# Right trees but no morels?



## thedogger

I have 4 areas off the river in the TC area that I have been continually checking for morels and I'm starting to wonder what I'm doing wrong. I have checked over 300 dead/dying elms and have only found 2 trees that produced a couple morels. What I don't get is why do all those other elms not produce? I have a couple spots that I literally could not draw up any better as its a mix of elms in all stages of life. 

I'm going to rule out other people as I never see anyone at these spots and the morels I do find are obvious and hard to miss. 

I continually check dead cottonwoods and ash as well...

Please help steer me in the right direction.


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## shroomtrooper

I have had the same trouble, just keep the faith,but, I rarely have luck myself on flooded river areas,tho some people have had great luck


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## tundraking

You'll "usually" get 2-3 years out of one specific spot and then it stops producing. Now that doesn't mean that another tree in the area won't start up, but in general, spots die off as fast as they produce. I guess thats why morels can be so elusive. Not to mention weather changes, as we are experiencing this year. The real good thing is that it is raining a lot, but because of the dry start and cooler temps, I think its only a matter of time before they start producing. Unfortunately, time keeps slipping by and the season is getting shorter, but everything is lining up nicely for a big finish this year!

Like shroomtrooper said, keep the faith. I've been out probably about a total of 7 hours throughout the course of the season so far and haven't found a single one, but I have big plans this weekend, and I'm going to put on some miles. I'll report back, good or bad once the dust settles.


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## chaseoothoudt

did the dead elms still have bark on them? Morels don't grow under dead elms that don't have bark on them and if they do I've never found any.


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## i_like_mushrooms_212

I have found that the best locations can yield the fewest morels and vice versa. When you think about it logically it makes a bit more sense. Morels reproduce by spewing spores into the air, these spores are not mobile on their own so they are stuck landing wherever. A spore needs to land directly on a surface root of a viable tree. Then it needs to get established and when it is ready, the environmental conditions need to be just right. Ground temp, soil acidity, humidity, etc. must be exactly right, not close, but exact. Morels are very fussy with conditions. When you think about all of this, it suddenly makes sense why the little buggers are so elusive. Happy Hunting


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## sandmanmn

I've had decent luck under dying elms but nothing spectacular. Most of the spots I find them in are in open cottonwood forest or I have a spot that is just a huge thick patch of bullreeds that I usually find a pound or two in each year. But this year most of what I have found has been on the edges of cottonwood forest in tall grass and so far I've found just shy of 3Lbs. I'm in southern mn following a small creek.


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## mr_ minnesota

I have had very little luck in floodplain forests, especially along the Mississippi within the metro area (maybe their getting picked already but i doubt it). I have had the best luck on hillsides with a fairly open canopy. It is true that you must find the elm at just the right stage (bark just starting to peel off) and of course the bigger the tree the better in my opinion.


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