Goji Berry Plants
Normally gourmet garlic seed is the last thing planted in my garden each fall, but this year a new plant filled that role in my backyard… Goji Berry Plants!
New Fruit Variety for the Home Garden
You may already be familiar with Goji Berries if you keep up with the latest and greatest in the world of nutritional supplements. Goji Berries have been receiving a lot of press recently for the reported health benefits and high levels of antioxidants that have been linked to this exotic fruit from Tibet.
Despite its uncommon roots and foreign background, I became acquainted with the Goji Berry a couple of years ago and soon afterward discovered that the plant can be cultivated here in the U.S. So of course my interest in ornamental and unusual edible fruits led me to try growing Goji Berry plants in my own backyard garden.
The main attraction, in addition to their uniqueness was the fact that the berries appear to be an extremely care-free plant to grow. Add to that their ability to produce huge harvests of nutritious and delicious fruit and it sounds like the perfect fruit for the home gardener.
While Goji Berry plants have rather exotic origins, they are not tropical and can survive the winter even in cold climate regions. Because this fruit is relatively new to growers in the U.S., there’s not much concrete information regarding their performance in various parts of the country, however Goji Berries appear to be extremely adaptable as well as hardy.
Goji Berry Growth Habits and Appearance
To top off the other favorable characteristics for including Goji Berries in the backyard garden, the plants are also ornamental, producing attractive purple and white tropical looking flowers that are followed by bright red, tear-drop shaped berries.
Initially I thought that Goji was a vining type of plant that required support, but it turns out that the growth habit is more similar to a shrub than a vine. The plant is reported to grow to heights of twelve feet tall and as wide as eight feet, but it can be pruned and trained to smaller dimensions, or even raised as an indoor house plant.
If I sound unsure about this ornamental edible plant it’s only because that is the case. This is a new one for me and my first attempt at growing this fruit. If you have more experience growing Goji Berries and would like to share a few of your own tips feel free to send me an e-mail or leave a response in the comment section below.
Obtaining Goji Berry Plants and Seeds
Once I decided to try my hand at growing Goji Berries I immediately ran into a problem in locating and obtaining seeds or plants to start this uncommon fruit. The one company that I stumbled upon that offered plants for sale only sold and shipped them during the winter months, and they were completely sold out at the time.
It was a little puzzling to me why they would sell and ship outdoor plants to northern gardeners during the midst of the harsh winter season. Well it turns out that they ship dormant plants for fall or winter planting. I went on their mailing list and was finally able to order a couple of Goji Berry plants this past December.
I purchased my Goji plants from Timpanogos Nursery. They sell dormant plants for fall planting, and now also sell seed kits and potted Goji Berries for planting in the springtime. If you search the Internet you may find a couple of additional sources for the plants or Goji Berry seeds.
Growing Fall Planted Goji Berries
When I placed my order this fall I did have some reservations over what the weather would be like by the time that the Goji Berry plants arrived. Thoughts of cutting through frozen soil in below freezing weather to plant my Goji Berries were not comforting at all. Fortunately when the plants arrived the weather was mild and perfect for planting.
The planting process was pretty routine, no special treatment was required and Timpanogos supplied a very detailed cultivation manual that described every aspect of growing Goji Berries including planting, pruning techniques, harvesting, and even recipes for using the freshly picked berries. The seed kits also include thorough instructions and a DVD outlining the germination and care of the seedlings.
If you’re interested in growing your own Goji Berry plants you may want to opt for the spring delivered plants at this point, or you can try one of the Goji Berry seed growing kits. I’ll keep you posted on this end as to how my Goji Berry plants survive the winter and what they look like next spring.
Other Related Vegetable Gardening Posts:
January 17th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
Thank you for this very interesting piece on a new and different plant. I’m going to try to keep it in mind when I get my own garden, soon I hope.
February 16th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Was just given some Goji seed to try. Thanks for the info. I am at the Southern edge of the old zone 6, so may try planting some out this year with protection. I’ll also hold some over in the greenhouse… just in case. Millie
February 19th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
Hi! We also grow and sell Organic Tibetan Goji Berry Plants and Seeds with very detailed growing instructions. We have these on our website & on Ebay. The Goji Berry plant is an amazing plant full of life and energy. It is a little tempermental growing from seed, but once they are a couple of months old they are very hardy and drought resistant. Good Luck and Have an Awesome Day!
March 19th, 2007 at 12:02 am
We provide wholesale and retail goji berry plants and seedlings as well as grafted Japanese maples, plants and shrubs.
April 11th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
I would like to know about Goji plants and hungry wild animals. Do deer and woodchucks mean high fences are required? I live in CT
Thanks, Dale
P.S. I found seed picked from dried berries germinate easily in damp paper towels, though you must be patient.
April 11th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
Hi Dale, this is my first year growing goji berry plants and I have them surrounded by a piece of wire garden fencing, but I’m not aware of wild animals taking a particular liking to goji berries or doing damage to the plants. If deer are a problem I would definitely protect the young plants until they grow large enough to survive being nibbled and pruned by wildlife. The nursery where I purchased my plants did indicate having a problem with wasps feeding on the ripening berries, forcing them to enclose their goji berry plants within a fine mesh material cover.
April 13th, 2007 at 9:22 am
Thanks Kenny-
I use individual nets (Wedding Veil from fabric stores is good/ cheap) for my blueberries. I drape over and losely knot it at the bottom. I was thinking of puting the Gojis along side them. Do you think they would like soil as moist as the blues, and what about the companion plant chemistry interaction???
I bet those smart wasps and yellow jackets love them. I be forewarned!
Thanks, Dale
April 14th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
I think the Goji Berries would be compatible with the blueberry bushes, my only concern would be that the blueberries prefer soil that is more acidic than what the goji berries would usually grow in.
April 15th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Hi Dale, Goji Berry plants will grow in any type of soil, from sandy to heavy clay, but they prefer a well drained soil of moderate quality. The Goji does not like a lot of water, so do not plant in wet or soggy soil as they will not last more than a couple weeks. As I remember from being a child in Michigan & picking blueberries with my grandmother, blueberries like it moist to wet, so I am not sure that they would be a very good companion plant for the Goji.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:20 am
I’m getting a good picture in my head of what it’s like to be a Goji!! They sound more like those gone wild rosebushes that like to take over CT meadows: space to sprawl, good field soil, full sun, and enough lime to lean slightly toward alkalinity.
