Mushroom Growing Temperature & Humidity Chart (Australia)
Every failed grow I hear about comes down to the same thing: the right species in the wrong conditions. This chart fixes that — the numbers for 16 gourmet species, in one place, in °C.
Quick answer: most gourmet mushrooms colonise their substrate at a warm 18–25 °C in the dark, then fruit in cooler, brighter, humid air — typically 10–28 °C depending on species, 85–95% humidity, and fresh air that keeps CO₂ roughly under 1,000 ppm. The species decide the specifics, and that's what the table below is for.
How to read this chart
- Ranges, not set-points. Mushrooms are grown in bands; drifting a degree or two inside the band is normal.
- Every grow has two climates. Colonisation runs warm and dark; fruiting runs cooler, brighter and humid. The two temperature columns are different stages, not alternatives.
- °C first, for Australian rooms. Most charts online are °F and written for the US. This one is metric, reviewed against published cultivation references and our own growing guides.
- Click any species for the full step-by-step Australian guide.
The mushroom growing parameter chart
| Species | Fruiting temp (°C) | Humidity (RH) | CO₂ during fruiting | Colonisation temp (°C) | Colonisation time | First harvest | Preferred substrate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pearl Oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) | 12–18 | 85%+ | <1,000 ppm | 18–24 | 13–18 days | 3–5 weeks | Pasteurised straw or sawdust |
| Blue Oyster (P. ostreatus var. columbinus) | 10–21 (best 15–20) | 85–95% | <800 ppm | 18–24 | 1–2 weeks | 2–4 weeks | Straw or sawdust |
| Snow White Oyster (P. ostreatus, cool strain) | 14–22 (best 15–18) | 85–95% | <1,000 ppm | 18–24 | 14–21 days | 3–4 weeks | Straw or sawdust |
| King Oyster (P. eryngii) | 15–18 (max ~21) | 85–90% | 500–1,000 ppm at pinning; <2,000 developing1 | 20–24 | 2–4 weeks | 30–45 days | Sterilised supplemented sawdust |
| Phoenix Oyster (P. pulmonarius) | 18–27 (best 18–24) | 85%+ | ≈400–800 ppm; steady fresh air | 24–29 | Fast | 14–21 days | Straw or sawdust |
| Pink Oyster (P. djamor) | 18–30 (best 20–28) | 85%+ | <800 ppm | Warm room2 | Fast | ~3 weeks (pins to harvest 3–5 days) | Straw |
| Butterscotch Oyster (P. cornucopiae) | 18–28 | 85–95% | Keep low; steady fresh air | Warm room2 | ~2 weeks | 3–4 weeks | Straw, sawdust or sugarcane mulch |
| Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) | 10–21 | 80–95% | <1,000 ppm (some references allow up to ~1,400 while fruiting)3 | 21–24 | 6–11 weeks incl. browning3 | 7–12 weeks | Supplemented hardwood sawdust block |
| Shimeji (Hypsizygus tessellatus) | 13–18 | 85–90% (pins 95–98%) | 500–1,000 ppm at pinning; keep low | 21–24 | 4–6 weeks | 6–9 weeks | Supplemented sawdust + bran |
| Chestnut (Pholiota adiposa) | 13–21 (pins 15–18; some sources cap at 18) | 85–90% (pins ~95%) | <1,000 ppm | 20–24 | 20–30 days | 34–54 days | Sawdust + bran + gypsum |
| Maitake (Grifola frondosa) | 13–18 (best 13–16)4 | 85–95% | <1,000 ppm | 21–24 | 14–30 days + a rest period | 60–120 days | Supplemented hardwood sawdust |
| Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus) | 16–24 | 85–95% | 500–1,000 ppm | 21–24 | 2–4 weeks | 3–5 weeks | Supplemented hardwood sawdust |
| Coral Tooth (Hericium coralloides) | 12–20 (most sources 15–20) | 85–95% | Keep low; gentle indirect airflow | 20–24 | 2–4 weeks | 4–8+ weeks (up to 14 in some references) | Hardwood sawdust |
| Golden Enoki (Flammulina filiformis) | 10–16, after a 7–13 °C cold shock5 | 85–95% | Keep low, with light, for the golden form5 | 18–25 | 2–4 weeks | 5–8 weeks | Master's Mix, jar or bottle method |
| Pioppino (Cyclocybe aegerita) | 13–18 | 85–95% (pins 95–100%) | <2,000 ppm (lower = tighter clusters) | 21–25 | 2–4 weeks | 3–5 weeks | Hardwood sawdust |
| Reishi (Ganoderma steyaertanum)6 | 23–25 | 85%+ (~90% at pinning) | ~1,000–2,000 ppm for conks6 | Warm (mid-20s to low 30s) | Slow | 60–90 days | Sawdust + 10–20% bran |
1 King oyster growers deliberately reduce fresh air during development to thicken the stems — the one species where extra CO₂ is used on purpose.
2 Species-specific colonisation targets aren't published for these oysters; documented tolerance bands are wide (15–35 °C), so a warm room out of direct sun works.
