The history of Grape Ape

Timeline

1. 1975The Great Grape Ape Show, a Hanna-Barbera cartoon about a 40-foot purple gorilla, runs on ABC from September 6 to December 13.⁶
2. Late 1970sSacred Seed Co. breeds Skunk #1 from Afghani, Acapulco Gold and Colombian Gold.⁷
3. 1990sMendocino Purps and its phenotypes Purple Urkle and Lavender emerge in the Northern California Purps scene.⁸
4. Early 1990sApothecary Genetics dates its beginnings to Gig Harbor, Washington; Royal Queen Seeds places Grape Ape’s creation there in this period.^1,5
5. 2004Bret Bogue founds Apothecary Genetics in Northern California.^1,2
6. 2005–2006Grape Ape takes first place at consecutive Green Cups, according to Apothecary Genetics, Weedmaps and Royal Queen Seeds, and first at a 2006 medical cup in Lake County, according to Apothecary.^1,2,5,9
7. 2007Mendocino Purps takes a top-ten slot in High Times’ Strains of the Year.¹⁰
8. Apr 2011Grape Ape wax from Salida Green Cross wins Best Concentrates at the High Times Medical Cannabis Cup in Denver, a win Apothecary Genetics lists among its own.^1,11
9. Feb 2015Leafly publishes "The Great Grape Ape", a strain highlight that puts its average THC at 15–23%.¹²
10. 2010sZkittlez, bred from an alleged mix of Grape Ape and Grapefruit with an undisclosed third strain, comes to market and wins the 2016 Emerald Cup.^3,13
11. Oct 2016As Oregon’s adult-use sales begin, its liquor commission bars 14 strain names, Grape Ape among them, from cannabis packaging as names appealing to children.^4,14
12. 2014–2024The 202 state lab tests of Grape Ape flower in our dataset date from these years, 101 of them from 2022.¹⁵
13. Jul 2026Leafly’s list of the 100 best strains of all time includes Grape Ape among strains for feeling relaxed.¹⁶
14. Oct 3, 2026Weedmaps shows Grape Ape flower at 114 store listings in 13 of 27 US markets, 62 of them near Los Angeles.¹⁷

Why it spread

It had a flavor and a story. The grape smell gave it a memorable name, and Apothecary Genetics could point to back-to-back Green Cup wins in 2005 and 2006.^1,2,18 It was also easy: Leafly’s grow data rates it easy with a high yield, AllBud calls it relatively easy to grow, and seed versions finish in 50–60 days.^18,19,20,21

Its biggest legacy may be indirect. The Original Z, better known as Zkittlez, is described as an alleged Grape Ape × Grapefruit cross; it won the 2016 Emerald Cup and, crossed with Gelato, produced Runtz.^3,13,22

The disputed parts of the story

• Date and place: Royal Queen Seeds says the early 1990s in Gig Harbor, Washington; Apothecary Genetics dates its founding to 2004 in Northern California, with earlier beginnings in Gig Harbor; Weedmaps calls it a medical-era California indica.^1,2,5
• Parents: Mendocino Purps × Skunk × Afghani in most accounts, a Granddaddy Purple descendant in others, and Granddaddy Grape × Skunk #1 for Barney’s Farm’s version (see genetics).^8,18,21
• Awards: the Green Cup and Lake County wins are reported by the breeder and repeated by strain databases; only the 2011 Denver concentrate win has independent press coverage, and Westword listed the winning entry as Grape Ape wax from Salida Green Cross.^1,2,11
• The name: Leafly and Weedmaps say it describes the grape smell and flavor; Oregon regulators grouped it with names that refer to cartoon characters.^2,4,18