FAQ truffle growing

The choice of the species of truffle best suited to your project must be made according to the characteristics of your land, but also the climatic conditions of your region. Altitude, orientation, rainfall, frost, nature of the soil are all parameters to be compiled in order to choose the variety of truffle that will develop best in your plot. Do not hesitate to consult our "practical guide for truffle growers" to evaluate your project and choose the right variety of truffle.

For your information, Robin Nurseries offers truffle plants capable of producing the four species of truffles (black, white, Burgundy and summer truffles). You can find their respective characteristics in our section "Truffle cultivation".

To help you choose the right cup, simply remember that the contents will develop in proportion to the container. In other words, the larger the volume of the cup, the greater the root development of your plants. The number of root apices and spores will also be more important. In one sentence: A truffle plant raised in a large volume cup will have a better potential.

For the record, ROBIN® truffle plants are produced in ANTI-CHIGNON® cups of 4 different volumes :
- the R430 bucket with a volume of 430 cm3
- the R600 bucket with a volume of 600 cm3
- the R1.5L bucket with a volume of 1.5 liter
- the R3L bucket with a volume of 3 liters.

When it comes to choosing a species for your truffle plants, the golden rule is to copy nature. Indeed, we advise you to choose a species of tree adapted to your region, that is to say a species that already grows naturally in your department and especially to avoid choosing a species that is not naturally present in the surroundings, close to the future plantation.

The truffle plants produced and marketed by ROBIN® Nurseries are 1 or 2 years old in 0.430 l, 0.6 l, and 1.5 l cups. They are 3 years old when offered in 3 l cups.

ROBIN® truffle plants, as well as all our young plants grown in ANTI-CHIGNON® cups, are guaranteed to recover. We guarantee a 100% recovery rate (see the conditions of our guarantee here).

ROBIN® truffle plants are produced under license and control of INRAE. Each batch of truffle plants is controlled by Mr. Claude MURAT, of the INRAE of Nancy on a sample of plants taken directly in nursery. This control, based on very strict specifications, allows us to approve batches of plants with a very high level of mycorrhization. The batches of plants which will be marketed after control, are classified Elite or Excellence.

Truffle plants can be found and bought in specialized nurseries such as ROBIN Pépinières. If you live near our sales points (department of 04 and 05), do not hesitate to visit us, you will benefit from precious advices before starting. Otherwise, you can buy your truffle plants directly online, via this website. They will be delivered to your home !

All our truffle plants are delivered within 7 to 10 working days, depending on the carrier chosen. For deliveries abroad (outside metropolitan France), shipping costs are established according to the destination and climate of the delivery season.

Depending on the volume and weight of your order, the shipment is done either by mail or on a pallet by carrier. Orders over 100 plants are delivered by our own trucks, directly to your home by appointment.

You can keep your plants for several days or even weeks before planting them, as they are delivered in their ROBIN ANTI-CHIGNON® cups which preserve the freshness of the root system. But you will have to take precautions: water them regularly every 2 to 3 days while waiting for planting and keep them outside, protected from frost and wind..

The truffle is a fungus that grows in calcareous soil with a high PH (>7-7.5), perfectly draining, not too clayey. From about 50 plants, we strongly advise you to do a soil analysis to check if your soil is suitable for truffle growing.

No, it is not recommended:
- Each truffle species has its own requirements, the soil favorable to one species (e.g. Tuber uncinatum) is not necessarily favorable to another truffle variety.
- If you want to plant truffle plants mycorrhized with different truffle species, you should keep a minimum distance of 15 to 20 meters between the two plantations.

No. If you want to plant a truffle orchard, you must do it on a land where there are no ectomycorrhizae trees. We therefore strongly advise against planting mycorrhizal truffle seedlings in an existing wood. Otherwise, the roots of the young plants will quickly be colonized by mycorrhizae already installed on the roots of surrounding trees (which will hinder the development of truffle mycorrhizae present on the freshly planted young truffle plants). 

Watering is essential: We recommend watering at planting and then once every 2 to 3 weeks in the absence of rain, from May to September with a contribution of 15 to 20 liters per plant to ensure the good recovery of the plants.

No, we do not recommend adding organic matter, mulch or other materials without first analyzing your soil. This "hazardous" addition could be counterproductive and could hinder the good development of the truffles.

Within 15 days, if some of your truffle plants have not recovered, we will replace them.

Hoeing and weeding 2 to 3 times per spring and summer to prevent the young ROBIN® truffle plants from being invaded by weeds and to help the development of the "burnt" area.

We recommend watering at planting and then once every 2 to 3 weeks in the absence of rain, from May to September with a contribution of 15 to 20 liters per plant to ensure the good recovery of the plants.
The following years, it is necessary to continue the watering preferably with a system of micro sprinkling on 2m² around each plant. Never use drip irrigation.

For Tuber melanosporum, the first harvest can be done from the 5th year after planting and on average the first truffles are harvested between 5 and 8 years after planting.
To find the truffles, it is obviously necessary to look for them at least once every 15 days during the harvesting season.
Note that for Tuber Uncinatum and Tuber Aestivum, the first harvest is generally a little longer and takes place from the 6th or 7th year.

Actuellement, nous proposons plusieurs plants aptes à produire de la truffe blanche : des chênes pubescents et des charmes communs dont la mycorhization Tuber Magnatumm est scrupuleusement contrôlée par l'INRAE.

Les sols doivent être filtrants, non asphyxiants, bien drainés, donc présentant une porosité élevée tout en permettant une bonne humidité en toute saison. Du point de vue chimique, les exigences de T. magnatum sont voisines de celles de T. melanosporum.
Le calcaire est un élément indispensable. Généralement, le calcaire total est supérieur à 10% et le calcaire actif à 2%. Le pH doit être compris idéalement entre 7,5 et 8,5.

En résumé, les points clefs pour le choix d’un sol approprié sont :
- absence de cailloux
- pH supérieur à 7,5 (présence de calcaire actif)
- bonne aération (macroporosité suffisante)
- bon drainage
- présence constante d’humidité (surtout en été) (Proximité d’un cours d’eau par exemple)

Mais pour être certain des bonnes conditions de son terrain, nous conseillons de faire réaliser une analyse pédoclimatique.

Chaque truffe utilisée pour inoculer nos plants truffiers est contrôlée sous microscope pour vérifier les caractéristiques des spores, puis par analyse biomoléculaire par L’INRAE. Et 100% des plants sont vérifiés individuellement avant leur commercialisation.
D’abord sous loupe binoculaire par les techniciens des pépinières ROBIN qui contrôlent la présence de la truffe sur le système racinaire par des caractéristiques morphologiques. Puis par des experts de l’INRAE qui, après observation sous loupe binoculaire, prélèvent un échantillon de mycorhize sur chaque plant contrôlé par les pépinières ROBIN pour vérifier l’ADN par analyse biomoléculaire.

Ce double contrôle permet de garantir à nos clients que les PLANT TRUFFIER ROBIN® sont bien mycorhizés avec Tuber magnatum. 

La truffe blanche (Tuber Magnatum) se récolte de septembre à décembre.

Pour la truffe blanche, la première récolte peut se faire à partir de la 4ème année qui suit une plantation, c’est le délai au bout duquel nous avons eu la 1ère truffe blanche sur une plantation en nouvelle aquitaine.

Le prix d'un plant truffier mycorhizé tuber magnatum varie de 99 € et 136 € TTC selon le nombre de plants commandé.

Le prix de gros de la truffe blanche d'Italie peut aller de 2500 € à 5000 € le kg selon le volume de production mis sur le marché.