Paradise Seeds
A seed company with roots in Amsterdam, a breeder who learned his trade in squatted buildings, and a catalogue of classics with stories attached.
- 35cup results
- 12first places
- 1999–2024active in results
- 5cups entered
01Beginnings
Paradise Seeds is a European cannabis seed company set up by the breeder Luc Krol, with its roots in Amsterdam. A 1 July 2021 post on Ed Rosenthal's blog describes it as active since the mid-1990s and counts it among the most decorated seed firms in Europe1. The same article traces the company's first steps to 1994, which is the only founding year either source offers1. Krol began growing in the 1980s, then sharpened his craft after moving to the Dutch capital in the early 1990s, and the 2021 piece says he was still closely involved in breeding at that point1.
The setting was rather unglamorous. According to the Rosenthal article, Krol worked in Amsterdam's squat scene, using entire floors and the roofs of occupied buildings as growing space1. In a Leafly feature, which is sponsored and so carries a promotional slant, Krol says the early aim was to find a handful of signature strains that would plant a flag for the company in the seed market2. Beyond that, the sources do not document how the business was financed or staffed in those first years.
02The story so far
Dutch Dragon sits near the start of the tale, though the two sources tell it differently. Rosenthal's article ties its origins to 1994, when the company began1. Leafly instead says Krol started experimenting in the early 1990s with seeds from a remote region of Swaziland, passed along by a well-travelled coffeeshop contact2. Leafly adds that Krol was not fully satisfied with the first version, reworked it with Skunk and Indian genetics, and that the version released in 2002 took a Highlife Cannabis Cup2. Sensi Star, called the company's most famous classic, won both a High Times and a HighLife Cannabis Cup in 1999, and is said to have more than 50 direct descendants1.
Other strains came with their own origin tales. Durga Mata grew from Krol's wish to breed something tough enough for northern European conditions, descended from two landrace lines, one Afghan and one Himalayan2. Its name nods to a warrior form of the goddess Parvati, because the original mother plant towered over its neighbours in the first test grow2. Wappa is billed as a near-perfect hybrid with Sweet Skunk at its core, though its exact parentage is kept secret2. Leafly says it was slow to catch on, then spread by word of mouth and changed Europe's scene2. The two sources disagree on its release timing, so a date is not documented here.
03Culture and community
Krol's seed-collecting years had a clear backdrop. In Amsterdam's coffee shops, travellers swapped seeds picked up in landrace regions such as India, Thailand, Africa and South America1. Krol credits Ed Rosenthal's early book as an inspiration, and recalls meeting him at the High Times Cup around 1997 or 19981. Years later, he says, Rosenthal was the person who handed him an award at a HighLife Cannabis Cup, which he found especially meaningful, though the year is not given1. The company also followed Rosenthal's court case in the 2000s closely, offering moral and some financial support1.
The strains travelled beyond the usual circles. Sensi Star is also favoured by hash makers, reportedly even in Morocco's traditional hash regions1. Krol describes taking Wappa to a party soon after its release, where its sweet, fruity scent made the whole room pause and sniff the air, a moment he nicknamed the Wappa effect1. Leafly, in sponsored copy, frames Paradise as carrying a torch from an era when passionate people rather than profit ran the scene2. Treat that as promotional framing, not an independent verdict.
04Where things stand
As of the 1 July 2021 article, the catalogue held over 40 strains, spanning sativa, indica, hybrid, autoflower and CBD-rich types1. The article also mentions Auto Kong II, which came out of a collaboration with Tommy Chong that it calls hugely successful1. Krol recalls sharing a joint with Rosenthal of a strain he thinks was Nebula, which he says went on to win many awards1. The exact number of cup wins is not documented in either source.
The Leafly page, last updated 31 March 2025 and sponsored, still calls Paradise one of Europe's oldest seedbanks and names Krol as its founder2. It also says the company's feminized seeds are now available to home growers in both Europe and the United States2. Neither source gives a current catalogue size, staffing or ownership details, so those are not documented here.
05Looking ahead
No announced plans or outlook for Paradise Seeds were found in the sources used here. The only forward-looking line is Leafly's sponsored guess that Dutch Dragon will likely still be a leading strain two decades from now2. That is a promotional prediction about one strain, not a statement of company strategy.
On the podium, in our data
CannaLib records 35 cup results naming Paradise Seeds, between 1999 and 2024, 12 of them first places.
Where they showed up
- Highlife Cup (Netherlands) · 18 entries
- High Times Cannabis Cup (Amsterdam) · 8 entries
- Spannabis Champions Cup · 5 entries
- Treating Yourself Expo Cup · 3 entries
- IC420 Growers Cup (ICMag 420 Cup) · 1 entries
Strains behind the results
Sources
- Ed Rosenthal: Paradise Seeds Talks Classic Cannabis Strains by Tim Paradise (1 July 2021)
- Connect to cannabis history with three legacy strains from Paradise Seeds | Leafly (sponsored; last updated 31 March 2025)
Written from the sources above and checked on 2026-10-29. Spot an error? Tell us on the contact page.