How to Grow a Goji Berry Bonsai? Detailed Care Methods and Tips

Goji berry is a common medicinal herb for health preservation. Growing goji berry as a potted plant not only provides ornamental value, but when it bears fruit, the berries can also be harvested and eaten. So, how do you grow a goji berry bonsai?

1. Growing environment

Goji berry prefers a sunny environment. For indoor potted goji berry, choose a sunny spot for care. Goji berry has low soil requirements, with well-drained calcareous sandy loam being best, and it dislikes clayey and waterlogged soil.

2. Watering requirements

Water goji berry by letting the soil dry out before watering thoroughly. During the high-temperature summer dormancy period, the plant's growth stalls and most leaves drop, so watering should be reduced. Goji berry is drought-tolerant and afraid of moisture, so never let water accumulate.

3. Fertilization method

Usually apply a liquid fertilizer mainly based on phosphorus and potassium once about every week. In winter, apply decomposed base fertilizer, and during the peak flowering period, apply 2-3 additional applications of nitrogen fertilizer. Each year when repotting, apply sufficient base fertilizer, and add phosphorus and potassium fertilizers such as superphosphate as base fertilizer.

4. Bonsai creation

Goji berry bonsai styling mainly uses coarse wiring and fine pruning. The trunk can be shaped into various forms, and branches are mostly wired into flat or coiled shapes. Use metal wire for wiring, and loosen it when it starts to cut into the bark. If the trunk has not yet set its shape at that time, it can be wired again. Generally, the shape can be set through 1 year of wiring. Wiring is mostly done before buds emerge on the branches or after the emerging branches have become semi-lignified. Once the shape is formed, pruning is mostly used to maintain the tree form. During vigorous growth, leggy shoots can be pruned at any time to ensure sufficient nutrients for fruiting. In late summer and early autumn, defoliate and apply several more applications of dilute liquid fertilizer containing phosphorus and potassium, so that flower buds and new leaves grow out at the same time. Flowering and fruiting accompanied by new leaves is good for ornamental value.

5. Propagation methods

Goji berry propagation is mainly by cuttings and division, and both are simple and easy. Cuttings can be done in spring and autumn. Choose vigorous leggy shoots or healthy vegetative branches, cut them into 12-15 cm lengths, with the upper end cut flat and the base cut into a horse-ear shape. The seedling survival rate can generally reach more than 80%-90%. The division method is mostly done in early spring by peeling off root sprouts and transplanting them, with adequate watering, and the seedling survival rate is very high. A sowing method can also be used, and seedlings grown from seed can flower and fruit in 2-3 years.

In addition, goji berry is prone to powdery mildew. It can be controlled by spraying 70% thiophanate-methyl 1500 times dilution, or by spraying 50% sulfur powder in the early morning while the dew has not yet dried. The main pest is aphids, which can be killed by spraying 40% dimethoate 1000 times dilution.