Are you wondering when the morel season starts? When do morel mushrooms grow?
We tell you everything in this article!
What Month Do Morel Mushrooms Grow?
It depends on the state you live in. But here is what you can remember to start hunting for morels:
- February: California, Oregon, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana…
- March: Washington, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois…
- April: Nebraska, Michigan, New-York, Maine, Rhode Island, Delaware, Minnesota…
The Morel Season Depends On Several Parameters!
As you may have understood from the previous section, the ideal time to pick morels depends on the type of morels you are looking for as well as the climate and elevation you are at!
The Type Of Morel
To know when morel mushrooms come up, you must know what type of morels you are interested in! Because black morels and yellow morels do not grow at the same time (nor in the same place).
The black morels can be found as early as March if the winter climate is mild. However, the majority of black morels are found from the beginning of April on fairly low altitudes.
The white and the yellow morels follow the black morels and tend to come from the end of March in the plains. If you are new to the search for morels, the ideal is to focus on the latter, which are much more frequent and therefore easier to find. If you want to know where to look for them in your area, then use our Morel Mushroom Maps.
Weather And Climate
You got it, we started talking about it in the previous part: the climate plays a very important role in knowing when to look for morels. The sooner winter ends, the earlier the morel season begins.
In general, the southern states of the USA can be 3 weeks ahead of the rest of the country, as the weather is favorable earlier.
Regarding the season , the dates we gave you will be reliable for this year. Indeed, this winter is harsh and seems to last.
Finally, and to end on this point, keep in mind that the right time to look for morels also depends on the aspect! Indeed, you must remember that areas facing south will give morels earlier in the season compared to areas facing north!
Find Morels With Our Mushroom Maps!
As we have seen, the morel season depends on several parameters: Climate, elevation, morel type and many others! So you have to dig a little deeper to know when to look for these.
But if you are just starting out and you don’t really have a place to look yet, then look for yellow morels, rather at low altitude and especially the first month of the season. In addition, familiarize yourself with its habitat and find out where to look for it in your State! Check out our Morel Mushroom Maps!
In addition, if you want to know more about the Morel mushroom habitat, then check out our complete article on where to find morels!
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