I have recently acquired a Goji berry shrub. I
unexpectedly came across it in the shop at Kew Gardens. It was sitting amongst
the other plants on the stand. It looked at me, I looked at it. And before you
know it, Mr Goji Berry was the newest addition to the berry collection in the
back garden.
Having never grown one before, I decided to do some
research on the little fella. Goji berries are originally from China, but have
been present in the UK since the 1600s, under their pseudonym Wolfberry - kind
of like a secret agent of the berry world. They are quite leggy shrubs which
produce long, oval-shaped red berries from their second year. These red berries
have been dubbed a “superfood” apparently ranking in the same
league as blueberries (which is handy seeing as Mr Goji Berry’s neighbour is in
fact a blueberry bush – that’s how organised we are in this garden).
My Goji berry
shrub is still in a pot, but I think they are happier when set free in the
ground to do their own thing. I am contemplating planting mine out in the side
border, where it can grow in amongst the geraniums and the apple tree. I think
the red berries will look nice in amongst the flowers in the border. Apparently,
they can grow to 8–10ft high, oops I didn’t realise that when I bought him! A
good pruning (in spring) can keep them in check though, as long as they are
allowed to grow to about 3-4ft high and 3-4ft wide, a good crop can be harvested. Keep in mind while pruning that fruit are produced on last year’s wood.
Goji berry shrubs are not particularly fussy when it
comes to growing conditions: they don’t mind a bit of light shade during the
day (although grow them in full sun if you want bumper crops). In their first
year, Goji berry shrubs do need winter protection, so it’s best to keep them in
a pot for their first winter so they can be brought into the greenhouse. However,
once they are mature, they are hardy little things – they can cope with
temperatures of down to -26C. They are drought tolerant too which is handy. In
fact, they don’t like sitting in water at all, and they will not be happy planted in a heavy, water-logged soil; they like a well-drained, even sandy,
soil.
One last tip is to pick the fruit by shaking the branches
and catching the fruit in a tub (easier said than done!) because the fruit turn
black when you touch them.
