Cinderella 99 and Brothers Grimm Seeds History

MrSoul of Brothers Grimm Seeds is undoubtedly most renowned for creating Cinderella 99, also known as Cindy 99, C99 and Cindy, which he originally documented in an internet post in June 2000 called “A Cinderella Story.” The Brothers Grimm, were two men who shared responsibility for breeding who went by the online monikers “MrSoul” and “Sly,” and truly left an indelible mark on the world of seed and plant breeding. They introduced numerous iconic strains to the world, from MrSoul’s gene pool based on females like Princess and Genius, they created Strains such as Apollo 13, Rosetta Stone, and the legendary Cinderella 99 to name just a few. The Brothers Grimm Seeds journey began serendipitously when a small quantity of Sensi Jack Herer seeds was unexpectedly acquired in Amsterdam.

MrSoul (Rick Campanella) Creator of Cinderella 99 and Founder of Brothers Grimm Seeds

The Cinderella 99 Story

In 1996, MrSoul (Rick Campanella) stumbled upon a few seeds in a bud of Jack Herer purchased at the “Sensi Smile” coffeeshop in Amsterdam during a seed-buying trip. Despite only modest expectations, upon growing these seeds from the Jack Herer bud they produced a remarkable female he affectionately named “Princess.” Princess’s lineage was obviously a Jack Herer mother (as that was the bud from which the seeds came) which left the identity of the pollen donor a mystery male. MrSoul describes Princess as a compact plant; ideal for indoor cultivation. However, she also had an extraordinary Haze-influenced vibe, a trippy, paranoia-inducing vibe. The buds gave off a pronounced pineapple scent, and remarkably the flowers had a short 50-day maturation period in 12/12, and outrageous resin production. Princess exhibited Sativa-dominance, yet was a compact, fast-flowering plant that remained free of hermaphroditism after years of cloning, under various growing conditions and stresses. She’s the Holy Grail of indoor plants.

Utilizing pollen from a resinous Shiva Skunk male to cross with Princess, MrSoul began the cubing process that created the Cinderella 99 strain.

Here’s how he did it. The first seeds produced by Princess were called P.50, signifying they were 50% Princess. MrSoul used the males from the P.50 generation to back-cross with Princess, resulting in the P.75 generation. This back-crossing process continued through another generation to create P.88, and once again to yield P.94, the generation which, when crossed to Princess yields the final generation known as “Cinderella 99,” a cubed version of Princess.

Each generation in the cubing process showed successive improvements in stability, quality, and yield.

Note that these Cinderella 99 seeds created by the cubing method are regular Cinderella 99 seeds, and not feminized. Nonetheless, MrSoul started creating feminized Cinderella 99 seeds in 2016.

MrSoul’s Cube Theory

MrSoul employed a method known as “Cubing a Clone” to create strains from unique female plants. This method aimed to create seeds that would result in females replicating the phenotype of the original plant.

The process involved continually keeping a mother plant in a vegetative state to provide clones.

Here are the cubing steps:

1. Pollinate a flowering clone of the original female with related male pollen, preferably from her father or a brother. The resulting seeds will contain 1/2 the original female’s genes and 1/2 those of the male. Using unrelated male pollen would exclude the Y-linked traits of the chosen female’s family.

2. Grow the first seeds and flower them. Collect pollen from selected males.

3. Pollinate a flowering clone of the original female with the pollen. The seeds produced upon harvest will contain 1/2 the original female’s genes plus 1/4 more coming from the P.50 male, these seeds are the “.75” generation.

4. Repeat this process of growing, collecting pollen, and pollinating the original female to reach the “.88” generation.

5. Continue to the “.94” generation, which contains 15/16 of the original female’s genes.

By following these steps, the goal was to create a stable, true-breeding seed line where all females replicate the original phenotype.

MrSoul expressed that Cinderella 99 is every bit as good as a cutting from Princess herself, if not better. While Princess and Cinderella shared a sweet and fruity taste with a uplifting vibe, Cinderella 99 displayed a 25% greater yield and a stronger branch structure. The name “Cinderella” suited the strain, symbolizing its journey from humble origins to extraordinary heights. It was chosen by MrSoul, because of the parallels between this story and the well-known fairy tale in which Cinderella transforms from humble beginnings into a Princess.

Recently, MrSoul explained naming Cinderella 99 at a CannaCon in Denver, Colorado. It’s “the best he’s ever explained it.”

Cinderella 99 flowers

In the world of seed and plant breeding, MrSoul’s contributions, including Princess and Cinderella 99, continue to be celebrated and cherished by growers around the globe.

The Brothers Grimm Seeds team today is dedicated to bringing unique and unusual genetics to home growers at the best prices. Long live the home grower!

MrSoul, Rick Campanella, Creator of Cinderella 99