Thank you all for the help, Dale
April 18th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
I think they (Goji Berries) are a terrific plant. I started a few inside, and some are doing well, others are not. What I wonder is what zones they are compatible in. Im zone 5. I cant wait for the fruit!
April 21st, 2007 at 11:19 am
Hi
does anybody know if you need more than one Goji plant for pollination to get fruit?
April 22nd, 2007 at 1:40 pm
How many goji berries can you expect to have (on average) annually for each plant?
Thanks.
April 24th, 2007 at 8:20 am
We are starting to do some work and growing of gojis here in northern Michigan(zone 6). You can start goji from the dried fruit you buy in the store, we used organic sourced.
The germination rate was about 50%-60%, not to bad for packaged dry fruit that were not intended to germinate. There are many seeds in each berry so you only need a few berries to get started. Suggest not planting the whole seed as this will make a messy clump of seedlings. Better to remove a few select seeds for each pot.
The seedlings grow slow, at first at least, and are about 2 weeks old now and about 1″ high.
We wish to produce gojis on our organic berry farm close to Traverse City, MI
Spread the GOJI throughout the world!
April 24th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
Alex, I’ve never seen any indication that you need to grow more than one Goji Berry plant for pollination in order to get fruit and I know that there aren’t separate male and female plants like with Kiwis.
Jason, I just planted my Gojis last fall and can’t advise you on their production numbers. They start to bear fruit after two years and come into full production after about four years.
April 25th, 2007 at 1:49 am
Thank you for your replies. Keep us all updated on your progress. ^-^
I hope to buy some goji seeds and start growing my own as well. I live in an apartment in Toronto, so it might prove to be more difficult. But I will keep working at it.
I want to learn a lot about how to maintain them etc before i start.
May 3rd, 2007 at 2:12 pm
I am interested in trying to grow goji berries in Sarasota, Florida. Does anyone have any experience with goji berries in subtropical climates?
May 15th, 2007 at 11:36 am
My Experience Growing Goji
Lycium, wolfberry or goji berry will grow and thrive in Northern Ohio.
Ten years ago, I started some from seed purchased in the form of Chinese herb stock berries. I used bottom heat, placing the seeds in wet paper towels on a radiator. The resulting plants thrived next to the porch in a rented house, where the landlord finally cut them down as a nuisance several years after we moved.
Last year I read about “Goji” berries and wondered at the claims that there is a better species or sub-species from Tibet. Some sources said it’s true, others claimed it is BS.
I wanted to plant some from seed and not to chance lose out, I ordered an ounce of the Tibetan berries for something like $15. The seller also offered “viable” Tibetan Goji seeds for ten dollars for three. I bought some although I did not believe his claim that the harvested, sun-dried Goji berries contain non-viable seed. After all, even the allegedly “inferior” Chinese berries, from the cheapest Asian supermarkt samples did germinate for me in past years.
I tested the expensive allegedly “viable” seed against some of the seed from the sun-dried berries. Percentage of germinating seeds seemed about the same, so spare your money.
I placed the sprouted seed into large plastic pots in the quart and gallon range last spring. This spring I have eight plants that are doing very nicely.
We just purchased a house and I’ll be planting the Goji plants there, where I intend to propagate them and grow a bunch more. Another name for the plant is “matrimony vine,” and they have rather narrow, long, spiny thorns (maybe not true thorns like a hawthorn or rose).
Summarizing, these are one of the easier plants to grow from seed, and they thrive in this zone (Northern Ohio), They do grow up without needing a trellis. The leaves have usages in herbal medicine too: crushed leaves soothe insect bites and I’ve read of people adding them to the vegetable juicer with other items.
Try growing Goji from seed. You can’t go wrong. Use seed from the “Tibetan” berries if you can get them, “just in case,” because who knows… they may be the better herbal product.
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:12 pm
I collected some goji seeds from some dried goji berries that I bought at our local Wegmman’s. I planted most of a flat in potting mix (3-5 per cell)and put it under lights on a heat mat. about half sprouted in the first week, and by the second week I had what I estimate to be nearly 95% germination! I’m guessing that these little seeds really like warm feet for germination. I have since transfered them to 4 inch pots (still with potting mix) and they are growing vigorously! Now I just need to decide where to plant my goji plantation!
June 10th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
Janet, I live a not south of you in Venice and I have 3 plants that are doing OK. They are starting to bloom right now. Now to see if they will produce fruits. They do not like wet feet, I used to have 15 of them I started from seed, I gave away 8 of them and kept 7. I lost all the plants that were in low areas in the yard. Only the ones planted high along a bank are doing fine. Of the 8 I gave away I know 4 died and one is hanging on and the other 3 that are planted on a mound are doing well. Good luck.
June 14th, 2007 at 10:19 am
I have been growing Goji’s for over a year now, I have multiple plants and some started in the front yard. I would suggest everyone use the fertilizer supplied by Timpanogos Nursery. You will notice a huge gain in growth. The plants tend to be stronger when fertilized. If you plan on planting in your yard I suggest using some sort of soil conditioner (peet moss, vermiculite, perlite, etc) to make sure your goji has a good home for its roots. I am also starting to grow these hydroponically, no results on this yet but I will have more to come.
June 15th, 2007 at 9:54 am
Hi Ken,
I found your website when I was looking for info on the Goji Berry.
I live in Hampshire in Southern England (U.K.) & I have just purchased three plants thru the QVC shopping channel. I planted two in large pots (1 in ericaceous soil & 1 in soil from my compost heap) the third I planted down in my veg plot which is green clay.
I will endeavour to let you know how each turns out.
June 17th, 2007 at 2:11 am
Hi, another Brit here. I’ve recently purchased 6 Goji plants from a company in Guernsey. I’ve got 3 in pots and 3 on my allotment. 4 are doing well and 2 are struggling but still alive. I live in Kent which is commonly known as the garden of England so if Goji Berries don’t grow here I’ve got a problem. The soil is a bit clayey but has plenty of horse poo dug in. We’ve had lots of the usual British sunshine and showers, so far I’m really pleased on how the Goji Berry plants are doing. They are causing a bit of curiosity with the old boys down on the allotments. They have never heard of them before, they are all growing potatoes and cabbages, then comes in a woman growing strange berry bushes!!
I am a bit concerned as to how big they will grow, one site says they can grow to 8ft by 12ft, is this true? If so I will definately have to move them.
