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Mushroom season 2026
When is the season for porcini, chanterelles or morels? The mushroom calendar shows for every month which edible mushrooms typically grow in Central Europe – with hints for beginners and links to profiles, map and recipes. Whether they are actually appearing right now depends on the weather: the mushroom forecast for your area tells you.
The three rules: Take nothing you don't know for sure. · Nothing old: overripe mushrooms can cause "false" mushroom poisoning. · Identify reliably first – if in doubt, ask a mushroom expert – then cook and eat.
The calendar shows typical growing periods – no guarantee of finds and no identification aid. You are responsible for what you pick and eat.
November · now
Mushrooms grow in winter too: on mild, damp days wood-dwellers such as wood ear, oyster mushroom and velvet shank appear on dead wood. Frost pauses them, thaw wakes them up.
🌱 Beginner-friendly · 1
🍄 Other species · 3
Occasionally / edge of season
⏳ Only with experience · 1
Late winter: the season mostly rests. Look at dead wood and stumps – velvet shank even withstands frost – and use the time to learn mushrooms from books and courses.
🌱 Beginner-friendly · 1
🍄 Other species · 2
Occasionally / edge of season
🍄 Other species · 1
Start of spring: as soil warms, the first morels appear at the end of March in floodplain forests, under ash and along paths. Careful: the poisonous false morel looks similar. In mountain forests with fir the March waxcap appears – protected, look only.
🌱 Beginner-friendly · 1
🍄 Other species · 2
Occasionally / edge of season
⏳ Only with experience · 1
🍄 Other species · 1
Morel time! At the end of April St George's mushroom joins in. It has a dangerous look-alike, the poisonous red-staining fibrecap – not for beginners.
🌱 Beginner-friendly · 1
⚠️ Beginners: extra rule only · 1
⏳ Only with experience · 1
🍄 Other species · 3
Occasionally / edge of season
⏳ Only with experience · 3
May gets more colourful: chicken of the woods glows on broadleaf trees, the first boletes appear after warm rain. Morel season fades.
🌱 Beginner-friendly · 2
⚠️ Beginners: extra rule only · 3
⏳ Only with experience · 5
🍄 Other species · 1
Occasionally / edge of season
🌱 Beginner-friendly · 1
⚠️ Beginners: extra rule only · 1
⏳ Only with experience · 2
🍄 Other species · 2
Early summer: after heavy rain the first porcini (summer cep) and chanterelles appear. Heat and drought pause growth.
🌱 Beginner-friendly · 7
⚠️ Beginners: extra rule only · 5
⏳ Only with experience · 7
🍄 Other species · 2
Occasionally / edge of season
🌱 Beginner-friendly · 1
⏳ Only with experience · 2
🍄 Other species · 2
Chanterelle time: after warm thunderstorms it pays to look for chanterelles, porcini and birch boletes. No rain, no mushrooms.
🌱 Beginner-friendly · 7
⚠️ Beginners: extra rule only · 5
⏳ Only with experience · 9
🍄 Other species · 4
Occasionally / edge of season
🌱 Beginner-friendly · 1
⚠️ Beginners: extra rule only · 1
🍄 Other species · 1
Main season begins: porcini, chanterelle, orange birch bolete, parasol and cauliflower fungus. The death cap also grows from now on – Europe's most dangerous mushroom.
🌱 Beginner-friendly · 8
⚠️ Beginners: extra rule only · 6
⏳ Only with experience · 9
🍄 Other species · 9
Occasionally / edge of season
🌱 Beginner-friendly · 1
Peak season: for many, September is the best mushroom month. Bay boletes, porcini, parasols and slippery jacks – often in large numbers after rain. Only take what you know for sure.
🌱 Beginner-friendly · 9
⚠️ Beginners: extra rule only · 6
⏳ Only with experience · 10
🍄 Other species · 9
Occasionally / edge of season
🍄 Other species · 1
Golden October: bay boletes, hedgehog mushrooms, horn of plenty and shaggy ink caps. First night frosts slow things down, mild weeks extend the season.
🌱 Beginner-friendly · 9
⚠️ Beginners: extra rule only · 4
⏳ Only with experience · 10
🍄 Other species · 9
Occasionally / edge of season
⚠️ Beginners: extra rule only · 2
🍄 Other species · 2
Late autumn: hedgehog mushroom, horn of plenty and oyster mushroom hold on, velvet shank is just starting. Lasting frost ends the season for most forest mushrooms.
🌱 Beginner-friendly · 4
⚠️ Beginners: extra rule only · 1
⏳ Only with experience · 1
🍄 Other species · 8
Occasionally / edge of season
🌱 Beginner-friendly · 3
⚠️ Beginners: extra rule only · 3
⏳ Only with experience · 6
🍄 Other species · 2
Winter mushrooms: oyster mushroom, wood ear and velvet shank grow on dead wood, even in midwinter during thaws. Time to review the season in your own mushroom blog.
🌱 Beginner-friendly · 1
⏳ Only with experience · 1
🍄 Other species · 3
Occasionally / edge of season
🍄 Other species · 2
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🌱 Beginner-friendly · ⚠️ Beginners: extra rule · ⏳ Only with experience – Mushroom foraging for beginners →
In November, the main season is on for Bay Bolete, Hedgehog Mushroom, Horn of Plenty, Judas’ Ear, Shaggy Ink Cap, Wood Blewit. Whether they are actually growing depends on the weather: usually one to two weeks after heavy rain in mild temperatures. The mushroom forecast shows how good the chances are at your place today and over the next 10 days.
The main season for most edible mushrooms in Central Europe runs from August to October. Morels grow in spring (March to May), chanterelles from June, some wood-dwellers like oyster mushroom and wood ear even in winter. Weather always decides: no rain, no mushrooms.
Usually September, followed by August and October – provided there was heavy rain beforehand. The mushroom forecast shows when it starts in your region.
Porcini grow from June to October, most often in August and September, usually one to two weeks after heavy rain in mild temperatures.
Chanterelles appear from June and grow into October, especially after warm summer rain.
Yes, some wood-dwellers such as oyster mushroom, wood ear and velvet shank grow in mild, damp winter weather.
We know of no solid evidence that the lunar phase controls mushroom growth. What matters is rain in the weeks before, temperature and soil moisture. Foragers who follow a lunar calendar mostly find mushrooms when the weather happened to be right anyway – which is exactly what the mushroom forecast calculates.
The calendar shows the season – the forecast shows whether rain, temperature and soil fit at your place right now. Free, for the next 10 days.
