Is it possible to cultivate porcini mushrooms? (midwest USA)

[Bada Bing]

I'm supposing the answer here is "no." But some Googling leaves me still uncertain.

I see that people can order spores for shitake and some other mushrooms and start a log. Why not porcini?

[hohokam]

My understanding is that cultivating porcini mushrooms is essentially impossible, or at the very least, well beyond the grasp of regular folks like you and I.

Again, as I understand it, porcini (Boletus edulis) depend on a symbiotic association between their mycelia (underground "root" system) and the roots of living trees, rather than a simple combination of spores, moisture, and decaying organic matter.

[Bada Bing]

Thanks. Your point seems correct. As it happens, I do have a row of trees behind my house (mostly Spruce or some kind of evergreen), which maybe could serve this purpose with some luck and some live spores to work with. I would love to give this a try, if it's at all possible.

[hohokam]

From what I've read, the mycorrhizal relationship between porcini and trees is not completely understood, and that simply sprinkling some spores around probably won't do the trick. If it did, we'd have porcini plantations around the globe. That said, I guess there's no harm in trying. Just be extremely careful about IDing any foraged mushrooms before deciding to eat them.