Alison
June 17th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
Hi Ken, How are the Goji plants doing now ? I have a couple hundred of the Tibetan Goji growing now in 1 Gallon pots that I started in seed trays hydroponically 7 months ago. They are doing much better now but even at this age most can not handle full hot sun quite yet. But they are getting close. I am guessing they are self pollinating but have yet to hear of or found any confirmation as to such. I suspect the seed must be of the wild variety as there is little uniformity in size and shape of each plant or group of plants. They do like water in the seedling state but too much will cause new growth to collapse too. Growing lights appear to work well in these beginning stages.
If you have further information or recommendations I would be most Thankful. Rob
June 18th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Rob, Thanks for the info on your goji plants. I just posted a Goji Berry status update on the progress of my seedlings. By the way, what do you plan to do with a couple hundred Tibetan Goji Berry plants?
June 23rd, 2007 at 11:33 am
Hi, I ordered a wolfberry plant (Gojo berry) from Raintree Nursery. It arrived in April (zone 5) and although it was only rated for a zone 7, I have kept it warm with straw insulation. It was about 2 1/2 ft. tall. It has since grown to about 5 feet tall (in 3 months) and spread out. I have trellised it, as they said to. I don’t have any blooms yet. It seems to do well even though we have a lot of rain. I did put a cup of the organic fertilizer called Yum Yum mix in the hole when I planted.
June 29th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
What climate do you need to grow these in?
We live in Australia and it is a very hot place here, not very humid and certainly not rainforest type weather.
Can you grow Goji Berries in this type of weather?
July 1st, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Australia can’t be much hotter or humid than Venice Florida and I can now announce success! My 3 plants bloomed and produced little bright red berries. OK do I only managed 1/4 cup of them but hey its a start. Plant them on a mound if you get lots of rainfall as they do not like wet feet. So yes they will bloom and fruit in an area that does not experience cool weather.
August 18th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
We planted five young, very tender Goji berry bushes this past spring. After a long period of struggle, two are still doing poorly (never really grew and are now actually smaller than they were when we planted them!), and three are finally doing fairly well. We have had VERY HOT and dry conditions and I am watering, but not frequently. My question is, when should we prune them and how much? Many thanks for any suggestions.
August 28th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
In my experiments the Goji plants DO NOT like change. When I first started growing Goji plants I started them indoors and tried to move them into the yard in later spring. Out of 12 plants only one survived and it is now my indoor plant.
I started 8 outdoor plants from seed keeping them in the full (hot 100+) sun. When the reached about 12 inches tall I planted them in very well drained soil which is a mixture of the natural clay in my yard, peat moss, steer manure, and mulch. They have been in the front yard in full sun for about 2 months now. They have grown to about 2-2.5 feet. I water them two to three times a week making sure to check saturation of the soil. I have found that these are very easy to grow as long as they start and stay in the same conditions.
One note about indoor vs outdoor growing. I have found that the outdoor plants are much stronger and have a larger root system than the indoor plants. I have one indoor plant that is about 5 ft tall and it required support very early on. The outdoor plants on the other hand have not required any support (this may or may not change)
The outdoor plants also have much thicker and darker green leaves than the indoor plant. I keep the indoor plant in a window with 8 hours direct sunlight whereas the outdoor plants get full sun all day long. The soil for both is roughly the same mixture.
For those who would like to grow these plants, I would suggest starting them from seed. I have gotten 100% germination success. I use 4 inch plastic pots with the same soil mixture listed above, making sure the soil remains moist (not soggy). In two to three weeks plants will begin to emerge. When they reach 2-3 inches tall I lightly fertilize to give them a good start. This may not be the best method but as stated above I have had wonderful success
September 4th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
After reading that Lycium Barbarum is naturalized in all but 2 states in the continental U.S.,I thought I might try a little experiment. I cleaned the soil in a large pot that has been used to grow a cherry tomato plant and added a little compost to the top of the soil. I then planted a number of goji seeds in the dry soil of the planter and left it out in the elements. I was away on Labor Day weekend and when I returned I found that it had rained sufficiently to germinate 2 of the goji berry seeds and they were growing quite well right out in nature in 85 plus degree temps and only enough rain to keep the soil moist. No soaking in paper towels, setting in pots with cellophane over them or anything like that. When they grow a little more, I will move them from the planter to a suitably prepared spot in front of my place. I suspect more of the goji seeds will germinate in the coming days. The two that I have germinated in about 5 days! I am considering planting a few directly into the garden soil and see what happens.
I live on the Cumberland Plateau in East Tennessee.
Rick
September 11th, 2007 at 6:41 am
Hi – I planted my goji berry seeds at the start of our English summer (a summer that has been increidibly wet, with a few sunny days thrown in!) in a small polythene covered frame, in small pots of compost. They took a few weeks, but all of them germinated. The frame is in a postiton where it gets about 2 or 3 hours of direct sunlight. Once the seedlings were a few inches tall, I re-potted three in larger containers, with the same compost. I wasn’t sure if it is advised to pinch the top of the seedlings, so when these repotted seedlings reached about 5 inches, I pinched one but not the other two. One of the others is now approximately three months old, and roughly 22 inches tall, still very fragile, and needs support. It is very tall and thin, but has recently got some new shoots at the base. The plant I pinched is bushier that the one I just mentioned, and the leaves are a slightly darker green, and larger. Could anyone let me know what is advised where pinching is concerned, and also if my plants sound at about the right stage for their age!!! I almost gave up on them as they didn’t grow at all for quite a while, but they have suddenly taken off again. We are now at the end of our summer, and I am planning to keep them in the polythene frame over the winter. Thanks for reading this! Jenny
)
October 21st, 2007 at 8:53 pm
Hey Sinclair… I am also in northern Ohio… I would love to connect and discuss goji berries with you…disband9@yahoo
take care
November 25th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
does anyone can donate some seed of goji for someone like me. im here in the philippibnes im iinterested to plant it in my yard. it was said its good for the ill im eagerly to help my friends to cure by these plant so that i w ill plant it in my yard to help my friends and my family.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
I was given goji berries for christmas to grow inside. I am totally new to the world of gardening and was wondering how I should go about taking care of the seeds that I planted about 3 weeks ago. Do i have to worry about over watering? How do I know that I planted them correctly? Please help!
I just don’t want to kill them. Also, I live in seattle so sun light is not an option, especially this time of year.
January 16th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Ken in Venice…..would you be willing to part with some seeds, or another plant for a neighbor in Sarasota. Was hoping to find dried berries in local stores, but have had no luck.
