Morel season coming!

[Foulhook]

Has anyone found any yet? I have seen reports down in Berks county PA and in SW PA. 
 

I have spent much of the winter hunting trees. I think I have driven every dirt road in the tri state area! Found some very large tulip groves and several promising elm spots. I believe soil temps here are about 45* right now. We are close I think. Will this rain be enough to make next week worth looking? 

Dave, have you checked any of your spots over there in the Scranton area? We appear to be having an earlier than normal spring for a change. What’s your guess for this seasons timing? 

[Dave W]

Still too chilly/early for morels in NE PA. Soil temperatures needs to come up solidly into the 50Fs for a few days and stay that way at night. South of the Poconos (south of the Turnpike tunnel) there may be a few blacks starting up; probably only tiny buttons hiding under the leaf litter. Near normal temps forecast for the next few weeks. I don't see any nighttime temps predicted to dip into the 20s, which would be a real good thing. I've found morels only once before April 5. This was 2012, when in mid March there was a three day spell of days with temps in the mid/high 70s. That year I found blacks on March 23. Judging from the weather forecast, I think some blacks may appear in my real early local spot (south-facing ridge of open mature tulip poplar forest) around April 10, which would be earlier than usual. A couple sunny days with temps in the 60s-70s would be real nice. 

That's what I do, Foulhook; spend a fair amount of time exploring areas for good habitat. If you've found areas with elms, then you want to try to single out the trees that have recently died. Dutch elm disease kills the elm tree quickly.  A recently dead tree will have all its bark intact and the upper branches tend to bend inward/upward. The Morchella fungus produces mushrooms in response to the host/partner tree dying. First spring after an elm tree dies is when the most morels appear. But, not every dead elm produces morels; I know a local area that has lots of large elms --some dying each year-- but I've never seen a single morel in this area! Even if someone else hunts them in this spot, I'm pretty sure I'd find a few, or at least some evidence of morels having been there. On the other hand, I know an area with elms where I generally get over 100 nice ones every year.

Early in the season (up until the last week of April) finding yellow/gray/white morels (Morchella americana; M. esculenta in older guide books) is quite unlikely unless it's a really warm spring, like in 2012. The yellows --under elm, old dying apple trees, and in healthy hardwood forests-- usually don't start up until May, although when the spring is warm they may be found beginning around April 20. In 2012 I found Morchella diminutive --a species of small yellow morels found in hardwood forests-- on April 6. This seemed virtually unbelievable to me! In 2012 I started getting local M. americana on 4-19. 

Up until April 20 Morchella angusticeps is the species to look for in NE PA, although these black morels sometimes continue to appear up until around May 10. M. punctipes --the eastern NA "half-free morel"-- is very difficult to predict, but it's usually earlier than the yellows. Some years there are virtually none of these to be found; other years some select spots produce good numbers of M. punctipes. 

[Foulhook]

Thanks for the reply Dave. You and I share almost the same weather, terrain and climate. I’ll be sure to let you know when I see anything here. 
 

I have found one huge tulip poplar grove that’s probably 4 acres of massive trees with very rich, dark soil. It looks promising. One side also had several elms mixed in. Also found another 4 tulip poplar spots that are maybe an acre in size. 
 

Most of the elm groves I find are 10-30 trees mixed in size. Most still have their bark. But your description about the upper branches bending upward and inward is spot on. I don’t think many are alive based on appearance of the upper branches and the lack of leaf litter on the ground. The elm leaves I was able to find appear to be a couple years old. Also notices that vines seem to love to latch onto dying or dead elms. 
 

I try to drive a new back country road just about everyday. I think I have enough new spots right now that it would take a couple days to walk all of them. Looks like we’ll be locked down for another 30 days in PA. If you ever want to meet up when things get going let me know. I appreciate all your advise and knowledge. This has become an obsession for me. Bought a laminar flow hood a month back so I can do some agar work. Lab is coming together nicely. 

[Dave W]

If you don't find any black morels in the spots yo mention, then continue to check for yellow morels. The yellows usually start 1-2 weeks after the blacks, although if it warms up substantially and very quickly the blacks are followed closely by the yellows. Yellows seem to be somewhat more common than blacks. The spots you describe sound like good locations for yellows. Tulip poplar mixed with elm sounds like a winning combination. Some of the elm trees you describe sound like they've been dead for awhile, and others maybe just since last year. That seems to me to be the typical way the elm groves go... a few die every year. My current best spot for yellows is like this.

Blacks are seemingly more selective with habitat. They seem to need south-facing slopes --both at the ridge bottom and up the ridge. They tend to start just where a ridge bottoms out. Blacks seem to like spots where there are some rocks mixed in with the soil. I think the rocks tend to hold the daytime warmth though the night and this encourages the black morels to fruit. 

Blacks also like white ash. Since the ash trees have died off around here, there are way fewer black morels. Fewer yellows also, as the yellows also like ash.