Does anyone have any advice for me with Goji plants? I have 3 young ones that are starting to get blossoms. They are healthy and growing but the branches are sort of flo[ppy and not conducive to staking up. They get planty of sun, so maybe that is just their growth habit? All photos I have seen look like that. I am just wondering what happens if I get lucky enough to get lots of fruit-will the branched get weighted down?
JoParrott; Yours look just like mine. I use a cheap tomato wire from Wal$mart
It keeps them off the ground. I got so many berries off one plant I don't know what to do with them all. I am going to pick a bunch today to put in the ice box for later. Good Luck with yours. Phil
Hi-Thanks for the info- Do you have any photos to share? When do the berries get ripe? I have read that the best way is to dry them and eat like raisins.
my Goji berries with time have developed stronger branches that hold the berries well. It wasnt until after the second year after I planted them that new growth was stronger and more vigorous.
Thanks, both of you- I have Googled growing Goji berries and found a ton of good info. 2 of the plants are busily making baby berries, and 1 is not even flowering- they are really interesting plants to watch grow. There are 2 mini berries turning red already! One source even talked about using them to train on a trellis. I think it wouls work well since they put out so many horizontal branches. I hope they can be moved without much setback, because I already know I don't want them to stay where they are now.
I have just heard that Goji plants are very invasive and will sucker out of control, therefore should be grown in pots. Can anyone confirm that for me? I certainly don't want a forest in my front yard, but if they are such good berries as is claimed, how can there be too much of a good thing!? If I had a market for them I could let them grow and sell! I paid $14.99 to Burpee's for my first one!
Hi JoParrott; I grow my Goji plants in large pots. In my first year I have picked a pound of berries from my one plant. They are still setting fruit. So far I have started two new plants from suckers. I mix Kale, Goji berries, spinach, a fruit (Apple, peach, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries) in my high speed blender for my going to work drink. So far I have lost a few pounds and I have less leg pain. I hope to get a few more plants from suckers, so I can put the berries in the cooler, so to last me into the winter. Have a nice day. Phil
Joparrot,
Yes Goji berries can sucker but so far mine havent got out of control. Like my raspberries, fig, and blackberries I have a 14" aluminum flashing buried around them to prevent the roots from going out of the area where I want them.
I have just picked about 30 berries that were good and ripe- I think I am disappointed with their taste-I can't describe it, but a friend calls it bitter- they are only about 1/2 inch long- are thay always that small? I have no clue what to expect size wise or taste- maybe I won't even like them ! That would be sad after all the trouble I went through to get 3 plants going! They are loaded with flowers, and such crazy growth habits I have never seen! Branches are going in every possible direction!
Hi; JoParrott This is a end of the year report, I found the first of the fruit I tried was a little bitter, had an after taste. I found out the more it grew and the more I picked the more I liked the taste. The ones I picked today don't taste like the first ones. It's going to freeze tonight, and I want all the berries I can get. The last ones today are larger than the first of the year, but not larger then the dried ones in the store. So do you like them now? Do they taste bitter to you? Did you find something for them to grow on? Well I got to go. Phil
Phil, I pulled the Goji plants up- didn't like the taste at all, nor their growth habit-
JoParrott: Sorry to hear that ! Phil
I just planted mine last spring and I have to say it was the spindliest plant I've ever seen! Its long limp branches showed no desire to stand upright. If this past week of Arctic air (6 degrees F) hasn't decimated it, I hope this year will see it shaping up -- literally! VBG
Zone 7
Drobar, nothing wrong with your noggin...lol, I was thinking of using flashing for bed edging. I was thinking of burying 6" and leave 2 or 3" above ground level (thinking six is a good number to keep grass out). How easy/tough is it to work with?
