Phenotype vs genotype

Genotype is the genetic blueprint — the actual DNA a seed carries. Phenotype is what you see when that blueprint expresses in a real environment: structure, color, smell, flowering time, yield, terpene profile, cannabinoid content.

A single pack of 10 seeds can produce 10 different phenotypes. They all share the same genotype range (within the parents' diversity), but each plant expresses a different selection of traits — some lean toward one parent, some toward the other, some show recessive traits hidden in both.

This is why "pheno hunting" exists. Breeders pop 50-200 seeds of a new cross, grow them all out, and select 1-3 standout phenotypes ("keepers") to clone and work with. Those keepers become the named cuts: Forum Cut GSC, Triangle Kush, Wifi 43, Ghost OG.

Environment matters too. The same clone grown in two different rooms will produce two slightly different phenotypes. Light intensity, nutrient regime, temperature, humidity, training method — all push the expression around. Genotype sets the ceiling and floor; phenotype is where the plant actually lands.