How to Plant Mushrooms in Minecraft and Grow Giant Mushrooms

To plant a mushroom in Minecraft, place a red or brown mushroom on a suitable full-top block. In standard releases, mushrooms on ordinary soil need a light level below 13 and protection from direct sky light; podzol, mycelium, and nylium let them stay planted in brighter spots. For a quicker harvest, use bone meal on a small mushroom to try to grow a huge one.

What you need

• At least one red or brown mushroom to use as a starter.
• A full block with a solid top, such as dirt, grass, podzol, mycelium, or nylium. In standard releases, slabs and stairs do not work as planting surfaces.
• Bone meal if you want to grow a huge mushroom instead of waiting for small mushrooms to spread.
• Open space around the starter. A room or roof is useful when you are planting on ordinary dirt or grass.

Mushrooms spread slowly to nearby open blocks, but do not become huge on their own: apply bone meal. Mojang’s red mushroom guide describes the method and recommends about 13 blocks of headroom.

How to plant mushrooms in Minecraft

1. Choose a planting spot and block

For a simple farm, use a roofed room or a shaded location. In standard releases, place the mushroom on a full block, not farmland, a slab, or a stair. Dirt and grass work in low light; podzol, mycelium, and nylium allow planting in brighter spots. Mojang confirms the mycelium exception in its Mushroom Fields overview.

On ordinary blocks, keep the light at the mushroom below level 13 and block direct sky exposure. The room need not be pitch-black: place torches on walls, far enough away that the planting spot stays within the light limit.

2. Place one red or brown mushroom

Use the place or interact control on the top of your chosen block. If the mushroom pops off, check the surface and light; roof ordinary dirt or grass if needed. Podzol, mycelium, and nylium avoid the usual light restriction in standard releases.

Leave nearby blocks open for passive spread, but expect it to be slow. For a quicker supply, use bone meal on a starter.

3. Apply bone meal for a huge mushroom

Before using bone meal, clear blocks around and above the starter. Cap shapes need different space, so avoid a low ceiling or tight shaft. Aim for a broad area and roughly 13 blocks of headroom. On ordinary soil, keep light below 13; podzol, mycelium, and nylium bypass that rule.

Use bone meal on the planted mushroom. Growth may fail on the first attempt; check for obstructions and confirm the support and light conditions, then try again. Giant shapes vary.

4. Harvest the cap and replant

Break the huge mushroom when you are ready to collect it; an axe is a convenient tool for clearing the cap and stem. Pick up the dropped small mushrooms and plant them for another growth cycle. The number of drops is not a fixed 20: it varies with the blocks you break and the edition you play. If you want the mushroom blocks themselves for building, check the tool and drop rules for your edition before harvesting.

Quick fixes when a mushroom will not grow

• It pops off the block: use a full-top support block and reduce light or block the sky if you planted on ordinary soil. Podzol, mycelium, or nylium avoids the normal light restriction.
• Bone meal does not make a giant: clear more room above and around the mushroom, check the light and support block, and make another attempt. A cramped ceiling is a common obstacle.
• Nearby mushrooms are not spreading: natural spread is slow and needs open space. Keep the growing surface suitable and its light within the required range; use bone meal for a more direct harvest.

Java snapshot note

If you play a Java testing snapshot, check its release notes before relying on the standard placement rule. Mojang’s 26.4 Snapshot 1 notes changed red and brown mushroom placement so they can be placed on blocks with a solid top face at any light level, while their spread still depends on brightness or a support block that overrides the light rule. Snapshots are test versions, and later notes may adjust behavior; the guidance above describes the usual released-game rules.

For the detailed block and growth conditions, see the Minecraft Wiki mushroom reference and its huge mushroom growth guide, alongside Mojang’s linked guides.