I ‘do’ container vegetable gardening in our backyard, so they’d have a fighting chance.
January 16th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Try http://www.localharvest.com
They sell goji seeds. Good quality I was able to get 10+ plants from one pack of seeds.
January 16th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Thanks, Corey. Just ordered some seeds. Hope to grow a natural fence of them down one side of our yard!
January 19th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
I live in Northern California, San Francisco Bay area to be exact. I am intrique with the goji which I happened to see in a deli recently. Where can I get goji seedlings or seeds to start. Is there any kind souls out there would spare me a few goji seeds just to try.
January 20th, 2008 at 8:18 am
Sam, if you saw the berries than you have a good source for Goji Berry seeds right there. Even if the berries are dried the goji seeds will usually germinate. Good luck!
January 20th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
I live in southern New Mexico with soil that will grow most anything. I am about to start my experience with growing Goji bushes which I have ordered and are bare root and 36″ tall. Does any one live in this part of the country and have experience with growing these plants. All help and advice is appreciated.
February 10th, 2008 at 6:13 am
I am looking for Goji seeds and fruit. I found one fruit looking like Goji as I saw on different web sites. I am not sure. Can you please help me by describing completely its shape, size and also the shape, size and colour of its seed. How many seeds are in one berry. Please guide me how can I get them. I am in Pakistan. Can they be grown during hot summers.
Thanks
February 19th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Ken in Venice, I am interested in growing Goji in Florida also, in the Charlotte County area. The problem seems to be that they need to go dormant in order to flower. Did your bushes go dormant over there in Venice. What do you think of the chances of good cultivation here in Florida?
February 19th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Planted some goji seeds in plastic seed starter trays on Jan. 26. Kept watered at the bottom and misted on the top in a sunny area on the back porch. Three weeks later, a couple of sprouts have shot up. Hope to see more in the next few days. I am in Sarasota, FL.
February 19th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Janet, That is great. Keep us posted.
I have a funny Goji story. I have an indoor Goji that my 2 year old son destroyed. The plant was about 5 ft tall with many branches. Now it stands about a foot tall and, until today, had zero leaves. It looks like I will have 6-10 new branches to look forward to. Once established these things are strong plants.
PS I now have the plant at work where my son cant get at it anymore.
March 2nd, 2008 at 9:59 pm
I would like to know if the goji berry would grow in zone 9? Thanks
March 2nd, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Randy, Timpanogos Nursery raises goji berry plants and they are located in Henderson, Nevada so I would think that you should be able to grow goji berries in your region.
March 9th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Do the Goji berry plants need full sun or can they grow in partial sun or shaded area.
March 10th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
They do best in full sun, but they will grow in part sun and shaded areas. The more sun they get the faster they grow and the better the berries will be.
March 11th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
I bought some dried goji berries and extracted seeds from 6… yielded about 100 seeds. I stuck them in soil, put them in a sunny south window and they germinated like crazy. I will let you know how they do in Idaho this year.
I love the fruit and have found them excellent re-hydrated in my morning oatmeal.
Nampa Idaho
March 12th, 2008 at 3:33 am
Hey Rose and Fatima – let me know your addresses and I’ll send you a few dried berries! Email me: vgts (at) caseyconnor [dot] org
April 21st, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Bought 2 Crimson Star Goji plants 4/20/08. It is 50 degrees where I live (Seattle) right now. Is it ok to plant? Best soil? How far apart? Do they climb? Best nutrition? Have got aged horse manure.
April 21st, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Tom, I think you’d be safe to set your goji berry plant into the ground now. Average, well drained soil is recommended. Fertilizing isn’t required but will help speed the goji’s growth and production. Use a nitrogen rich fertilizer to improve plant growth and a one that is high in phosphorous during the flowering and fruiting periods. From what I understand the goji plants will take on more of a bush form and grow between six and eight feet wide.
April 24th, 2008 at 12:20 am
I recieved a cutting in a plastic bag from an old Chinese herbalist who was my teacher. He had been growing Gojis in Seattle for at least 10 years. I put it in a 5 gallon bucket with the hopes that I would have a home garden to plant it in soon. It’s been about 3 years, the plant is (unfortunately) still in the bucket, but it’s growing and leaves are sprouting. It’s survived plenty of neglect in the backyard, and has now been moved to Eastern Washington and is still doing well. I’ll be checking back for more tips as this is a very sentimental plant. Thanks for all the info!
May 17th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Hi, I purchased dried goji berries just to try! Thought they were NOT NICE!! but loathe to waste things and just popped the remainder in compost & covered and put in greenhouse. Forgot all about until suddenly overcome with loads of green shoots. Complete forgotten what I had planted and then remembered the goji packet rejected for eating. Have now repotted and find I have more than 40 of them!! Grateful for all the info you have given on growing on and pleased to hear that they should be hardy (good job as we live in North Cumbria, UK). Will keep some inside greenhouse and plant rest out and hope they survive our winters.!! Now need to find something to do with the berries as personally couldn’t stand the things… so they MUST be good for you!!
May 17th, 2008 at 10:02 am
I wasn’t too excited about the taste of dried goji berries either, but they are supposed to be very good for you.
Just hoping that fresh vine ripened goji berries taste a lot better than the dried fruits… they weren’t terrible, just not my idea of fruit for snacking. Good luck with your crop goji berry seedlings!
June 22nd, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Hi everyone! To those that didn’t like the taste of the dried Goji Berries. Don’t give up! Try some from a different company. Not all goji berries taste the same. Through the years I have tried different suppliers berries and some are sweet and others are more sour. The health benefits are definitely worth searching for a Goji Berry that you like! Have an Amazing Day!
Christy
http://www.Pillars-Of-Light.com
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:31 pm
I am very interested in the gogi berries. Where can I find sweet ones to buy the dried berries, seeds or plants.
If I can get seeds or dried berries I can get them started now. Some times a health food store will carry the dried gogi but I want to be sure that they are good and sweet. Is there a place here in the usa or canada?
Thank you
Please e-mail me at vlucille543@gmail.com
Lucille Crabtree
Florence, Oregon.
