Fire Follower: Top 50 Breeders to Try in 2026

America’s 3.3 million home growers have a historic opportunity to grow exactly the weed they want to see in the world in 2026. All across the legalization and medical states, access to genetics is at an all-time high. You can obtain seeds and learn more than ever with just some taps on your phone or keyboard.

For an example of this diversity, let’s run through the top 50 greatest breeders to check out in 2026.

Starting in November, we ran a public Top 50 Greatest Breeders of 2025 poll online for over a month and marketed it across our channels, gathering 2,773 unique responses. Respondents could cast 10 votes for their favorite breeders from a list of over 100 nominees or write in their own favorite. When we tabulated the results, we narrowed our focus down to 703 “full ballots” (voters who used all 10 of their votes). A pretty strong top 50 list emerged of arguably some of the greatest breeders of the year.

And Now … the Results

For flowers that yield great hash, don’t miss Purple City Genetics and Masonic Seed Company.

For Los Angeles heat, you can’t sleep on Seed Junky Genetics, Capulator or Umami Seed Company. Seed Junky has been releasing refinements on the top strain Lemon Cherry Gelato. Capulator just finished a huge MAC rerelease project. Umami never rereleases its hype drops — it’s one and done and on to the next one.

For boutique and Emerald Triangle rarities, look to Bodhi Seeds, Biovortex, Freeborn Selections and CSI Humboldt (aka Humboldt CSI). Caleb of Humboldt CSI is spending 2026 building two new California retail stores in Rio Dell and Eureka to stock his seeds and flowers and showcase gardening. He’s mostly known for his Chem work.

Nat Pennington, head of Humboldt Seed Company, said to watch out for his new cross of hitters dubbed “Hyper Za,” plus Honey Bear and Puff Pastry.

One-person breeding powerhouse Blockhead in San Diego County recommends his work on the successor to Super Boof, John Truffolta.

Additionally, watch out for the “automatic” seed makers — primarily from Europe — who are on a tear: Fast Buds, Mephisto and Maine’s Night Owl Seeds.

Rebel Grown of California and Vermont has award-winning OG crosses. We also really love Karma Genetics’ European work on the intersection of OG and Z.

It’s wild how many breeders hail from so many U.S. states: Sin City Seeds in Nevada, Thug Pug Genetics and Tiki Madman in Michigan and Subcool’s the Dank in Oklahoma.

Don’t sleep on Colorado seeds in 2026 from Cannarado Genetics, Top Dawg Seeds, Ethos Genetics and more.

There’s great stuff from Washington, including In House Genetics and Exotic Genetix.

Of course, no top 50 list is complete without shouting out Archive Seed Bank of Oregon. They’ve reopened their online store, and the Rainbow Belts varieties sell out the fastest.

An Era of Diversity

One cool feature of modern breeding is how egalitarian the fan bases are. There’s no one “big dog” in the sector. The top 50 in our poll all had relatively similar-sized fan bases. Instead of some ravenous leviathan, we have an ecosystem of popular breeders, each with a set of die-hard partisans. That bodes well for keeping Cannabis diverse and vibrant.

Growing Your Own ‘Greatest’

Fire Follower’s poll included over 100 nominees, but respondents mentioned a total of 505 unique breeders. More than 250 breeders received just one vote, indicating a huge “long tail” of love for a personal favorite. Embrace that passion in 2026. No one can tell you which breeder to stan. It’s clear that super-fandom for obscure favorites is a hallmark of modern home growers, and that’s awesome. Everyone has that band that never made it big, but you know they had the goods to go all the way.

Growing for Wellness

Caleb at CSI Humboldt, who ranked as the second greatest breeder of 2025 in our poll, specifically wanted to shout out Oregon CBD seeds for its high-CBD work. Caleb said their drying room is half CBD strains and half Chems, and Oregon CBD’s Seth Crawford is a real breeder’s breeder. So, if you’re looking for highly therapeutic, Type II CBD-rich cultivars, Oregon CBD is your go-to in 2026.

Now’s the time. Seek out those packs, and prep for an epic 2026 run.