The history of Cherry Gelato

Timeline

1. Late 1970sDJ Short begins developing Blueberry, the grandparent behind Black Cherry Funk.^4,6
2. 2000Blueberry wins Best Indica at the High Times Cannabis Cup.⁶
3. About 2014Sherbinski and his partner Jigga cross Sunset Sherbert with Thin Mint Cookies, and Gelato arrives; Acai Berry Gelato, Cherry Gelato’s parent, is a cross of the same two strains.^2,3
4. 2016Lemon Cherry Gelato is found as a Gelato #33 bagseed in a Connected pack and propagated by the Los Angeles crew Backpack Boyz.^3,5
5. 2022“The year Lemon Cherry Gelato entered a new level of folklore,” in High Times’ words, with Champelli and Fig Farms releasing their own versions.³
6. Nov 2022–Aug 2024The five state lab tests of Cherry Gelato flower in our dataset date from these months, from labs in Michigan and California.⁷
7. May 2023Lemon Cherry Gelato takes the top spot in New York, according to Leafly, and still holds it in December.⁵
8. Dec 2023Leafly makes Lemon Cherry Gelato its December highlight and calls it “the #4 strain in the US”.⁵
9. May 2024GreenState publishes Sherbinski’s list of six official Gelato phenotypes, among them #49, Acai Berry Gelato.⁸
10. Feb 2026Gelato ranks #6 in Leafly’s best-selling strains of 2025; no Cherry Gelato name appears.⁹
11. Oct 4, 2026Weedmaps lists flower with "Cherry Gelato" in its name at 43 store listings in 9 of 27 markets, while its Cherry Gelato address opens the Black Cherry Gelato page.^10,11

Why it stayed small

Nothing pushed it. No breeder has claimed Cherry Gelato, we found no seed sold under the name, and one parent is listed as clone-only.^1,4 Its namesake had the opposite start: Lemon Cherry Gelato was propagated by Backpack Boyz, released in versions by growers such as Champelli and Fig Farms, and ranked by Leafly among the top strains in the US by 2023.^3,5

A Gelato descendant

Through Acai Berry Gelato, Cherry Gelato descends from the Gelato line that Sherbinski and Jigga started around 2014; Sherbinski counts six numbered phenotypes as official, and Acai Berry Gelato is #49.^2,3,8 He has complained that people use the Gelato name anywhere because it adds value to a product, and that his genetics are often sold under other names without credit.⁸ Gelato has its own guide in the Official Cannabis network at gelatostrain.com.

The disputed parts of the story

• Breeder: unknown, per Leafly; no source we found names one.¹
• Parents: Leafly’s description says Black Cherry Funk × "Acai" and its family tree names Acai Berry Gelato; AllBud says "Acai Gelato", which Leafly lists as another name for Acai Berry Gelato.^1,2,12
• One strain or two: Leafly lists Black Cherry Gelato with the same parents as a separate strain, while Weedmaps sends its Cherry Gelato address to Black Cherry Gelato (see genetics).^11,13
• Lemon Cherry Gelato’s own origin: Leafly’s highlight says Backpack Boyz propagated it from a Connected Gelato #33 bagseed and High Times calls it a #33 phenotype, while Leafly’s strain page speaks of “several alleged origins”, Gelato bagseed or a type of Runtz, and Weedmaps says the original breeder has never been firmly established.^3,5,14,15