Terphogz is the Mendocino County, California breeding crew behind The Original Z, the cultivar that first made its name as Zkittlez. Green R. Fieldz and Tony Mendocino formed the group in 2014, and it sells regular and feminized seed packs from its own store. In September 2026, that store carried a 2026 re-release of Gelonoidz, a Gelonade x The Original Z cross.
The name is a hip-hop reference. The catalog is a family tree, and Z sits at the root.
Two growers and an E-40 chorus
Tony Mendocino, known as Tony Mendo, started growing cannabis at 13 and moved to Mendocino at 17. Green R. Fieldz came up in hip-hop and released three full-length albums with artists including Smoke DZA and Yukmouth. The two met through the producer who made Fieldz's beats, Kendall Travis, known as KT the Orchestrator.
Terphogz is a callback to the chorus of E-40's "Mustard and Mayonnaise": terp hogs, the hogs of terps. The company puts the founders' combined experience at half a century. Jondo Orantes joined around 2017 as managing director and minority partner, bringing more than 30 years with the plant. The company credits him with Blooberry Z and Zlushi.
The look came with them. Mendo had run his own clothing line, Nuglife Ent, before Terphogz. The group's houndstooth became its signature, and the company says it wore the pattern at least a year before houndstooth came back into fashion.
Gas Station Bob's cut and a 2016 Emerald Cup win
The story starts before Terphogz. Leafly traces the cultivar to a grower dubbed Gas Station Bob. Working as Terp Hogz, Fieldz and Tony Mendo popularized it with help from 3rd Gen Family's Brandon Parker. They grew it, entered it in contests and bred crosses from it.
The contest record followed. Leafly lists first place at the 2016 Emerald Cup and the 2023 King of Z Hill, plus placings at Cannabis Cups in San Francisco and Michigan. Terphogz adds first-place trophies from Chalice, High Times and Secret Cup to that shelf.
In July 2023, Terphogz retired the Zkittlez name for its flagship and began selling it as The Original Z. It kept its Z logo. Leafly's strain database now lists it as The Original Z, and the Terphogz catalog uses Z, Z3 and The Original Z in its lineage notes.
Where the verified cut travels
The clone moves through the scene. Bosky Genetics grows a verified cut of the original Z that Oakfruitland gifted it, and Bosky says it was the first time that cut entered its production lineup. Terphogz also supplied genetics for a five-strain collaboration with Seven Leaves.
Z works as a parent inside the house lines too. Zruntz crosses Z with Runtz, and Black Zruntz and Grapefruit Zruntz build on it in the 2026 regular catalog. Blooberry Z, the Dankster Blooberry x Z cross credited to Orantes, sat on the same menu at $140 for 10 regular seeds.
The Blooberry line of March 2026
In March 2026, Jondo declared that the blueberry wars had begun. David Downs' Fire Follower newsletter reported on March 11, 2026 that Terphogz had debuted five regular packs. Each is built on a Blueberry male that Tony Mendo selected from early-2000s seeds and named Bell Springs Blooberry.
- Blooberry Headband: 707 Headband x Bell Springs Blooberry, $269
- Blooberry Pie: Z-Pie x Bell Springs Blooberry, $240
- Blooberry Zruntz: (Z x Runtz) x Bell Springs Blooberry, $240
- IC Bloobies: (Ice Cream Cake x Sherbert) x Bell Springs Blooberry, $240
- Black Truffle Blooberry: Black Truffle Gelato x Bell Springs Blooberry, $240
Fire Follower set the drop against Cookies' Blueberry Caviar, which Cookies sells as flower. Every Blooberry pack holds 10 seeds and sells through the Terphogz site.
Zapplez 3.0 and the London connection
The feminized side runs on collaborations with other breeders. Conscious Genetics of North London co-released Zapplez 3.0 with Terphogz, Fire Follower reported on August 3, 2026. Its breeder Lawtz reversed Zapplez 1.0 and pollinated The Original Z cut. The first drop was 30 packs at $269 for 10 feminized seeds.
The lineage is a relay. Cannarado's Sour Apple went to Gold Star Seed Co, which crossed it with Runtz, and Conscious Genetics crossed that with Blue Zushi to make the first Zapplez. Version 3.0 debuted at Mary Jane Berlin in June 2026. "It's important for some old hogs like us to work with young blood and keep our terps fresh," Jondo told the newsletter.
Conscious Genetics also appears on the September 2026 menu with Red Skrrrt-Banger, a Skrrrt-Berry Zuava x Red Kachina 2.0 feminized pack at $369. Kounter Kulture collaborations fill more of the list, including Blue Zuava, Placa Blava, Red Zuava Zushi and So Fresa, each at $300.
Proto-Terp, Zeuz pods and a Swiss grow light
Terphogz builds gear around the genetics. In 2017 it launched Proto-Terp, a tool that compiles online test results to compare terpene profiles. It added the Terpcuzzi, a cold pack made to keep dabs fresh, and released full-gram solventless Zeuz pods for CCELL.
Hardware went bigger in 2025. Honeysuckle reported on August 3, 2025 that Terphogz and Future of Grow, a Swiss lighting company, had launched the Z-LED grow light, which debuted at Mary Jane Berlin. The partners planned a US rollout for the fourth quarter of 2025. Future of Grow won Best Horticultural Product at Italy's 2024 Aptus Cup.
What the September 2026 menu carries
Terphogz sells direct from its own store. In September 2026, the feminized list ran to 21 listings and the regular list to 15, with every pack holding 10 seeds. Feminized packs on the first page ranged from $280 for Crown Jewelz, a London Pound Cake x Z cross, to $420 for Honey Banana Zuava.
Gelonoidz was in stock at $300 alongside Grape Pizza, a Modified Grape x The Original Z cross. On the regular side, 10 of the 12 first-page listings name Z, Z3, Zruntz or Zkittlez in their parentage. Grapefruitz, a Zkittlez x Grapefruit Bubblegum cross, sat at $120, and The Azucar crossed Sugaree x Z3 back to The Original Z.
For adults 21 and over.