Easy tips for planting, pruning, and harvesting goji berries.
Plants bloom through summer and harvest continues through frost.
One goji berry plant can produce several pounds of fruit in a season.
Credit:VladimirFLoyd / Getty Images
Where to Plant Goji Berry
Goji berries are at home in a berry patch or orchard.
Plant alongsideraspberries,blueberries, and other small fruit crops.
Goji berries also can work in a mixed shrub border.
Give them plenty of space to expand and leave ample open ground for moving around the plant during harvest.
Goji berry fruit quality is best during hot, dry growing conditions.
Cool and humid environments produce limited crops of goji berries.
When shopping for goji berry plants, look for young plants that are labeled from cutting.
Young plants produced from cutting have the same known characteristics of their parents.
Reputable plant sellers will know the origin of their goji berry plants.
Goji berries thrive when planted in the ground as well.
Space goji berries 3 to 5 feet apart in the garden to allow for branching.
When planted in spring, goji berry plants will produce a small crop of fruit in summer.
Expect plants to produce a full crop of fruit about 3 years after planting.
Water newly planted goji berries wellthey dry out quicklyduring the first growing season.
Spread a 2-inch-thicklayer of organic mulchover the root zone to help maintain soil moisture.
Plants will tolerate shade, but don’t expect as much flowering and fruiting.
Soil
Goji berries tolerate a wide range of soils.
They thrive inwell-drained soilthat is sandy or loamy, but will grow in clay soil too.
Low fertility soils dont stop goji berry from thriving.
Water
Goji berry plants need at least weekly watering during the first growing season.
Aim to deliver at least one inch of water per week.
Drip irrigation is especially helpful in sandy, fast-draining soil.
Plants rarely require watering after the first year of growth and their root system is established.
Warm, dry conditions produce the most and best fruit.
Humidity and cool conditions slow growth and fruiting.
Expect goji berry to continue fruiting into fall in most areas.
Thefirst frost in fallwill halt fruit production.
Fertilizer
No fertilizer is required to grow goji berries.
Pruning
No pruning is needed the first year after planting.
Beginning in year two,plan to prune goji berries annuallyin winter.
The main purpose of pruning is to encourage new, vigorous growth.
Goji berries fruit on new growth.
Start by removing any weak, damaged, or crossing branches.
Shorten lateral branches by cutting them back by 6 to 18 inches.
Reduce overall plant height to keep harvesting manageable.
After about 3 years, plants often begin to send up suckers from the root system.
If left alone, the plant can spread quickly.
Dig up the shoots and discard them or transplant them if you want to expand your fruit production.
Pests and Problems
Squirrels and birds will forage ripe berries.
Place netting over the shrub to preserve fruit.
Deer and rabbits will eat young stems and leaves.
Prevent it by pruning plants annually to remove excess growth and improve air circulation.
Goji berries are labor-intensive to harvest.
Each small berry must be carefully plucked from arching, thorny stems and gently placed in a container.
Bruised berries turn black, making careful harvest essential.
Types of Goji Berries
Crimson Star is a popular variety thanks to its vigor.
Phoenix Tears produces deep orange fruit on arching stems.
Support the fruit-packed stems with a simple wire trellis to ease harvest and keep the fruit off the ground.
Plants grow 5 to 6 feet tall and wide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Goji berries are ripe and ready to harvest when they are fully colored.
The color of a ripe berry differs by cultivar.
Most berries are deep red or deep orange when they are fully ripe.
Plan to harvest goji berries every 10 to 15 days from midsummer through fall.
Goji berries store well in the refrigerator for two to three weeks after harvest.
They also freeze well.
Thawed berries retain their color and flavor.
Goji berries are self-pollinating which means they do not require a nearby plant to set fruit.
One plant is all that is needed to produce berries.