541-997-9627
August 2nd, 2008 at 7:56 am
My wife uses goji berries mainly in the Chinese soups she prepares. They give a nice mild sweetness which goes well with the more exotic tastes in there. They are traditionally used that way in China
I planted three “dry roots” this year in our part of northern UK. One in a clay pot, two outside. Of the outside pair, one in full sun and one in partial shade. Of the three, the partial shade one grew leaves first and is growing upwards and outwards. It is a sandy/clay soil. The one in full sun has put out a couple of vertical shoots but seems more keen on growing horizontal creepers which are already almost two feet long. It is in a sandy soil. The last one, in the pot with potting soil and sand, is growing verrrry slowly but has a more conventional shape. It was very slow to produce leaves and I had almost given up hope.
I am going to have to cut the creepers on the rapidly expanding one, which is a pity because they look so healthy!
August 3rd, 2008 at 8:39 am
I have 5 Goji’s in my yard now. Two of them are doing amazingly well and 1 of them is producing a large crop of berries on its second year. The others are also doing well.
I bought more seeds and started another 10 plants that I need to get in the ground soon. I have also learned how to propogate these plants. This is a great way to get more plants and decrease the amount of time before the plant produces berries.
Kenny if I send you some pictures can you post them on your site?
August 3rd, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Hi Corey, I would love to see the photos of your goji berry plants and may be able to include them in an upcoming article that I’m planning about propagating goji berry plants. You can email the photos to the address listed on my “contact me” page, thanks.
August 4th, 2008 at 9:31 am
Hi Corey – I would love to hear details about your experiences in getting your plants to thrive. I have several plants in the ground, also in their second year, and they are producing some berries too. One plant in particular is just growing like crazy. I am seeing some berries turn dark or get spots on them before ripening, though. And some of the leaves are drying and falling off some of the plants as well. Does anyone have any ideas on why this may be happening? Another question is that how large do the berries usually get? I was expecting something a bit larger than what I’m seeing with these plants (much smaller than wild blueberries). Thanks!
August 4th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Joni, How are you wattering? What kind of soil are your plants in? Have you noticed any insects or animals around your plants? You may need to add some organic fertilizer rich in potassium. This will improve your plants immune system.
If you are allowing your Goji to grow naturally it will most likely have a lot of new shoots coming from the roots. If you want more of the plant energy to produce berries, prune the new shoots when you see them starting.
The Goji berries are very small berries, but since your plant is only in its second year the berries will be smaller. Plants in the 4-5 year range produce larger crops consisting of larger berries.
August 4th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Greetings from KwaZulu-Natal South Africa.
Four weeks ago I planted some whole berries that I soaked for 8 hours in a seed tray using potting soil and worm castings. This was kept wet by spray every day. After 3 weeks I have over 200 little plants about 1cm high. Each berry has produced about 20 seedlings and more are starting to sprout. I have transplanted 60 into individule little seed pots about 4cm wide and 6cm deep and these I have placed in trays taking 21 in each tray. I live in apartment 8 floors above the ground. The plants are located by the window facing the sun. At the moment I am watering them lightly. Peace be with you. Om Shanti.
August 6th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Did you know you can eat the leaves too? They are known as Gau Gei Choi or sometimes Chinese Box Thorn leaves and can be used in a similar way to spinach, although apparently shouldn’t be eaten raw (according to my source, anyway). They are sometimes used in soup in Chinese cooking. I’ve only tried them once as they can be difficult to get hold of in the UK, but if you’re growing your own then you have a ready supply on hand!
I haven’t grown any yet, but I really want to try! Does anyone know the best time of year to plant the seeds? I read on another site that the seedlings have to be kept warm for the first year after germination, is this true?
August 21st, 2008 at 11:17 am
Hi, I planted 3 Gojis this year. They are growing GREAT, but they aren’t upright, they are sprawling like a spider. What should I do??? Thanks
August 21st, 2008 at 11:06 pm
My goji berry plants are growing like that also. I just use a tall stake and tie as many of the upright branches to the stake as possible to help support the plant and then let the side shoots sprawl if they want to.
August 22nd, 2008 at 7:29 am
Thanks Kenny..I didn’t know if I should prune them or what. Have a great day!
August 22nd, 2008 at 6:14 pm
I just got a bunch of seedling started from the dried goji I got at Whole Foods. They are doing well so far. I grew up with goji berries, but didn’t know the “value” of them. My grandmother in Canada grew them all over her backyard. I remember seeing the berries everywhere. She picked every single one of them, and dried them. She and my mom used them in soups. I ask my mom to ask my aunt who lived in my Grandma’s old house, to see if there were any of the goji plants left. Unfortunately, they’re all gone. I hope my seedlings will turn into nice plants. I have another kind of goji growing in the backyard of a rental house I own in Portland. My mom planted them decades ago. This goji is grown for it’s leaves. It does have berries, but are very small–so they’re not worth drying. I’m going to Portland next weekend, and will be bring back some cuttings so I can grew them in L.A.,
August 27th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
How do you tell when a goji berry is ready for picking “ripe”. I have goji berrys onthe plant and there soft and red. Is a soft berry ripe?
August 28th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
hello
just want to say that goji berries are not meant to eaten dry! I am Chinese and we always put the dried goji berries in chicken soups to provide a sweet taste. goji berries are regarded highly in chinese culture/herbal medicine for thier health benefits. Unlike western medicine, which only look at the vitamins or fiber counts, Chinese herbal medicine is based on ‘experience’. As an example, plums are highly touted in America, but Chinese(medicine) consider plums ‘bad fruits’.
September 3rd, 2008 at 11:33 am
I found this very reliable seller on eBay that sells live goji plants. I bought a few goji plants from him and they arrived very healthy. He doesn’t sell all year around, however, he lists them on eBay at least once or twice a month. They are usually sold very quickly. So, you will need to buy as soon as they are listed. His eBay user name is gojicenter
September 8th, 2008 at 1:52 am
All the way from south africa…
Got a few seeds from a friend from Australia(goji seeds)
its now the second spring and my plants are doing well .Very excited
email me anytime :falconza@ananzi.co.za
September 8th, 2008 at 7:43 am
KEN IN VENICE! How is Goji dormancy achieved in FLORIDA?! If, as I read is true that, Goji needs dormancy to fruit, how does this occur in FL? Im in Pasco county, really eager to grow Goji.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:14 am
I have plants from seed bought through JLHudson, Horizon and , I think, Sacred Suculents as well as from store-bought berries. Results: 50 or so mature plants bearing their first crop this year. I have staked and tied several of the larger plants, but this is less than satisfactory. Do you trellis them like raspberries? They are brittle and don’t like being blown about by the wind.
