Hen of the Woods
Maitake
Grifola frondosa
Available as
Mother cultures (Petri dish)
Grain spawn
Sawdust spawn
Plug spawn
About this strain
Hen of the woods, known in Japan as maitake, forms impressive clusters of dozens of grey-brown, fan-shaped fronds on a shared, branching base — it looks like a ruffled hen, hence its English name. It has firm, springy flesh and a rich, spicy aroma; it is excellent fried and roasted, and it keeps well. The mushrooms are picked young, at approx. 10–15 cm across.
Growing it is demanding and slow: after the spawn run the substrate goes through a rest period, and the mushroom develops in stages — from a “mound” to fully formed fronds. It grows on sterilised hardwood sawdust blocks with added bran, as well as on buried logs. In Poland it is rare and protected.
How to grow it
Preparation
- Substrate
- blocks: hardwood sawdust (fine and coarse) with approx. 20% supplement, e.g. bran, sterilised; outdoors: buried hardwood logs
- Spawn rate
- 1–2% on sterilised sawdust
Growing stages
Spawn run (incubation)
- Temperature
- 21–24°C
- Humidity
- 95–100%
- Duration
- 14–30 days, then dormant for approx. 30 days
- CO₂
- 20,000–40,000 ppm
- Fresh air
- 0–1 per hour
- Light
- from the 10th to the 20th day
Mound formation
- Temperature
- 15–20°C
- Humidity
- 95%
- Duration
- 5–10 days
- CO₂
- 2,000–5,000 ppm
- Fresh air
- 4–8 per hour
- Light
- 100–500 lx
Frond development
- Temperature
- 15–20°C
- Humidity
- 90–95%
- Duration
- 10–14 days
- CO₂
- 2,000–5,000 ppm
- Fresh air
- 4–8 per hour
- Light
- 100–500 lx
Fruiting
- Temperature
- 16–20°C (18°C optimum)
- Humidity
- 75–85%
- Duration
- 14–21 days
- CO₂
- <1,000 ppm
- Fresh air
- 4–8 per hour
- Light
- 500–1,000 lx
Harvest
- Flushes
- 2
- Between flushes
- 3–4 weeks
Pick before the frond edges start to curl and pale. Yield: approx. 15% of fresh substrate weight.
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.
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