Germination temperature
Best at 18-20 °C (64-68 °F); seed can germinate from about 7 °C (45 °F).
Visit deodar-seeds.in Fruit growing guide
Goji (wolfberry) is a hardy, sun-loving shrub that grows easily from its tiny seeds. This guide covers Lycium barbarum and the closely related Chinese wolfberry, Lycium chinense, which are raised the same way.
Best at 18-20 °C (64-68 °F); seed can germinate from about 7 °C (45 °F).
Very shallow: a fine cover, no more than about 6 mm (1/4 in).
First seedlings usually within 2-3 weeks.
Full sun for the best crop; tolerates light shade.
None needed for fresh seed; cold stratification helps slow seed.
Sow in pots, plant out the following spring.
If you save seed yourself, squash fully ripe berries in water, let the pulp float off and dry the small seeds. Goji seed stores well dry in a sealed container in the fridge.
Not needed. The seed coat is thin.
Optional. In USDA trials, 60-120 days in moist sand at 5 °C (41 °F) made germination faster and more complete. Use it for older seed or when an unstratified sowing comes up poorly.
Not needed. A few hours in water before sowing does no harm but is not required.
Keep the pots at 18-20 °C (64-68 °F), the range the RHS recommends. Seed can start at around 7 °C (45 °F), but cool conditions make it slow; USDA tests used alternating 30 °C by day and 20 °C by night (86/68 °F).
Scatter the seed on the surface and cover it with a very fine layer of compost or sand, no more than about 6 mm (1/4 in).
A free-draining seed compost. Avoid acidic, peaty mixes for older plants: goji prefers neutral to slightly alkaline soil.
Keep the surface evenly moist with a fine spray or by watering from below; tiny seed is easily washed out.
Give bright light as soon as seedlings appear so they do not stretch.
Seedlings usually start to appear within 2-3 weeks in warm conditions. In USDA tests about half the stratified seed had germinated after 18 days, with more following over a month.
Prick seedlings out into individual pots when they can be handled. In cold climates protect them through their first winter and plant out the following spring; in the Indian plains plant out at the start of the cool season.
Choose a sunny, well-drained spot and dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball. Space plants at least 2 m (6.5 ft) apart, or 0.6-1.2 m (2-4 ft) apart in a hedge-like row.
Pruning is not needed in the first year. Water young plants in dry spells; once established, goji tolerates drought, wind and salty coastal air.
Cause: waterlogged, cold compost. Fix: use a free-draining mix and water from below; goji roots must never stay wet.
Cause: powdery mildew. Fix: prune for air circulation, avoid wetting the leaves and space plants generously.
Cause: goji gall mite. Fix: USU Extension uses sulfur, insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, and advises keeping peppers, aubergines and black nightshade away from goji.
Cause: aphids. Fix: spray with insecticidal soap and encourage natural predators.
Cause: blossom end rot from uneven watering. Fix: keep soil moisture steady during flowering and fruit growth.
Goji grows best where average monthly temperatures are 15-20 °C (59-68 °F) and tolerates hard frost. In India that points to the hills and the cooler, drier north; on the hot plains treat it as an experiment, with afternoon shade in summer and very free-draining soil.
Flowers and fruit form on the previous year's stems. In the dormant season remove weak or crossing branches and shorten side shoots; pinch shoot tips in early summer. Remove suckers, which appear freely after about three years.
Plants raised from seed usually start fruiting after two to three years, with full crops at three to five years.
Pick only fully coloured berries, about 35 days after full bloom. They bruise easily; some growers shake ripe berries onto a sheet. Net the bushes if birds take the fruit.
Sow goji seed shallowly in warm, free-draining compost for hardy fruiting shrubs.
Usually two to three years after sowing, with full crops from about the third to fifth year.
Not usually. Fresh seed germinates at 18-20 °C. Cold-stratifying older seed for two to four months at about 5 °C makes germination faster and more even.
Yes, in a large pot of free-draining compost in full sun. Cutting new growth back by up to half in summer keeps it compact but reduces the crop.
Yes. Chinese wolfberry is raised from seed the same way; it is a smaller shrub with rounder leaves and less sweet berries.