I would like to cultivate between the rows and don’t want their branches lying on the ground.
Suggestions?
September 16th, 2008 at 5:00 am
Hi Jai – I am pondering the same problem. My four plants are all a bit straggly. I am test-staking one and I cut one of the others back to see what would happen. The trimmed one is still looking like it wants to stay unkempt. However, this action led to an interesting observation. Instead of throwing away all the pieces I trimmed, I stuck them in the ground around the “mother” bush to see what would happen. Most of them appear to have rooted without any care from me and are growing and developing healthy shoots. Suddenly I have many new gojis to give away to friends!
September 29th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Hi, everyone. Sure is an enthusiastic blog. I went to Lassens heath foods and found goji dipped in yogurt. I melted off the yogurt in my mouth, cut the beery into 1/4s and put in small pots. i got 40 plants out of a few of the berries. In 2 weeks they germinated. I got around 60 small plants going when a ground squirrel ate 25 plants in one afternoon. He loved them. I now have a small bedding bench with clear pannels that keeps rocky out. Also, if any one has a recipe for goji and ground squirrel let me know.
Also I am in Ventura county CA and would like to start a nursery for these berries. A green thumb to all, bye. Ron.
October 20th, 2008 at 6:01 am
Hi everybody.
I bought dried goji berries as a snack and opened up one of the berries.
52 pips was found. I grew all 52 seedlings into 5cm tall plants by using cotton wool and water in direct sunlight and no wind. They are extremely fragile.
They are most cleverest by addapting and dying multiple times to enrich the ground and adapt if neccesarry.
They love sunlight, and hate wind until multiple brances grew out about 12 to 14 months later. lots of water with good draining ground. NO Tirf. I’m experimenting with tirf now. Biggest enemy is birds!
October 21st, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Hi,
Nice to meet everyone here. I am happy to see many of you are interested in goji. I am from Zhongning China – “hometown of goji” and currently I am developing a web site (http://www.go-goji.com) to promote authentic Ningxia goji. There are a lot of misconception and confusion regarding goji’s production region and clinic benefits here in America, and this become my motiviation of developing this web site. I also introduce a super goji cultivar and other goji product like non-fruiting goji plant. It is my plan to provide useful tips on how to grow and manage goji plants (pruning, soil preference and climate preference, etc.) The website is still under construction but you are welcome to visit, and drop me a message if you need any advice and make comment. Thanks!
November 13th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I just got on a waiting list for plants to be shipped in Feb. Your suggestions and findings have helped me understand what I will have tremendously. I am in west central Arkansas, zone 7, and am intrugued by the health benefits of the berries hence my reason for purchasing. You’ve all got me excited to get mine going!!!
December 18th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
I started to sell ‘No1 of Ning-qi’ seeds(a super goji cultivar) now. please visit my website with your questions. Again, I have to claim, goji is go qi or gou chi zi or Chinese wolfberry. The production area are mainly in Ningxia, and other several provinces, but none of them are in Tibet. Do not be fooled by those online sellers who are selling Chinese wolfberry under the name of Tibet!
go-goji.com
December 18th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Betty,
I am Chinese too, and I grew up in ‘hometown of goji’- zhongning county of ningxia. Actually goji can be eaten dry or fresh, but few people do that due to most people think they can only be used in medicine. Since I grew up from goji country I ate a lot dried and fresh goji berries. The only bad experience I remember was 30 years ago when I was a boy, one hot summer day I ate a lot of fresh goji berries from a goji farm in front of our house (at that time farms was run by communes so it was free in some sense) and got a nose bleeding – I asked a doctor later he told me goji is very rich in nutrients, too much goji for a small boy could cause ’shang huo’ and nose bleeding.
January 10th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
I would love to try this goji berry I love to try new and different plants in ohio sounds like fun. I do wonder will it become a problem plant? Just reading every ones comments sound like the seeds start rather easy and new plants can start from stem on the ground will I have many plants growing out in my yard I wonder? From the berries that fall or perhaps birds. Just a thought. I still want to try and grow a few. Any one in ohio have these growing for a few years Love to have some seeds
January 13th, 2009 at 4:01 am
I found the taste not so good, however I found they grow on me over time. When I was in the Philippines they use to put them in soup.
January 18th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
In 2007 I bought a pot of seeds from Timpanogs nursery in Utah! 22 seeds sprouted. Planted in late May, they were 8 in. tall. Rabbits ate all but 1 in about a day. I caged it with concrete wire mesh about 2 feet round and put chicken wire on the inside of it.In 2 weeks i took about 20 cuts and ended up with 9 to plant July 1. They grew to 3′ tall. I did’t mulch. We had one of the coldest and snowiest winter on record in eastern Iowa. None of them made it. Did the same thing in May of 2008. 20 cuts and 9 plants.They all grew to 6′ and I mulched them with about 18″ of grass and leaves. Goji don’t propagate very good as i tryed in late Oct again. I would like to hear about your propagating methods!
January 21st, 2009 at 8:51 am
Terry, propagating goji berry plants is an interesting topic that I have been planing to post an article about but just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Turns out that goji’s seem to be pretty easy to propagate but starting them from seeds may be the least preferable method. I think that using cuttings is the best way to go if you are trying to start new goji berry plants. Browse around in the comment sections of the goji berry articles on this site and you’ll find examples of gardeners starting plants easily from cuttings, with the extra bonus of them bearing fruit sooner than plants started from seeds. I had the same experience with rabbits eating a plant down to the ground, but the goji recovered and re-grew better than new. Good luck with your goji plants.
February 5th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Is Timpanogos Nursery still in business? On their website, in the past 3 months, I have signed up for newsletter, called their 800# many, many times, tried to find a local Utah #, and ordered (or thought I did) a seed kit. I’ve gotten no results from any of these attempts.
February 5th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Try LocalHarvest.com
That is where I buy my seeds from. I have gotten 75-80% germination from their seed kits. I would suggest starting the seeds in peat moss. The young gojis love the acidic soil.
February 6th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
Seb,
For the bad taste of goji berries, I’ve heard quite a few complaints similar to yours. One thing in my mind is the berries were not produced by medicinal Lycium Barbarum – for example pale wolfberry has bitter taste, it is another variety in Lycium family in SW United states. The other I guess is due to unfavorable growing environment. A Canadian guy complained bitterness of goji too and he mentioned the plants were from China many years ago. For any one who grows goji, my recommendation always is select the best cultivar and don’t mess up with any unknown varieties. If you have more questions, just go to my website go-goji.com. I am doing my best to correct people’s wrong idea about goji.
