Red Reishi
Reishi
Ganoderma lucidum
Available as
Mother cultures (Petri dish)
Grain spawn
Sawdust spawn
Plug spawn
About this strain
The classic red reishi, with plate- to kidney-shaped caps whose glossy, lacquered red-brown surface is edged with a paler growing rim. The mushrooms are hard and woody — they are dried and used for infusions. They keep their shape when dried, so they are also prized as decoration.
It takes patience: first, at high CO₂, it forms growths in an “antler” shape, and only at lower CO₂ and in strong light do caps form at their tips. It is grown on sterilised hardwood sawdust blocks or on logs and stumps.
How to grow it
Preparation
- Substrate
- hardwood sawdust (fine and coarse) with approx. 10–15% bran, sterilised — more bran inhibits fruiting; outdoors: hardwood logs and stumps
- Spawn rate
- 1–2% on sterilised sawdust
Growing stages
Spawn run (incubation)
- Temperature
- 21–27°C
- Humidity
- 95–100%
- Duration
- 10–20 days
- CO₂
- tolerates up to approx. 50,000 ppm
- Fresh air
- 0–1 per hour
Primordia (“antlers”)
- Temperature
- 18–24°C
- Humidity
- 95–100%
- Duration
- 2–4 weeks
- CO₂
- 20,000–40,000 ppm
- Fresh air
- 0–1 per hour
- Light
- 200–500 lx, 4–8 h / 24 h
High CO₂ stretches the growths into “antlers”; the light source sets the direction of growth.
Cap formation
- Temperature
- 21–27°C
- Humidity
- 95–100%
- Duration
- 2–4 weeks
- CO₂
- lower gradually from approx. 5,000 to 2,000 ppm
- Fresh air
- as needed to hold the target CO₂
- Light
- 500–1,000 lx, 12 h / 24 h
Lower CO₂ and more light make caps start to form at the tips of the growths.
Fruiting
- Temperature
- 21–27°C
- Humidity
- 90–95%
- Duration
- approx. 2 months
- CO₂
- <2,000 ppm
- Fresh air
- as required
- Light
- 750–1,500 lx, 12 h / 24 h
Harvest
- Flushes
- 2
- Between flushes
- 2 crops within 90–120 days
Harvest when the pale growing rim at the cap edge disappears and the cap starts shedding brown spores. Dry the mushrooms; they are hard and woody and are not eaten fresh.
Please note: these growing parameters bring together the experience of practising growers — a starting point, not a guarantee of results. Every grow has its own substrate, climate and equipment, and even small differences can noticeably change the yield. Adjust these values to your own conditions.
Available products
Prices are set individually — tell us what you need and how much, and we will send a quote including delivery.
Mother cultures (Petri dish)
- 1 pc.
Grain spawn
- 5 l
Sawdust spawn
- 5 l
Plug spawn
6 × 30 mm
- 30 pcs.
- 1000 pcs.
Want to order this spawn?
Tell us what you need — we will reply with a quote and a shipping date.