wolfberry (goji) transplanting

I've got a good bit of these from seed as well I need to transplant. Should these be simple to transplant on a raised row to keep them from getting waterlogged? I'm wondering on what kind of spacing these would need as well?

I am interested in any info people have on these. I got some as plugs and they have grown very nicely, they are in 2 gallon pots, nice foliage and healthy but after 2 years, still no flowers, therefore no fruit.

Until you get an answer from someone who knows more, they have been very easy to grow. I would make sure they have good drainage, I used regular potting soil with a good bit of perlite mixed in. They are growing very well, I have them outside with no protection and they did well over the winters.
As for spacing, they seem to grow taller than wide. I would say give them a couple feet apart at least, I do think they can get quite big.

Hope someone can tell me how to make them flower and fruit.

I have three of these plants around 4-8 feet tall. They have been in the ground here for two years and looked to be two years old when I put them in bareroot. My plants have produced about 300 flowers this year and not one berry out of the mix. I found that they drop about 75 percent of their leaves during the hottest part of summer but will still flower during that time as well. They must be getting their chill requirement to produce flowers but either they are not ready to fruit due to age, fertilization or soil ph. I plan on moving one this winter, once it goes dormant, to a partial shade location where it will get morning and early afternoon sun only. I would have to say I am impressed that it took 70 days at 100+ degrees and one of the worst droughts in Texas with relative ease.
I will probably bump them up to a heavy balanced organic fertilizer this spring.

If your plants already have brown limbs and not just green growth, I would transplant this winter when it goes dormant. They ship them bareroot in December from many nurseries.

Oh yeah, I almost killed mine with poor drainage the first few months. Good drainage is a must.
Seeds really sprout quickly but then shut down for root growth and finally hit a growing spurt later. Once they get larger, they will send out lanky shoots 5-6 feet long in just a few weeks during spring and sometimes fall when the heat backs off here in Texas. They say the leaves are edible and a delicacy in Japan and other sites say dont eat them. I have tried them off an on with no bad results.......yet.

This message was edited Oct 19, 2009 10:25 AM

Thank you so much for that information. I am going to put a few in the ground this winter. Now that you mention it, the plugs looked great but then they did grow gawky and leggy, I cut them back and the got fuller, but it looked like they were dying for awhile. I didn't do anything and they came out of it. They look nice and full now, but not a flower. For the fruit, its not a male and female thing, is it??

You have about 4 years invested and still no fruit? I think I have about 3 years in mine.

I think they are supposed to be very easy from cuttings. I have not tried that but perhaps they would fruit earlier from cuttings, mine were supposidly done from seed.

I've been growing mine for a number of years now and have gotten a few fruit. They do need good drainage. Plants are easy to propagate from cuttings and cuttings will start in soil or just plain water. I now regard this as potentially invasive - not from seeds but from vigorous growth.

Regarding fruiting, the plants are definitely self-fertile as all of my plants are from the same original stock (I am looking to trade cuttings for some other stock for out-pollination if anyone is interested). Yet fruiting has been very limited and I have been considering getting rid of the plants as their grow habit is not attractive and the plants are not very productive. I have refrained from doing this pending trying another source of stock for pollination purposes, but have not done this yet.

Fruit production for me is only during the late fall.

I believe that for me, lack of fruit production is a pollination issue. Close observation suggests to me that the pollen on the flowers is only viable for a very short period of time which I believe is less than a single day. I have observed the pale yellow/white pollen to turn brown in a very short period of time. I also think that specialized pollinators my also be necessary as a number of flies, bees and wasps do visit my plants' flowers, but limited fruiting develops.

I have hand pollinated each year except this one and suspect that the hand pollination with fresh pollen is what was producing the fruit for me, as I did not do it this year and have no fruit this year. I would locate a flower with white or pale yellow pollen then spread to a number of other flowers and repeat this process. I suspect that flowers may only be receptive to pollen for a short period of time as well.

It is interesting to hear that others are having similar low fruiting issues as well. Perhaps we should discuss sources of plants privately via d-mail to see if this is from a common source or typical for this plant.

One other thing to try is non-acid soil. I no longer remember the source, but heard at one point that they do not like acid soils.

Mine is planted in acidic potting soil. The plants are vigerous and healthy, but no flowers. I do not get a great deal of heat here in the summer so worry that they need more heat than I have. My bushes are very attractive, have wickidly huge and sharp thorns however. But the foliage is quite nice, they are full and a nice deep green.

Hope someone who has bushels of fruit finds this and tells us the secret!!!

rebeccanne, These get to be large plants. I think your best bet is to get them into the ground. Plants that I have started from the mature mother have bloomed and set the occasional fruit while in pots, but the vigor of the plant really needs to be in the ground. They also self-tip-root like crazy. A single plant can easily grow 8' in all directions and I've had single branches grow 8' in a single season. If you saw the movie - Men in Black 2, with female alien villain that could grow long vines instantly, that reminds me of my goji!!!