February 6th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Corey,
Goji prefers to ligh alkaline soil with pH ranges from 7.0-7.7. It can even grow in soil with pH of 8.5. So it was choice of crop growing in some northwestern China areas where soil is too alkaine for other crops to grow.
February 6th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Not in my experience. I experimented last year. 10 pots with different mixtures ranging from 100% peat moss to 100% yard soil (ph 7.8) The gojis in the 100% peat moss grew faster and taller than those in the other pots. After I saw this I added peat moss to two of my 5 2yr old plants. The two that received the peat moss grew faster and produced more berries than those that I left alone. Each of them received equal amounts of sun and water. I only speak from experience.
February 6th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Also my berries are very sweet and juicy. I must be doing something right.
February 6th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Corey,
Now I know what you mean. But I think the fast growth and healthy plants are not related to acidity of soil. Instead better aeration and drainage by mixing peat moss might play the role. I also add peat moss to soil for growing goji.
February 6th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Goji surely can grow in acid soil but it grows better if soil pH>7. However soil dainage is essential for healthy plants and better yield. water logging can kill young goji plants in short period of time.
March 6th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
How much did you guys pay for your plants? Have any of you tried to grow in Southern California, if so what obsticles have you ran into(planting from seed in spring)? Your help would be greatly appreciated. I bought some seeds and plan on selling them here at the nursery, and have no clue where to start.
March 12th, 2009 at 2:45 am
Dear,
I am from Bahrain and would like to grow Goji berry in my house
garden .
Bahrain is very hot and wet in summer , we grow tomato in this time . We have alot of date palm trees which Bahrain famuse with
if any one got advise about plantting rare plants please give me information
my e-mail= FBUHAMAD@CAA.GOV.BH
Thanks all
March 21st, 2009 at 6:22 pm
I have grown Goji berry for three years now. The plants grew very well and produced flowers and few berries in the first year. However, I noticed that the leaves have powdery mildew in the second year and then the leaves fell off. I cut it back and this year the plants grow well but still have powdery mildew on the leaves. Does any one have the same kind of problem? What do I do to get rid off the powdery mildew without using the commercial products? Please advise. Thank you very much.
March 21st, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Cathy,
Where is your location? Is it due to warm and humid climate? It is not common for goji to have such problem in major goji growing areas in China. Have you tried multi-purpose fungicide?
April 19th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Goji berry plants. How much to purchase four.
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:51 am
[...] Goji Berry Plants » Veggie Gardening Tips [...]
April 24th, 2009 at 3:05 am
Hi I’ve started growing this hightly sought after fruit and deeply want to grow them for their nutrional benefits. I bought 1 tree from the nursey which looked really heathly, lots of leaves. However after a week in the backyard, most of the leaves were eaten!! I do not know by what and how can I protect them?? A fine mesh, some wedding lace from the material shop?? In the meantime I will buy some dried versions to plant from seed from the local asian shop. Any ideas/tips would be greatly appreciated. Wish me well and I’m glad I have found this helpful community.
May 8th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Goji’s can be done…I recommend plants rather than seeds. I live in southern OH …bought 1 yr old spring plants from Timpanagous Nurs. Grew them in 1 gal plastic pots ( arrived in late April ) until midsummer when I knew they were OK at 18″… do not overwater during that early period or they will probably croak! Set in permanent beds in July … they like full sun once they are that far along. I supported them in small-size tomato cages that 1st summer in my yard, and surrounded them in a tall bed of zinnias and just let ‘em be.
They overwintered fine. Fed them in October for the 1st winter. They are now ( May, 2nd year in my garden ) 4-5 feet tall and bushing heavily. Use Fish Emulsion ( mostly nitrogen ) one time in the spring to green them up. Then feed heavy phosphate each month thru summer to create buds, flowers, and berries. I also started seeds … warning! they are extremely sensitive to light in the first 3 months when propogating the seeds. In 25 years gardening, they are the hardest to seed start of all the plants I have started … might be worth it to buy 1 year plants, unless you have a greenhouse where you can really baby them. My 2 year plants are booming. If you want to grow them, just be real attentive to not too much water early.
May 9th, 2009 at 12:03 am
From KwaZulu-Natal South Africa.
Last year I soaked some berries in water for + – 12 hours. I then used a nursery bought seed tray and half filled it with fine sifted compost. I opened the soaked berries and spread the seeds over the serface and sifted compost over the top covering the seeds by + – 4mm. I used a 500ml bottle with a hand pump to spray the compost until water came out the bottom. I placed the tray in a drip tray to prevent water leaking onto the winowsil. I covered the seed tray with a ceramic tile left over from when I tiled the bathroom wall. I kept the seeds in my flat window facing the sun. The seeds were protected from the direct sun by the tile and at the same time kept the soil moist.
After + – 14 days of keeping moist with the hand spray the seeds started pushing through. I started to leave the tile off during the early morning and late afternoon in direct sunlight. When they had two leaves open with the next set of leaves just starting to grow I started to leave the tile off all day. When they were developing their third set of leaves I started to replant the seedlings into small pots with the same compost mixture. Over two hundred plants over the next three weeks. First two days they were shaded and then gradually placed into full sun all day keeping wet by soaking with water every morning. I planted one seedling into a very large ceramic pot which I have in my loung just in front of the same widow with the seedlings. I also used a aluminium rod which I pushed into the soil and extending three meters above the pot as a stay.
Within one year the plant has grown higher than the three metre rod and has trailed down below the pot. It also has many branches trailng all over which I have brought down and tied onto the stay. It is really an impressive sight. I have had a yield of over 300 berries (the last 10 only yesterday) and the tree is only one year old. Please don’t be afraid to experiment. I gave the seedling from this batch away to friends (Over 150 in small pots). The others have been planted in the complex garden and have oly reached a height of one metre high also with many branches. I say GO FOR IT. Temperatures during the last 6 month hve been in the region of 30 degrees centigrade. Getting cooler now winter approaching slowly.
June 26th, 2009 at 9:20 am
Hi all. This is for the goji growers in Florida worried about the dormancy period.
I have an old friend who is an avid apple grower here in central Ohio and also FLORIDA. Yes apples do grow and fruit in Florida, but they do very much need a dormant period in order to fruit. The way he mocks dormancy… he pulls off all the leaves during the “winter” months. If you have a well enough established plant you may want to try this. From what I know about the plants that need dormancy, if you don’t give i to them they can die after a few years, with no dormancy. May be urgent, may not. I don’t really know much about goji as I’m just into growing them since two months ago.
