How to Grow Living Reishi Mushrooms? A Detailed Guide to Cultivation Methods and Precautions
Living reishi mushrooms are generally the top choice for decorating rooms, offices and hotels, and can also be given as gifts or kept as collectibles. During the cultivation of living reishi mushrooms, floral art must also be taken into account to make their shape more attractive. So how do you grow living reishi mushrooms?
1. Choosing varieties
The reishi mushrooms suitable for making bonsai include red reishi, antler reishi, purple reishi, black reishi and others, used to create artistic forms of varied shapes and colors. Red reishi has features such as bright red color, round and regular caps, clear concentric rings, and long, much-curved stems, making it the preferred variety for cultivation; antler reishi is shaped like deer antlers or fingers and has outstanding ornamental artistic effect; purple reishi and black reishi can enrich the color range of ornamental reishi, and with different treatments they also take on good shapes.
According to the different characteristics of each reishi variety, you can choose different types and differently colored varieties to make potted living reishi. Generally, varieties with many branches, relatively long stems, small caps, slow growth and little spore powder are preferred. For example, Yuanzhi No. 6, Yuanzhi No. 9, Jingda, Shinshu, purple reishi and so on.
2. Shaping and management
By making use of this biological characteristic of reishi, manual induction through controlling the direction and intensity of light, air humidity, carbon dioxide concentration and so on can make it grow into a specific shape and become pots of wonderfully crafted artistic bonsai. The specific measures are:
1. Temperature regulation: Reishi belongs to the medium-to-high temperature type of fungi. At suitable temperatures the fruiting bodies grow quickly, which favors cap differentiation. At low temperatures growth is slow, which can stimulate stem elongation. By widening the temperature difference during the growth process, the cap-to-stem ratio of the reishi can be regulated; the main measures include covering with arched film, greenhouses and shade nets.
2. Air regulation: Sufficient oxygen favors the growth of the reishi cap; a high carbon dioxide concentration promotes the differentiation and elongation of the reishi stem. In production, by bagging the fruiting bodies several times, shapes such as several tiers resembling a pagoda or a thousand-handed Guanyin are produced.
3. Light regulation: The growth of reishi has obvious phototropism, and low temperatures and weak light can promote deeper color and thicker caps. It can be regulated by changing the direction of the light source, adjusting the placement orientation of the reishi bags, or switching shade nets of different densities.
3. Management
The hymenium and tube layer of reishi are easily invaded by pests that lay eggs and bore into them. Normally it should be placed in a ventilated, dry place, and insect repellents such as camphor balls should be put in the pot. If pest damage is found, fumigation, freezing or sun exposure treatment should be carried out; for the parts already damaged, alcohol can be dripped on them, then they should be sealed with paraffin or transparent tape. To prevent dust or pests from entering, a glued glass cover or a transparent soft plastic cover can also be placed over the bonsai.
Living reishi bonsai are rather troublesome to maintain, requiring careful care and control of their growth shape, so they are not very suitable for beginners to cultivate.