Some mushrooms are generalists, meaning they’ll grow on a wide variety of substrates, while others are specialists, preferring just a few. You can reference our chart here to find which tree species work best for each mushroom variety, and other types of wood they can be grown on. Preferred species will offer higher success rates, greater yields, and better longevity. Other types of wood can still support mushroom growth but may have more varying results in yield, time until fruiting, and length of production.
Most mushrooms grow on hardwoods, some species better than others. Generally, oak and maple perform well across the board. Their dense wood offers a lot of nutrition for a longer, sustained fruiting period. Softer hardwoods like poplar or aspen will myceliate faster and produce mushrooms sooner, but may not yield as much or produce for as many years. However, oysters seem to thrive on these soft hardwoods so we'd definitely recommend pairing the two and saving hard hardwoods for shiitakes or other mushroom species.
The only mushroom species we know grows very well on a conifer is Ganoderma tsugae on hemlock, though it may be worth experimenting with Italian Oysters on pine.
And always remember to use wood cut within about a month of inoculation. Wood that's been sitting for longer periods of time will be more prone to contamination by other fungi in the environment.