If you have any thoughts/comments on this I would love to hear them at naturalelementlandscape@hotmail.com . Good luck to everyone.
June 30th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Hi,
I live in San Jose, California. I have Goji plants that produce alot of berries every year. They start to grow a lot of leaves in spring before they flower. However, a few weeks later, the leaves would have powdery mildew. This happens every year. The berries seems fine.
Can someone tell me what causes the leaves to have the white powdery stuff? and how do I get rid of them?
Please advise.
Thank you very much.
July 5th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
I bought a small (maybe ten to twelve inch tall bear root) goji plant a few years ago from jungs catalog. I planted it next to my house (I live just east of Cincinnati) and didn’t pay much attention to it after that. A year later it was over six feet tall. It is on its fourth summer now and I have had to prune it back extensively and often. It will grow over a foot in a few weeks! I have not had a big harvest yet but what I have had is awesome! It is hard to keep the birds away (I even have a robins nest in the middle of the bush). It flowers and fruits later than what most sites say it will and the berries have been small so far but everything I have read seems to indicate that the fruit gets larger and more plentiful with age. I also found that I can start new plants from cuttings. Since I have plenty of them when I prune my plant I am going to try starting some in pots. Overall I am very happy with my five dollar investment!
July 7th, 2009 at 9:09 am
Jenifer, I have planted goji seedlings northeast of Louisville. I’m glad to hear that yours enjoys the climate. What side of the house did you plant yours?
August 4th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
I posted exactly one year ago about my experience growing goji plants. I had just planted them early in 2008. I have recently discovered something very interesting which may be of interest here.
A friend from Hong Kong visited recently. She mentioned that the goji leaves were very nutritious and she proceeded to strip them from the long “creeper” shoots on one of my plants. We then had them in soup. Very nice too. However, just over one week after she left I noticed that the branches she had stripped were showing new leaf growth…and flowers were forming! The flowers are only on the stripped branches, nowhere else. They have not appeared on my other goji plants that were not stripped. Possibly this is stress flowering?
So, is anyone aware that this might be a known technique to force flowering? Remember that I have only had the plants just over one year.
August 4th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Hi Norman,
Very good observation. That your friend stripped leaves from goji plant is equivalent to ‘prunning’. Prunning can greatly stimulate flower buds emergence and fruiting. I think prunning contributes at least 30% of yielding of goji berries. The other two important considerations are fertilizer/water management and disease/pest control. Of course of all considerations the biggest one is climate suitability. I have grown goji for a couple of years and my cultivar is NQ-1, really impressed of their early yielding ability, I might put some pictures of my one-year-old plant bearing berries on my website.
By the way, goji leaves are very nutritious. I harvested some and dry them up to make tea, I also harvest fresh to put in soup. A new cultivar was developed in China to produce only leaves, I got some goji leaves tea bags from China, they are REALLY GOOD….
August 4th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
That is very interesting, I had heard that the goji leaves were edible but didn’t know if it was just one particular variety that produced the edible leaves. I have noticed that the gold finches love goji leaves and have stripped some of the branches on my goji until there aren’t any leaves left. So far I haven’t noticed that that defoliation treatment has encouraged any flower or fruit production. Strangely, a goji plant towards the front yard hasn’t been bothered by the finches and it does produce flowers and berries even though it is much smaller in size.
August 30th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Dear Kenney,
Please don’t be fooled. There are dozens of species of Lycium throughout the world. Not all are edible, and only one (1) is Goji. Lycium barbarum L. (true Goji) is 100% edible, including the root (Germanium is found in the tap root of the Goji Tree). The berry from Lycium barbarum L. is sweet, and its leaves make a wonderful tea. Please visit GojiTrees.com and learn the truth about the amazing Goji berry.
September 10th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Hi,
I have a goji plant stared from a cutting. I just picked all the ripe berries and will eat them fresh. So far I have grown the plant in a pot.
Question: do I cut the plant down for the winter (Vancouver, B.C.) Thank you.
September 10th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Birgitta,
Will you leave it outdoors or indoor? I recommend you leave it outdoors to let it go through dormancy. Prunning is necessary to stimulate better yield for next year but you don’t need to cut it down to overwinter because winter in Vancouver is pretty mild.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
I have been growing goji for 4 year now in the hot las vegas sun they do very well. I have to water them daily to keep them cool in the summer. But they grow really well in the spring and fall. Remember to keep those roots from having wet feet.
October 1st, 2009 at 2:31 pm
I have been experimenting growing goji’s hydroponically for a couple months. I would like to grow some of them indoors and some outdoors. Is it true that if you strip all the leaves off the goji it will think it’s in it’s dormancy stage? Has anyone tried this? Also, does anyone know if it is possible to get goji’s to flower in the first year?
October 1st, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Daryl,
The only way to make goji enter its dormancy is to lower temperatures close to freezing. New leaves will grow after the old leaves are striped off.
If you grow goji from seeds, you won’t be able to see flowers the first year, from cuttings, yes.
October 1st, 2009 at 11:08 pm
From KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
My plant indoors flowered and produced over 100 berries in first year. I also stripped all leaves from plant 2 months ago and now not only new leaves but new branches prolifically all along original branches.
Plant in large container directly in front of North facing window. Plenty compost and worm castings mixed with good potting soil.
November 14th, 2009 at 12:39 am
HELP. I am at my wits end. I am trying to start goji berries in a hydroponic set up. My initial results of 70+ plants were very good. Very sturdy healthy bushy plants that stood up straight and very proud. My problem is I have been infested with aphids. So far everything I have tried (oil,water,soap mixture, organic insectiside) has not harmed the aphids but have killed my plants instead. I pick aphids daily (yuck) but cant manage to control them. I dont think its an option for ladybugs this time of year. Does anyone have any sugestions before my beautiful plants all loose the battle.
November 14th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Pmela,
Try garlic solution. I used garlic solution this summer to control aphids and it seemed working. YOu can also add sulfer powder mixed with garlic solution for better disease/insect control. Crash garlic using blender, adding water and blend again until solution become well mixed. YOu can add sulfer powder at this time, try different concentration to see which works best.
November 14th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Leaving larger space between the plants and keeping plant and soil misture low can also help. How large is your plants?