) strain information. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  6. Leafly, Leafly’s 100 best weed strains of all time (2026-07-14). Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  7. Leafly, The Original Z (aka Z) strain information. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  8. Leafly, White Runtz strain information. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  9. Leafly, Wedding Cake (aka Triangle Mints #23, Pink Cookies) strain information. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  10. Cannlytics (CC BY 4.0), cannabis_results: public state lab results (filtered and aggregated by Official Cannabis). Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  11. Leafly, The best-selling weed strains of 2025 (Morgan Rosendale) (2026-02-02). Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  12. The Marijuana Herald, The top-selling marijuana strain in all 23 states with legal recreational sales (Anthony Martinelli) (2026-09-18). Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  13. Weedmaps listings, compiled by Official Cannabis, Weedmaps flower menu snapshot, 27 US markets, Oct 4, 2026. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  14. Weedmaps, White Runtz strain page. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.
  15. AllBud, Runtz Cake marijuana strain information and reviews. Accessed Oct 4, 2026.