3 Shiitake blocks colonise, then "brown" into a rind before fruiting. The high CO₂ inside the sealed bag during spawn run is normal — the low-CO₂ numbers apply once fruiting starts.
4 Maitake pins only after the drop into 13–18 °C. A colonised block held warmer simply waits.
5 Golden enoki colonises warm, then needs a cold shock to roughly 7–13 °C to pin. Light plus fresh air keeps it short and golden; commercial white "needle" enoki is the same fungus grown dark at very high CO₂.
6 Australian-grown reishi is usually the native Ganoderma steyaertanum — classic G. lucidum is biosecurity-regulated for live cultivation here. Sustained high CO₂ pushes reishi into antler form instead of open conks.
Matching species to Australian conditions
The fastest way to succeed is to pick the species your room already suits, rather than fighting your climate:
- Cool rooms and southern winters (roughly 10–20 °C): blue, pearl and snow white oyster, king oyster, shiitake, shimeji, chestnut, maitake, pioppino, coral tooth, golden enoki (with its cold shock).
- Warm rooms and Queensland-style summers (roughly 18–28 °C): pink oyster, butterscotch oyster, phoenix oyster, reishi.
- Any room, year-round: a humidity-controlled chamber removes the seasonal limit — you match the chamber to the species instead of waiting for the weather.
Hold the humidity, fresh air and light in this chart steady on your benchtop — the Smart Mushroom Growing Box does the daily work. You supply the spawn and substrate.
Grow gourmet mushrooms at home →Ships from the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
Where the spawn comes from
None of this works without good genetics. Source fresh, vigorous spawn of the exact species (check the Latin name on the label) from a reputable Australian mushroom spawn supplier — look for viable, recently-made spawn, a real species range, and cold-chain or fast shipping. The chart's substrate column tells you what to pair it with.
Downloads
- Download the chart as a printable PDF (A4 landscape, free)
- Download the chart as an image (PNG, free to share with credit)
Cite or share this chart
This table is free to reference in your blog, forum post, club newsletter or class notes. Please credit it like this:
Plain text: Source: LaNiTex Hydro Garden — Mushroom Growing Temperature & Humidity Chart (Australia), lanitexhydrogarden.com.au
HTML: <a href="https://lanitexhydrogarden.com.au/pages/mushroom-growing-parameters">Source: LaNiTex Hydro Garden</a>
Sources and method
Figures were compiled from our 16 species growing guides (linked in the table, each individually fact-checked) and reviewed against published cultivation references, including Cornell Small Farms' shiitake programme, the Mushworld/MushWorld-Heineart shiitake growers' handbook, the Directorate of Mushroom Research (India) Ganoderma bulletin, peer-reviewed Pleurotus cultivation reviews (Bellettini et al. 2016 and successors), a peer-reviewed Flammulina CO₂ study, and species data sheets from established spawn producers. Where reputable sources disagree, the table shows the range or says so rather than picking a single number. Last reviewed: 12 August 2026. Spotted an error? Email office@lanitexhydrogarden.com.au and we'll check it against the sources.
One species is deliberately missing: golden oyster (Pleurotus citrinopileatus). It has escaped cultivation and naturalised across North America and parts of Europe, with research showing it displaces native fungi in deadwood — so we don't publish growing parameters for it.
Mushroom growing FAQ
What temperature do mushrooms need to grow?
It depends on the stage and the species. Almost all gourmet species colonise at a warm 18–25 °C, then fruit cooler: cool-season species like shiitake, maitake and blue oyster fruit at roughly 10–21 °C, while warm-season species like pink and butterscotch oyster fruit at 18–30 °C. The chart above lists both stages for 16 species.
What humidity do mushrooms need to fruit?
85–95% relative humidity covers nearly every gourmet species during fruiting, and pinning often wants the top of that band or higher. Below about 85% pins shrivel and caps crack — humidity failure is the most common reason a healthy block produces nothing.
Why are my mushrooms growing long stems and tiny caps?
Stale air. High CO₂ from poor fresh-air exchange makes almost every species stretch its stems while the caps stay small. Increase ventilation so CO₂ stays roughly under 1,000 ppm during fruiting; king oyster is the one species where growers use extra CO₂ deliberately, to thicken the stem.
Can I grow mushrooms in an Australian summer?
Yes — pick a warm-season species. Pink oyster, butterscotch oyster, phoenix oyster and reishi all fruit happily at 18–28 °C or above. Cool-season species like shiitake or maitake need an air-conditioned room, a southern winter, or a controlled growing chamber instead.
Do mushrooms need light?
Not to colonise — that stage runs in the dark. During fruiting, indirect light helps most species form well-shaped, well-coloured fruit; none of them want direct sun. Golden enoki is the strongest example: light plus fresh air keeps it short and golden, while darkness plus high CO₂ turns it into the long white supermarket form.
Grow gourmet at home
Fresh gourmet mushrooms from your own bench in a few weeks — the Smart Mushroom Growing Box holds the humidity, fresh air and light from this chart steady, every day. You choose the species and add the spawn.
Start your first grow →Ships from the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
Ready to go deeper? Start with the full how to grow mushrooms at home in Australia hub, then follow the step-by-step guide for your species.