The thorns seem to come and go on mine. I have to trim it from time to time to keep it under control but trimming seems to have no effect on fruiting.

They like an acidic soil? We have odd, slightly alkaline soil, so I will need to add gypsum?

What???? That is not what I said, Luzi.

Goji grows wild in my region.
Half a dozen years ago, I dug out some roots in the wild in the early spring and developed into kind of bonsai, and each year from then on countless bright red berries have seen on them in a row. Here is a picture of my goji.

Another goji picture of mine.
My goji are now in fruit now. I will show you more pictures later on.

Oh...wowow...maybe I should plant mine in a pot...Jianhua the seeds you sent to me..has taken..and I have one..huge one..it is growing..fast..the branches are 4-5 feet long. they were filled with purple..flowers up and down each stem...but no berries..In our conversation...You told me to cut it back..so we did do that...winter is coming soon..So I will wait till the spring and repot it..into a pot. Lol...it is very heathy looking..but I would like it to provide the birds a treat..and have berries..for them in the winter...We will see..for sure...

Enjoying your pic. everyone..Stay tuned..more to come?....

smiles..Diana..

I cut mine back in winter. Is that correct? Do the berries produce on new growth or year old?

Thank you so much for the pictures! How beautiful is that?? Okay, now can someone tell me if the berries are tasty when fresh? Lots of times berries are edible but sure not tasty. I grow the eugenia ugni, those are very tasty berries, the luma to me taste horrible. Mine are getting a haircut. I sure hope we get enough heat here for blooms and fruit. From looking at it, I would say it takes some years to fruit?

Mine turn red a long time before they get fully ripe. When fully ripe, they sweeten up significantly and the taste improves a lot. However, before this happens they taste somewhat bland - kind of like a poor tomato that will never properly ripen (admittedly a poor description) . Once I figured this out, I leave them on the plant until I see them start to slightly shrivel. Nothing to write home about.

As I promised, here are two more goji pictures taken in my free time today.

I planted the goji above by taking the thick roots upside down and as the main stem, thus easily making kind of bonsai. The following one in the pot is a solo stem resembling a little tree. I grow goji not for eating the berries, but just for the sake of bonsai. When the seeds are ripe, I let birds enjoy them.(Of course, the seed is a goodie for health, but I purchase it in the supermarket.)

And again, how to make goji produce more fruits?
As we all know, goji blooms its purple blooms between late summer and early fall, but usually the blooms will not develope into fruits. Remember as soon as the blooms wither,clip all the foliage to stimulate the outcome of new foliage. Along with the new foliage will come out many flowering buds, and these buds will be into bright red berries due to the agreeable weather of coolness.
This is my trick , believe it or not, you would know it after having a go.

Jianhua, Do you mean to strip off all the leaves from the stems? Quite a task on a large plant with thorns, but worth a try for one in a pot. I'll have to give it a try. This is not something I have heard before.

I think..he means just to keep cutting it back..I have done that..to mine..under his instructions..then next year...

My branches..were about 4 feet long...no red berries..yet..but maybe one year..I hope..

smiles..Diana...

Diana, I don't think that's it as I cut mine back each year and have been doing it for years - If you don't the plant takes over the yard. I think this stuff could be the Chinese equivalent of kudzu once it gets going. I'm also wondering if maybe it is pot bound that helps.

I stripped the leaves off of mine on one and clipped the branches on another today. We will test both.

Well in the spring..I am going to repot it...in a pot......and try it that..way..

smiles.Diana..

Yes, I mean ' to strip off all the leaves from the stems' .
Years ago, I spotted two goji plants growing not far from each otherin the wild: one with good foliage had not enough fruits, but the other with heavily insect-munched foliage bore plenty of friuts. I then carried out an experiment by stripping off all the leaves from the stems, and the result is surprising -- Stripping off the foliage can add up much more fruits.

Diana;,,

Just a suggestion... Why not leave the one you have growing in the ground be, and get another one for container growing, or take a cutting from the one you already have this spring and rooting it. Try growing them both ways and see what kind if results you have...

Dave

Blooms from this past summer.. This is from the Chinese Wolfberry, Lyciunm Barbarum...

Yes Dave..I am going to try and get one to grow in a pot..and keep it trimmed back..The one I have was huge though..so I had to cut it back while still in the ground..ours blooming looked just like yours..only the stems..were 6 feet plus..heheh..smiles..Diana..

Diana, Just take some cuttings now of pencil thick wood about 6-8" and stick them in some moist soil. Seal in a plastic bag and give good light (no direct sun, of course) somewhere in the house. They should start without too much trouble. Make sure not too wet as you could get mold.